During your research for your thesis or dissertation, you use several ideas and studies from other researchers. You do this because your work explores previous research. Using someone else's research can be done in two ways:
• Citing
• Paraphrasing
When you quote someone else's work, you literally copy sentences. When you paraphrase, you expose the idea of someone with your own words.
However, it is important that you always quote the source you used. If you do not do that, you commit plagiarism.
Quote sources
Quote is literally copying part of a text. It is advisable to limit the use of citations to the extent that they do not facilitate the reading of a text.
In addition, if you use a lot of quotes, you will look lazy. Apart from that, when you use a quote, it may sound like you did not understand the source or did not read the entire text. It is wise to use quotes only when they are needed.
For example, you can use it if you want to use the definition of a certain concept. You can also consider using a quote if the author has written a sentence that a paraphrase would decrease in terms of quality.
Always try to make quotes as short as possible as, preferably no longer than a few sentences. You can also shorten a quote by replacing a redundant part with an ellipsis (...).
However, be sure not to take a quote out of context by quoting only one sentence from a study that supports your research while the rest of the study contradicts it.
Paraphrase the text of a quote
When you paraphrase something, you describe an idea with your own words. By doing so, you can integrate an existing theory into your own research very easily.
However, even if the paraphrase is formulated with your own words, the idea is none the less that of someone else. So, you must always quote your source when you paraphrase.
Paraphrase or summary?
The term "paraphrase" is usually used when someone describes someone else's research with his own words. However, this is not entirely correct. A paraphrase is the description of a quote from others, formulated with your own words. A paraphrase is thus similar to the quote of the original text.
If you describe completely or partially the result of a more substantial part of the research, this is called a summary.
General advice
Quote or paraphrase only authors of authoritative articles in their field of research.
It is important that the quote (or paraphrase) adds value to your search. The quote should also be consistent with the rest of the text. The preceding text or following the quote or paraphrase should clarify the argument you want to support.
A quote (or a paraphrase) is not complete without an appropriate quote in the text and an inclusion in the bibliography, properly formatted in the proper citation style.