Citing
Citations -
show the research path someone took to develop an idea, and they provide leads for other researchers
You need to cite -
when you directly quote someone else, when you refer to another person's ideas or when you outline someone else's argument or line of reasoning. You also need to give credit when you use an image, audio, or video clip (if permitted by copyright provisions).
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Use the citation style recommended by your instructor. Brief descriptions of three commonly used styles, with links to further examples, appear below. See also the Libraries' comprehensive guide, All About Citations. Many databases offer ways to export citations to articles in the style of your choice. For larger research projects you may find it helpful to use bibliographic software that will organize and format your citations. Links to four commonly used brands appear at the foot of this page. |
MLA
Use MLA style to create citations in the Humanities
EXAMPLE of MLA Style on a Works Cited page for a journal article retrieved from a database:
Goodheart, Eugene. "Orwell and the Bad Writing Controversy." CLIO: A Journal of Literature, History, and the Philosophy of History, vol. 28, no. 4, 1999, pp. 439-43. ProQuest Literature Online, literature.proquest.com/pageImage.do?ftnum=46697542&fmt=page&area=abell&journalid=08842043&articleid=R01518721&pubdate=1999&queryid=2954634888204. Accessed 23 July 2017.
thus the formula is:
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, volume #, issue #, year, page #s. Name of Database. [doi or url.] Date of access [day month year].
IN-TEXT: put source information in parentheses just after a quotation or paraphrase.
Is plain speech really an "antidote to dishonesty and brutality in politics" (Goodheart 439)?
Chicago
Use Chicago style for History, other Humanities, and Social Sciences
Chicago style offers two separate systems of documentation. One uses notes (instead of parenthetical in-text citations) in coordination with a bibliography. The other uses author-date in-text citations in a system similar to MLA and APA - but the format is different for each style!
EXAMPLE of Chicago Style (Notes and Bibliography style) on a Bibliography page for a journal article retrieved from a database:
Goodman, Michael S. "MI6’s Atomic Man: The Rise and Fall of Commander Eric Welsh." War in History 23 (2016): 100-114. https://doi: 10.1177/0968344515572503.
thus the formula is:
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal volume # (year): page #s. doi: #. [or URL or database name if no doi is given]
Notes, first reference:
7. Goodman, Michael S., "MI6’s Atomic Man: The Rise and Fall of Commander Eric Welsh," War in History 23 (2016): 112, https://doi: 10.1177/0968344515572503.
second reference:
19. Goodman, "MI6's Atomic Man," 112.
| MORE EXAMPLES and explanations (format for Author-Date style, for newspapaper articles, books, multiple authors, etc.) at the Chicago Manual of Style's Quick Guide |
APA
Use APA style for many Sciences and Social Sciences
EXAMPLE of APA Style on a Reference List page for a journal article retrieved from a database:
Kristiansen, Søren, Reith, Gerda, & Trabjerg, Camilla Maria. (2017) 'The Notorious gambling class': patterns of gambling among young people in Denmark. Journal of Youth Studies, 20, 366-381. doi: 10.1080/13676261.2016.1232480
thus the formula is:
Author. (year) Title of Article. Title of Journal, volume #, [(issue #), if issues are separately paginated], page #s. doi or url.
IN-TEXT: put source information in parentheses just after a quotation or paraphrase.
Several different gambling pathways have been identified (Kristiansen, Reith, & Trabjerg, 2017, 366). - first reference
...as seen in the investigation of gambling among young Danes (Kristiansen et al.) - second and further references. Notice also that this mention refers to the entire article, rather than to a particular page.
| MORE EXAMPLES and explanations (full details for in-text citations and notes, for newspapaper articles, books, etc.) at Purdue's OWL site |
