Citation Guide: Everything You Must Know About Citing Sources

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Whenever conducting research to write a paper, it is important to document all sources. Citations give credibility and authority by showing
proof of your research. References help readers understand how you came to your conclusions and they support your ideas.

Citing resources will also avoid plagiarism, by crediting to those who provided the research used to create a paper.

When to Cite a Source

Include a citation whenever you can. If you are not sure whether or not to cite a source, cite it. You should reference and cite whenever you:

 Quote directly from a source.

 Summarize or paraphrase another writer’s ideas, concepts or opinions.
 Anywhere you find data, facts and information used in your paper.
 Images, visuals, graphs and charts you use in your work.

When Not to Cite a Source

You do not have to cite your source if the information you use is common knowledge. For example, the first African American President of
the U.S. is Barack Obama; however, if you aren’t sure if it is common knowledge or not, go ahead and cite it, just to be safe.

The Main Types of Sources

There are three main types of sources: primary, secondary and peer-reviewed.

1. Primary

Primary sources may be in their original form or digitized, or reprinted or reproduced in some form. They are first-hand accounts of an event
or period in history, or original documents. Primary sources include:

 Texts – Novels, letters, diaries, government reports, newspaper articles and autobiographies. Images – Paintings, photographs and
advertisements.
 Artifacts – Sculptures, buildings and clothing.
 Audio-Visual – Oral history like interviews, songs, films and photos.

2. Secondary

Secondary sources are written about primary sources and are one or more steps away from the original source. They include discussions,
comments and interpretations regarding the primary source or original material. Examples of secondary source materials are as follows:

 Articles from magazines, journals and newspapers.

 Textbooks, histories and encyclopedias.
 Book, play, concert and movie reviews, criticisms and commentaries.
 Articles from scholarly journals that assess or discuss the original research of others.

3. Peer Reviewed

Usually published as an article in a medical or professional publication, such as a journal, a peer-reviewed source undergoes multiple
critiques by top scholars in a particular field. Peer-reviewed articles offer authoritative information of the highest quality that scholarly
disciplines can provide. Peer-reviewed and scholarly articles have these characteristics:

 List the journal of publication and author credentials.

 Are an abstract from a larger publication.
 Include a large amount of in-text citations, references, endnotes, footnotes and cited works, as well as a bibliography and appendix.

Contain sections like methodology, conclusion and results.
 Have numerous in-text tables, charts and graphs.
 Use complex wording specific to the field.

How to Cite
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Cite your sources both in-text and at the end of your paper. For in-text citation, the easiest method is to parenthetically give the author's last
name and the year of publication, e.g., (Clarke 2001), but the exact way you cite will depend on the specific type of style guide you follow.

When you cite data from another author's work, explain all related aspects of the work clearly and concisely using your own words. Always
provide a reference to the work directly following the information you have provided.

Most colleges and organizations use a variety of citation styles. The citation style often depends on the professor, so always check before
beginning a paper. No matter what the style you use for citing your paper, the process is always the same:

 Consult the appropriate style guide for examples of how to produce in-text citations, reference lists and bibliographies.
 Some style guides are available via citation software that helps track sources for the use in creating bibliographies, in-text citations and
reference lists.
 Use one standard style in a consistent manner throughout the entire paper.

Researchers and writers should understand some of the following styles:

1. APA

The American Psychology Association – Use this style for education, psychology, sociology and other social sciences.

o Example of APA style for a book with one author:

Doe, J. (1999). Causes of the Civil War. Ohio: Smith Books.

 Resources:

 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

 APA Formatting and Style Guide: Available online from The Owl at Purdue, this contains
examples of reference list entries and in-text citations.
 Basics of APA Style Tutorial: Available online from the APA, this outlines citing and writing
guidelines.

 MLA
Modern Language Association – Use this style for arts, literature and the humanities.

 Example of MLA style for a book with one author:

Doe, John: “Causes of the Civil War.” Smith.

Resources:
  MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide: Available online from The Owl at Purdue, with many
examples for producing works cited entries and in-text footnotes.

 MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing: Available online from The Owl at
Purdue, contains examples.
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AMA or NLM
American Medical Association or the National Library of Medicine for health, medicine and biological sciences.

 Example of AMA for a book with one author:

Doe JD. Causes of the Civil War. Columbus, OH: Smith Books; 1999.

 Example of NLM for a book with one author:

Doe, JD. Causes of the Civil War. Columbus (OH): Smith Books; 1999.

Resources:

  AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors

 Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for authors, editors and publishers; available online
from the National Library of Medicine.
 A Comparison of AMA and NLM styles

 Chicago or Turabian
Students and researchers commonly use the Chicago Manual of Style guide, or Turabian, for
most real-world subjects in magazines, books, newspapers and many other non-scholarly
publications.

