A citation (also called documentation or a reference) is the information you provide in your paper to give credit to the sources you used in your research.
Please ask at the Reference Desk for additional assistance, or Contact Us.
If you use other people's work without giving them credit, that is a form of academic dishonesty called plagiarism which can result in failing your course and suspension or expulsion from Kapiʻolani CC. See the Kapiʻolani CC Student Conduct Code for details.
Always check with your instructor! Your instructor may tell you to use a specific style, or they may leave it up to you to pick one. In general, classes in the Arts & Humanities (English, Hawaiian Studies, etc.) use MLA Style, and classes in the Sciences and Social Sciences (Psychology, Nursing, etc.) use APA Style. Style formats change over time as they are updated, so check with your instructor to see which edition they want you to use.