Is it appropriate to credit someone with a quote if I am not absolutely sure they are the source?
I read a quote a long time ago, but did not know the origin. I want to use it in a paper I am writing, so I tried researching to find out who is the source of the quote.
The quote is "We are the universe trying to understand itself." and I believe it was Carl Sagan who said/wrote it.
Would it be appropriate to credit him in my paper, even though I cannot find the exact source and am not 100% sure he said it?
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Try something like this:
This quote is often attributed to Carl Sagan, but I can find little evidence to support that attribution. Regardless, I think this quote is important because...
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/6179. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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No, it would not be appropriate.
It's quite possible that nobody would check you up on this, but quote attributions are expected to be, you know, correct. Mis-attributing a quote might be an honest error, but it's more likely to be a case of insufficient research, or even intentionally lending weight to your work by leaning on an existing respected personality (for example, like so).
In the example you've given, this is very evident: if I Google the quote, I get a lot of hits for an identical quote from a character on 90's SF TV show Babylon 5. You really don't want anybody even considering that maybe you stole a Babylon 5 quote and said it was from Carl Sagan. My Googling also reveals references to Carl Sagan (unsubstantiated) and Charles R. Pellegrino (Ghosts of Vesuvius) - look at this discussion of the same quote.
If your paper is not going to be held to rigorous expectations of research and formality, you might write that the quote is "often attributed to" Carl Sagan. Alternatively, choose one of the similar quotes whose source you are certain of. (Quoting from Babylon 5 is perfectly fine, as long as it's properly attributed!)
Bottom line: don't attribute unless you're certain. If you're not certain, then either say so, or find a different quote.
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