sourceattribution

Source attribution is the practice of identifying and crediting the origin of information, ideas, data, or media used in a work. It serves to acknowledge creators, prevent plagiarism, enable verification, and support reproducibility and transparency.

In academic and professional writing, attribution is typically conveyed through citations, quotations, and bibliographies, following style guides such as APA, MLA, or Chicago. Writers distinguish primary sources from secondary sources, and clearly indicate when an idea is paraphrased rather than quoted. In digital materials, attribution should include author, title, publication venue, date, and a URL or DOI, with access dates when relevant.

Licensing and copyright considerations: many open licenses require attribution (for example CC BY). Attribution must be accurate, not misleading, and sometimes must be presented in a specific location or format. For software and data, attribution can appear in README files, NOTICE files, or metadata, and may be considered part of licensing compliance.

Data provenance and reproducibility: source attribution extends beyond text to data and code, describing lineage, versions, and transformations to enable others to reproduce results.

Best practices: verify sources, use persistent identifiers, distinguish between paraphrase and quotation, keep attribution proportional, update references, and ensure accessibility.