Providing credit to a short-form video found on the popular social media platform is essential for academic integrity and source transparency. This process involves identifying key elements such as the creator’s username, the video title (often derived from the caption), the platform name, and the date of posting, then formatting these elements according to a specific citation style, such as MLA, APA, or Chicago. For example, a citation might resemble: @username. “Descriptive caption of video.” TikTok, date of posting, URL.
Attributing sources, including those from social media, is crucial in academic and professional writing to avoid plagiarism and demonstrate respect for intellectual property. Accurate source documentation lends credibility to research, allows readers to locate and verify information, and contributes to the scholarly conversation. As social media content increasingly informs research and discourse, establishing clear methods for source identification becomes paramount. Initially, formal guidelines for this type of media were less defined, but citation style guides have since evolved to address digital sources.
