Citing sources means giving credit to the work of others that you use in your research. This is done both within the text (in-text citation) and at the end of your work as a list (works cited/bibliography). There are different citation styles for the different disciplines, which prescribe how to lay out your citations and in what order the information goes. The main elements of a citation are author, date, title, publisher, and location.
Though many citation styles exist, here are the predominantly used styles:
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Used for research within the Humanities
American Psychological Association (APA)
Used for research within Education, Psychology, and the Sciences
Chicago Manual of Style
Used for research within Business, History, and the Fine Arts
Plagiarism means taking credit for other people's work in your research. This can happen when sources aren't properly cited within your research, leading the reader to believe that the ideas mentioned are your own. Whether done accidentally or intentionally, plagiarism is taken very seriously; the best way to avoid it is to always cite your sources for any ideas, paraphrasing, or quotes that you use from other people's works.
Citation tools and bibliographic managers are helpful ways to not only generate citations for your sources, but to also keep all of them in one place. While there are many tools and managers available and for students most are free. The free versions may not have all the tools that a paid subscription offers they still are effective tools.