Before citing community or community partner knowledge, first determine if it is common knowledge. Common knowledge does not need to be cited. This will require a judgment call on your part. Generally, common knowledge is information that someone finds undocumented in at least five credible sources or if the information is assumed to be known by your audience, unless that information is under dispute. If a common fact is under dispute, your reader may want more information and it is good practice to document the source of the material.
A good rule of thumb is, when in doubt, cite it, especially if you risk excluding and/or marginalizing community partners' contributions and voices.
Common Knowledge
APA Basic principles of citation: cite any facts and figures that are not common knowledge, but don't assume something is common knowledge (APA Avoiding Plagiarism Guide, p. 2).
MLA 9th Edition - Section 4.12-4.16 When documentation is not needed (common knowledge, passing mentions, and allusions).
CMOS 17th Edition - How do I know when to cite something & CMOS FAQ Citation, Documentation of Sources
Community Knowledge
APA 7th Edition - Section 8.9 (p. 260): Personal communications (personal communications that cannot be retrieved should be cited in-text only. Provide first initial(s), surname, and exact date (or exact as possible). Examples below:
Narrative: Deb Elmore told me last week that I should always try to leave a thing better than I found it (personal communication, March 31, 2024).
Parenthetical: My mom told me to always try to leave a thing better than I found it (D. Elmore, personal communication, March 31, 2024).
MLA 9th Edition - Personal communications, Citation Examples: Conversations & E-mail and Text Messages
CMOS 17th Edition - Section 15.53: Unpublished interviews (author/date references) and personal communications and section 14.214: Personal communications (notes/bibliography references).
Elements of Indigenous style : a guide for writing by and about Indigenous peoples by Citation managers like RefWorks, EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero help you track and organize your citations, so that when you're writing your paper, you can easily cite your sources. Citation managers also help you insert citations, create endnotes and bibliographies.
