C I T A T I O N F O R M A T T I N G

Week 10-11 Key Concepts

Citation Styles

We will look at the MLA and APA styles in this course. We will focus on the MLA style, as it is usually the citation style students use in beginning courses, and the one used in most English courses.

The MLA style has changed! [summer 2016] MLA 8th edition: see here for information about the new style:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed., 2009). The version we will use for assignments and annotated bibliography.

Why Cite Sources?

The purpose of citing sources is to give credit to those whose ideas you use, or learn from, in writing a paper or conducting research.

Citing sources is a way to document the ideas from which your paper draws.

Why Cite Sources?

If you don't cite the source materials used in a paper, you are guilty of plagiarism.

To plagiarize is 'to steal and use [the ideas or writings of another] as one's own' American Heritage Dictionary.

Uses of Citations

In the professional world, citations are used: to illustrate the thinking where research originated

to document the sources contributing to research

It's important for other researchers in a field, to be able to build upon prior research

By knowing which sources you are using, they will be able to build upon your research

Citation Formats as Systematic

Good News: Citation formats are systems, that as you become increasingly familiar with, they become easier.

Bad -- well, not bad news, really! Citation formats are learned through practice. You learn them, by doing!

The more citations you complete, and complete correctly, the better you get. Citing is a skill that gets better with practice.

What is a citation format?

Formats are precise and consistent standards [arrangements of elements] for citations.

Often these originate from professional associations. Professional associations or groups have developed citation styles that are used in particular fields or areas:

MLA: Modern Language Association

APA: American Psychological Association

ASA: American Sociological Association

MLA Citation format

The MLA style, developed by the Modern Language Association, is used by many subjects in the Humanities.

The APA style is used by many social science areas, such as psychology.

See the following sources for the MLA format:

OWL - MLA Stylehttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

RHC Library Handout http://libguides.riohondo.edu/cat.php?cid=35665

The MLA also publishes a book length style guide, the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

This is available at any library, including RHC, where it is kept in Reference on the 2nd floor.

http://www.mla.org/store/CID24/PID159

APA Citation format

The APA style is used most often in social sciences and medicine.

See the following sources for the APA format:

APA Citation Format sheet

List-Handley, p. 143

OWL - APA Stylehttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/

RHC Library Handouthttp://libguides.riohondo.edu/cat.php?cid=76765

The Make-Up of Citations

Citation formatting can be frustrating for the beginning student.

However, citation formats share elements in common.

This can make formatting easier once this is realized.

The universal elements of citation formats are: Author (not always identified)

title

publishing information

date

MLA Citations

Books

Basic Citation parts:

• Author

• Title

• Publisher

• Publisher (place)

• Date

• Format

Date

Format

Publisher (place)

MLA Citations

Journals and Magazines –

For periodicals:

Periodical title provides publisher information

Author

Title

Publisher/Source

Date (also publishing info volume.number)

Format (here, print format)

MLA Citations

Periodical from Database

Identify database for articles from a database

Here, article is from

Academic Search Premier

Author Title

Database

Format (here, web format)

Publisher/Source

MLA Citations

Websites

Include

• Website title

• Publisher or responsible party

2008

Website Publisher/Org

Why can’t I copy and paste citations from source?

Can't I just take citations from the source?

I copied and pasted citations from ProQuest for some of the assignments we’ve had, or book records from Sirsi.

Why can’t I just use these from the sources, in my papers? After all, it includes all the information about the sources.

Answer: Book catalogues feature records

Papers and Projects require citations

Book records include: Additional information not needed for citations

Different nonstandard formats in each catalogue

For example, here is a record from our RHC online catalogue:

Record from Online Catalogue

This information cannot be copied, just as it is, and placed in a works cited list

It is not formatted

Includes unnecessary information; i.e. ISBN no.

We must reformat and place the information within the format of the citation style (MLA, APA or other) we are using.

MLA Style format for books:

Formats for Specific Types of Citations (books, articles, websites).

In this course, we will have as a goal to learn the three standard types of citation formats. These include:

Books

Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals)

Websites

Variations in Formats

A common variation includes articles from the Web (instead of print or from a subscription database) or portions of a website (a section or part)

MLA Citations

Article or section from website

Incorrect way to cite:

As Website

Correct way to cite:

Section or portion, with website title as source

Organization:

National Science Foundation

Website Title:

Global Climate Change Research Explorer

Website Title (not URL)

Organization

Automatic Bibliography Formatting:

Most online databases offer some type of automatic formatting for citing sources you find them in (p. 138, text).

Example from Academic Search Premier

Click Add to Folder

Example from ASP

You'll see a screen to go to folder:Go to Folder

Example from ASP

Email Screen in ASP

Fill in with your email address

Fill in email address

Choose MLA citation format

Citation formatting within article

You can also format citations within articles:

BEWARE of formatting by databases.

You usually cannot take these as they are formatted.

You must check and correct the format.