Using others' ideas to support your argument is a standard part of doing research. Not giving the original author credit is plagiarism. Whenever you take an idea from another source you need to credit the author by writing a citation in the appropriate citation format. In the Criminal Justice discipline that format is APA, American Psychological Association. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association provides detailed guidelines for using APA style. The most recent (6th) edition of the APA Manual is kept at the Reference Desk.