Research your topic, making certain that you read the opinions of top experts in the field your paper discusses. When quoting a person, do not write "he said" or "they said" like in a short story. Simply write, for example, "According to Harold Jones of the New Time newspaper" (without quotation marks), then write your open quotation mark, provide the quote and close the quotation marks.
Do not quote an unreliable source or a source that has been discredited. If the individual you are quoting expressed an incorrect theory about a certain event or idea, then only use this quote to counter a more accurate view of the idea or event.
Quote in a research paper without making it look like dialogue in a short story. In other words, do not want to over-quote, but use them when needed. For instance, if it is hard to paraphrase another's words, then directly quote his words. A direct quote may also be appropriate if it is famous or in some way typifies the speaker's philosophy or legacy. If you are quoting information that has a misspelling, use "(sic)" to indicate that the misspelling was in the original source and was not added by you. Additionally, if you are using in-text citations in the MLA style, place the citation outside of the quotation marks. If you italicize words in the quote, then indicate that this is your work by parenthetically stating "italics mine." Also, place ending punctuation inside the quotation marks.