A citation is a way of giving credit to individuals for their creative and intellectual works that you utilized to support your research. It can also be used to locate particular sources and combat plagiarism. Typically, a citation can include the author's name, date, location of the publishing company, journal title, or DOI (Digital Object Identifer).
A citation style dictates the information necessary for a citation and how the information is ordered, as well as punctuation and other formatting.
There are many different ways of citing resources from your research. The citation style sometimes depends on the academic discipline involved. You will need to consult with your professor to determine what is required in your specific course.
Source: https://usu.instructure.com/courses/449395/pages/types-of-citation-styles
For more information about plagiarism and how to avoid it, please see the Plagiarism Libguide.