 Example of Chicago style for a book with one author:

Doe, John. 1999. Causes of the Civil War. Columbus, Ohio:

Smith Books.

 Resources:

 CMS: Provide by the Perdue Owl Online Writing Laboratory.

 Scientific Style (CSE)

There are a variety of scientific style guides depending on the particular field, whether it be
biology, chemistry, engineering.

 Example of Scientific Style for a book with one author:

John D. Doe. Causes of the Civil War. Columbus (OH): Smith Press: 1999.
Resources
 1.
o ACS: American Chemical Society
o
 ACS Style Guidelines: Available online from UW-Madison Libraries, providing examples for citing references in the text and the
bibliography of a research paper.
o IEEE: Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers
o
 IEEE Editorial Style Manual: An online PDF that provides editorial guidelines for IEEE letters, journals and transactions, with citation
examples.
o The Writer's Handbook – CSE Citation

More Citation Examples

The following resources provide more examples for formatting citations:

 Citing References Wiki – Maintained by LexisNexis, this guide includes examples from APA, MLA, Chicago and Turabian.

Research and Documentation Online– Compiled by Diana Hacker, this guide includes APA, CMS, CSE and MLA styles

Programs for Creating Citations

The following resources provide programs to help researchers create citations:

 Landmark Citation Machine

 KnightCite

 Citation Builder

 EasyBib

When using a citation program, always check for errors before inserting them into your reference or works cited page.

The Annotated Bibliography or Reference Section

The reference page is also called the annotated bibliography, and it should go at the end of the research paper. The purpose of annotated
bibliographies is to link each source to one another in an orderly fashion.

Here are six key factors for writing an annotation:

 Clearly state the qualifications and authority of the author early in the annotation. Example:

John J. Doe, an American history professor at Ohio State University, based his research on recently dis
covered documentation.

 Explain the main purpose and scope of the text in a few brief sentences.This is not like an abstract, which is a synopsis of the entire piece;
rather, it is the main theme or concept. Example:

Dr. Doe demonstrates how a few key Americans played a main role in the incidents that led to the Civil
War. They provided artillery, money, manpower and leadership, which prompted the beginning of the war.

 Note the relation of the paper to other works in the field. Example:

Dr. Doe’s conclusions are completely different from the conclusions in Dr. Smith’s, “The Start of the C
ivil War".
 Clarify the author’s main opinion or conclusion in relation to the overall theme. Example:

However, Doe’s conclusion is somewhat compromised by an anti-war bias, which three reviewers mentioned.

 Indicate your target audience and the level of reading difficulty. Example:

Although Dr. Doe wrote this for history scholars, the concluding chapters will be comprehendible to any
learned layperson.

 End with a summary comment. Example:

This detailed document includes updated information of interest to both educated adults and scholarly r
eaders.

Completed example:

Doe, John D. Causes of the Civil War. New York: Smith, 1999. Doe, an American professor at Ohio State U
niversity, based his research on recently discovered documentation. He demonstrates how a few key Ameri
cans played a main role in the incidents that led to the Civil War. They provided artillery, money and
leadership, which prompted the beginning of the war. Dr. Doe’s conclusions are completely different fro
m the conclusions in Dr. Smith’s, The Start of the Civil War. However, Doe’s opinion is somewhat compro
mised by an anti-war bias, which three reviewers mentioned. Although Dr. Doe wrote this for history sch
olars, the concluding chapters will be comprehendible to any learned layperson.

For more guidelines on creating an annotated bibliography, see the Purdue OWL: Annotated Bibliographies site, which includes additional
sample annotations.

Adding citations may seem difficult at first; however, the more you practice, the easier it will become for you. By using a style guide and
checking examples, citing all your sources is simple and complete.

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Why citing is important

It's important to cite sources you used in your research for several reasons:

 To show your reader you've done proper research by listing sources you used to
get your information
 To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and
acknowledging their ideas
 To avoid plagiarism by quoting words and ideas used by other authors
 To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them
accurately in your paper by way of footnotes, a bibliography or reference list

About citations
Citing a source means that you show, within the body of your text, that you took words,
ideas, figures, images, etc. from another place.
Citations are a short way to uniquely identify a published work (e.g. book, article,
chapter, web site). They are found in bibliographies and reference lists and are also
collected in article and book databases.

