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Art, Architecture & Design

This guide is your starting point for research in Art, Architecture & Design. For more in-depth assistance, please make an appointment for a research consultation.

Citation Styles

Zotero and ZoteroBib

                                Zoterobib logo

Looking for free tools to help you accurately cite your sources? Zotero and ZoteroBib can help! Explore this guide to learn about these tools. 

                               zoterobib logo

What's the difference?

  • Zotero is a comprehensive tool to help you store, organize, annotate, and cite your sources. It can even be used with collaborators to all save sources to the same library. It's an excellent tool capable of long term use and integrates with Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and Overleaf.
  • Zoterobib is a quick bibliography generator. Copy and paste your sources into this web tool, choose your citation style, and it'll generate in-text citations and a bibliography. It's straightforward with no extra features and meant for one-time use.

  Zotero ZoteroBib
Best for Research papers, ongoing research, theses, dissertations 1 time bibliographies
Functionality Both desktop and web applications Web application
Able to create bibliographies Copy to clipboard or generate via plug-ins as you write Copy to clipboard
Able to create in-text citations ✅ ✅
Able to create group folders ✅ ❌
Long-term cloud storage ✅ ❌
Software installation ✅ ❌
Learning curve Moderate Slight

Key ✅ Yes
  ❌ No

Reasons For Citing

When asked why they should cite your sources, many students reply, "So you don't get accused of plagiarizing." This is a good reply, but there are other good reasons as well:

  • To make your arguments credible. For example, if you are writing about a disease, using statistics from a reputable source like the World Health Organization or Centers for Disease Control can lead your reader to trust your argument more.
  • To preserve the reputation and rigor of your institution.  Help to uphold Lehigh's high academic standards.
  • To show you've done your homework.  Certain experts frequently appear in articles and books about your topic. Citing their work shows you have done your research. 
  • To build a foundation for your paper.  Breakthroughs in scholarship typically build on earlier, groundbreaking work of others.   Newton said: "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." What writings inspire you?
  • To allow your readers to find the sources for themselves.  Citing sources *within* your paper ("in-text citations") inform your reader what sources relate to parts of your argument. The full citation at the end of your paper helps your reader locate the sources.

Knowing When to Cite

Decision tree diagram explaining when and how to cite a source.