Guidelines for Sources
Citing a source in a speech is just as important as citing a source in a research paper. Let the audience know where your information comes from. If you do not cite your source, it is considered plagiarism.
Keep in mind the three R’s for your speech: Recency (within the last five years), Reliability (from a credible source) and Relevance (pertaining directly to your topic).
- Books: Announce the title of the book and author
- “According to the book Understanding Freud, by renowned psychologist John Roberts…”
- Magazines: Give the title of the magazine and the date of publication
- “In the January 5th, 2015 issue of Psychology Today…”
- Newspapers: Give the name of the newspaper and date of publication
- "The New York Times of September 16th of this year stated that…”
- Academic Journals: Give the author's name, title of the journal, and the date of publication
- “An article by Joe Smith in The International Journal of Psychology, Spring of 2014, explains that…”
- News Broadcast: State the media (television or radio), the station and the date of broadcast
- “In an interview from the program ‘Tell Me More’, the National Public Radio’s broadcast from November 5th, 2014…”
- NOTE: If your source was accessed through one of the library databases, like EBSCOhost or Lexis Nexis, do not cite the database; cite the publication it linked you to. This should be a newspaper article, magazine or journal article, or news broadcast.
- Interviews: State the person’s name, title (if applicable), credibility, type of interview, date of interview
- “Dr. Deb Smith, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told me in a telephone interview of July 9th of this year that…”
- Internet: If it comes from a newspaper, magazine or journal article online (Washington Post Online, etc) then cite it simply as a newspaper, magazine or journal article.
If it comes from a webpage, you will need to evaluate whether this is a reasonable and credible course. Looks for authorship (who wrote it), sponsorship (what company or organization hosts the webpage) and recency (copyright or last updated information). Use the CRAAPP Test to determine if your online source is reliable.
“According to the American Psychology webpage, last updated on August 9th of this year…”
“An internet website dedicated to the interpretation of dreams sponsored by the Psychology department of Harvard University and last updated February 15th, 2014…”