Citations consist of standard elements, and contain all the information necessary to
identify and track down publications, including:

 author name(s)
 titles of books, articles, and journals
 date of publication
 page numbers
 volume and issue numbers (for articles)

Citations may look different, depending on what is being cited and which style was used
to create them. Choose an appropriate style guide for your needs. Here is an example
of an article citation using four different citation styles. Notice the common elements as
mentioned above:
Author - R. Langer
Article Title - New Methods of Drug Delivery
Source Title - Science
Volume and issue - Vol 249, issue 4976
Publication Date - 1990
Page numbers - 1527-1533

 American Chemical Society (ACS) style:

Langer, R. New Methods of Drug Delivery. Science 1990, 249, 1527-1533.
 IEEE Style:
R. Langer, "New Methods of Drug Delivery," Science, vol. 249, pp. 1527-
1533, SEP 28, 1990.
 American Psychological Association (APA) style:
Langer, R. (1990). New methods of drug delivery. Science, 249(4976),1527-
1533.
 Modern Language Association (MLA) style:
Langer, R. "New Methods of Drug Delivery." Science 249.4976 (1990): 1527-33.
What to cite
You must cite:

 Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge

 Ideas, words, theories, or exact language that another person used in other
publications
  Publications that must be cited include: books, book chapters, articles, web
pages, theses, etc.

 Another person's exact words should be quoted and cited to show proper credit

When in doubt, be safe and cite your source!

Avoiding plagiarism
Plagiarism occurs when you borrow another's words (or ideas) and do not acknowledge
that you have done so. In this culture, we consider our words and ideas intellectual
property; like a car or any other possession, we believe our words belong to us and
cannot be used without our permission.

Plagiarism is a very serious offense. If it is found that you have plagiarized --

deliberately or inadvertently -- you may face serious consequences. In some instances,
plagiarism has meant that students have had to leave the institutions where they were
studying.

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite your sources - both within the body of your
paper and in a bibliography of sources you used at the end of your paper.

Some useful links about plagiarism:

 MIT Academic Integrity

Overview on citing sources and avoiding plagiarism at MIT.

 Avoiding Plagiarism

From the MIT Writing and Communication Center.

 Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It

From Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services.

 Plagiarism- Overview

A resource from Purdue University.

Style guides to consult
Academic organizations and some disciplines outline their own styles of how to cite
sources and format research papers. You may have heard of or used some of the
styles before.

Consult these print and online style guides for examples of citing sources in the text of
your paper and in a bibliography or reference list. See also information about citation
software packages supported by the MIT Libraries.

MLA: Modern Language Association [Humanities]

 MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing - Hayden Library,

Humanities Reference, PN147.G444
 MLA 2009 Formatting and Style Guide (online from The Owl at Purdue, with
many examples of creating in-text footnotes and works cited entries)

APA: American Psychological Association [Social Sciences]

 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association - Hayden Library,

Humanities Reference and Dewey Library Reference, BF76.7.A46
 Basics of APA Style Tutorial (online from the APA, outlining writing and citing
guidelines)
 APA Formatting and Style Guide (online from The Owl at Purdue with several
examples of in-text citations and reference list entries)

CMS: Chicago Manual of Style [various subjects]

 Chicago Manual of Style - Hayden Library, Humanities Reference and Dewey

Library Reference, Z253.C532
 Chicago Manual of Style (MIT only, online subscription)
 Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide (online from the Chicago Manual of Style
web site, with examples of citing various types of publications)

ACS: American Chemical Society

 ACS Style Guide - Hayden Library Reserve Stacks, QD8.5.A25

 ACS Style Guidelines (online from UW-Madison Libraries, providing examples for
citing references in the text and the bibliography of a research paper)

CSE: Council of Science Editors

 Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors and
Publishers - Hayden Library, Science Reference, T11.S386
  CSE Style: Biology and Other Sciences (online from Research and
Documentation Online by Diana Hacker and Barbara Fister; gives examples of
in-text and reference list citations)

IEEE: Institute of Electronics & Electrical Engineers

 Writing and Speaking in the Technology Professions: A Practical Guide - Barker

Library Stacks, T11.W75
 IEEE Editorial Style Manual (online PDF; "provides editorial guidelines for IEEE
Transcations, Journals, and Letters." Includes citation examples)
 How to Cite References - IEEE Style (online from Murdoch University Library,
with many examples of citing various publications)

NLM: National Library of Medicine or AMA: American Medical Association

 AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors - Hayden Library, Science
Reference, R119.A533
 Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors and Publishers (online
from the National Library of Medicine)

Various styles - the following resources provide examples of citing sources in several
styles

 Research and Documentation In the Digital Age - by Diana Hacker. Covers

MLA, APA, CMS and CSE styles
 Citing References Wiki - Maintained by LexisNexis and includes examples from
MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian.
 Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing