LibGuides: Refer sources correctly: Choose citation styles

Outline

Citing

Module 5: How do I cite sources?

Citations
APA style
MLA style
Citation tools

To give credit to your sources, you should use a recognized citation style. The most commonly used styles are APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association). Whether professors tell you which style to use or let you choose, they will expect you to stick to one style consistently within your paper.

Each style includes rules for how to arrange details like author, title, publication date, retrieval date, etc. These details may vary depending on what you are citing:

Books
Articles from print journals or newspapers
Articles obtained from databases like Academic Search Premier, ScienceDirect or Euromonitor
Web sites
Email communication

You can find rules for proper citation in style guides available online or at the Libraries, or you can ask LORA for help.

Here are some links that may be useful to you as you polish your papers:

APA citation style

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6^th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page (source: Online Writing Lab)

Citing sources in APA style

Source types	Patterns
Journal Article	[Author last name], [First initial]. [Middle initial]. ([Publication year]). [Title of article]. [Title of journal], [Volume number]([Issue number]), [Page number starts]-[ends]. [Document Object Identifier]
Journal Article w/ No Author	[Title of article]. ([Publication year]). [Title of journal], [Volume number]([Issue number]), [Page number starts]-[ends]. [Document Object Identifier]
Magazine Article	[Author last name], [First initial]. ([Year], [Month]). [Article Title] [Title of magazine], [Volume number] ([Issue Number]).
Magazine Article w/ No Author	[Title of article]. ([Year], [Month]). [Title of magazine], [Volume number] ([Issue Number]).
Online Newspaper Article	[Author last name], [First initial]. [Middle initial]. ([Year], [Month] [Day]). [Title of article]. [Title of newspaper].
Online Newspaper Article w/ No Author	[Title of article]. ([Year], [Month] [Day])] [Title of newspaper].
Book	[Author last name], [First initial]. [Middle initial]. ([Publication year]). [Title of work]. [Location]: [Publisher].
ERIC Document	[Author last name], [First initial]. [Middle initial]. [Publication year]. [Title of Document]([Document or Report number]). [Place of Publication]: [Publishing Agency Name] (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. [ED# or EJ#]).
Image	[Title of image]. ([Date of creation]).
Video / Audio	[Title of video / audio]. ([Date of creation]).
Podcast	[Producer last name], [First initial]. [Middle initial]. (Producer) & [Presenter last name], [First initial]. [Middle initial]. (Presenter). ([Publication Year], [Month] [Day]). [Title of Podcast] [Type of podcast]. [Country of publication]: [Distributor].
Conference Paper	[Author]. ([Year],). [Title of paper]. In Editor ([First initial, Last name]) (Ed.) [Title of conference proceedings] ([page numbers]). [Place of publication]: [Publisher]. [doi:xxx.xxxxxxx]
eBook	[Author Last Name]’ [Author first name initials]. ([Date]). [Book Title] Retrieved from [URL]
eBook chapter	[Author Last Name]’ [Author first name initials]. ([Date]). [Title of Chapter] In [Book Title] (Chapter or Section number) Retrieved from [URL]
Website	[Author Last Name], [Author First Name Initial]. ([Date of publication[). [Title of document]. Retrieved from [http://Web address]
Blog Post	Last Name, First Name initial. (Year, Month Date) Title of the Blog post Entry. [Web Log Post]. Retrieved from [http://Web address]
YouTube	Last name, First name initial. (Year, Month Date). Title of the video. [Video file]. Retrieved from [http://Web address]
Twitter	Twitter handle. (Year, Month Day). Enter the tweet message here. [Twitter post]. Retrieved from [http://Web address]
FB post	Username. (Year, Month Day). Enter the Facebook message here. [Facebook update]. Retrieved from http://facebook.com
Email	In text citation only (personal communication, Month Day, Year)

Source: Citing Articles in APA Style, How to Cite Social Media in Scholarly Writing

MLA citation style

The Modern Language Association (MLA) is an organization of teachers and scholars devoted to the study of language and literature. MLA style has been widely adopted by academic journals, schools, and instructors. Since its initial publication, the MLA Style Manual has become the predominant style guide for use in the Humanities in the United States, and is commonly used in Canada and other countries worldwide (source: Citing Articles in MLA Style).

Citing sources in MLA style

Source types	Patterns
Journal Article	[Author last name], [First name] [Middle initial]. "[Title of work]." [Periodical name] [Volume number].[Issue number] ([Published Year]): [Page number starts]. [Title of database]. Web. [Accessed day] [Month abbreviation] [Year].
Journal Article w/ No Author	"[Title of work]." [Periodical name] [Volume number].[Issue number] ([Published year]): [Page number starts]. [Title of database]. Web. [Accessed day] [Month abbreviation] [Year].
Online Magazine Article	[Author last name], [First name] [Middle initial]. "[Title of article]." [Title of magazine] [Published day] [Month abbreviation] [Year]: [Page number starts]-[ends] [Title of database]. Web. [Accessed day] [Month abbreviation] [Year].
Online Newspaper Article	[Author last name], [First name] [Middle initial]. "[Article title]." [Title of newspaper] [Published day] [Month abbreviation] [Year]: [Title of database]. Web. [Accessed day] [Month abbreviation] [Year].
Book	[Author last name], [First name] [Middle initial]. [Title of book]. [Place of publication]: [Publisher], [Publication year].
Image	"[Title of work]." [Copyright holder]. [Title of database]. Web. [Accessed day] [Month abbreviation] [Year].
Video / Audio	"[Title of work]." [Copyright holder]. [Title of database]. Web. [Accessed day] [Month abbreviation] [Year].
Podcast	"[Title of Podcast]." [Topic of podcast]. [Podcast relay day] [Month abbreviation] [Year]. [Accessed day] [Month abbreviation] [Year]. <[URL]>.
Conference Paper	[Author Last Name] [Author First Name]. “[Conference Paper Title].” [Conference Proceeding Title] – [Organization/Association Name] ([Conference Type] [Year]): [Conference Numbering Information]. [Database]. Web. [Date Month Year].
eBook	[Author Last Name], [Author First Name]. [EBook Title]. [Publication Location]: [Publisher], [Year]. [Ebook Host]. Web. [Date Month Year].
eBook chapter	[Author Last Name], [Author First Name]. “ [Chapter or Page Title].” [EBook Title]. [Publication Location]: [Publisher], [Year]. [Ebook Host]. Web. [Date Month Year].
Website	[Author Last Name, Author First Name or Organization Name]. [Website or Page Title]. ([Year]). Web. [Date Month Year].
Blog Post	[Author Last name], [Author First name]. "[Title of the Blog Post Entry]". [Blog Title]. [Publisher. Date posted]. [Web]. [Date Accessed].
YouTube	Title of the Video. Date of Publication of Video. Youtube. Web. Date Accessed.
Twitter	Last name, First name (Username). "Enter the tweet message here." Date posted, time viewed. Tweet.
FB post	Last name, First name. "Enter Facebook message here". Facebook. [Date accessed. <web address>]
Email	Last name, First name. "Subject of Message." Message to Receipient's Name. Date of Message. Email.

Source: Citing Articles in MLA Style, How to Cite Social Media in Scholarly Writing

Citation tool in online databases

Most of the online databases and Discovery Service offer easy to use citation tool.

From the Detailed Record page, you can see how the citation for that article should be formatted in a variety of popular citation formats, including MLA, APA, etc.

To view citation formats for an article:

Run a search on EBSCO and view a search result.

From the Detailed Record, click the Cite icon.

When you have decided which citation format you want for the article, copy and paste the citation directly into the Works Cited or References page of a document created in a word processing program such as Word.

How to use the cite feature in EBSCO?

Licensing

This contents of the Online IamInfoSMART may be reused with attribution. Please copy the following into new works based on the IamInfoSMART. The Online IamInfoSMART by the DLSU Libraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at guides.library.uwm.edu, Pot of Gold Information Literacy Tutorial, Tutorial for Info Power, UC Santa Cruz University Library.