Macdonald-Kelce Library: Introduction to Library Research: Citations

Why bother with Citations?

Academic Integrity
Plagiarism Avoidance
Source fact-checking and validation

Citation Managers do your citation automatically!

By installing a plugin into your browser and Microsoft Word, these Citation Managers can almost do all your citations for you. Be sure to ask for help if you have difficulties setting things up.

Refworks
Refworks is an online research management, writing and collaboration tool. It is designed to help researchers gather, manage, store and share all types of information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies (from the publisher's website). The Library subscribes to Refworks, so you can set up a free account through our website.
Mendeley
Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network. Make your own fully-searchable library in seconds, cite as you write, and read and annotate your PDFs on any device (from the publisher's website).
Zotero
Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources (from the publisher's website).

Useful Citation Websites

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue (OWL Purdue) - Excellent resource. In addition to their up-to-date versions of the most popular citation styles, they also host a number of helpful handouts dealing with writing and grammar.

APA (American Psychological Association) Formatting and Style Guide (OWL Purdue) - One of the most common formatting and citation styles in the social sciences.
ASA (American Sociological Association) Style Guide (OWL Purdue) - Citation, formatting, and style often used in sociology.
AP (Associated Press) Stylebook (OWL Purdue)- Used in journalism, and frequently the default for commercial writing.
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) (OWL Purdue) - Commonly used in history writing and research.
MLA Formatting and Style Guide (OWL Purdue) - Frequently used citation and style guide for the humanities and liberal arts.

CSE (Council of Science Editors) - Citation and style often used with the natural sciences. This quick citation guide provided by PennState University Libraries.

CitationMachine, EasyBib, BibMe, etc. - These online tools can be helpful, but it's always best to check your citations against the official models available at OWL Purdue, or the stylebooks available in the library (ask at the Circulation Desk).

Citation Style Manuals

AMA Manual of Style by Cheryl Iverson (Editor); Stacy Christiansen (Editor); Annette Flanagin (Editor); JAMA and Archives Journals Staff (Editor)
Call Number: Currently on Reserve at the Library Circulation Desk
ISBN: 978-0195176339
Publication Date: 2007-03-15
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition by Kate L. Turabian; Wayne C. Booth (Revised by); Gregory G. Colomb (Revised by); Joseph M. Williams (Revised by); Joseph Bizup (Revised by); William T. FitzGerald (Revised by); The University The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff (Revised by) When Kate L. Turabian first put her famous guidelines to paper, she could hardly have imagined the world in which today's students would be conducting research. Yet while the ways in which we research and compose papers may have changed, the fundamentals remain the same: writers need to have a strong research question, construct an evidence-based argument, cite their sources, and structure their work in a logical way. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations--also known as "Turabian"--remains one of the most popular books for writers because of its timeless focus on achieving these goals.
Call Number: LB2369 .T8 2018, REFERENCE
ISBN: 9780226430577
Publication Date: 2018-04-16
MLA Handbook by The Modern Language Association of America Relied on by generations of writers, the MLA Handbook is published by the Modern Language Association and is the only official, authorized book on MLA style. The new, ninth edition builds on the MLA's unique approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements--facts
Call Number: Available, LB2369 .M52 2021, Reserve Desk
ISBN: 9781603295628
Publication Date: 2021-05-20
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by American Psychological Association
Call Number: BF76.7 .P83, Reserve Desk
ISBN: 9781433832161
Publication Date: 2019-10-01

Online Style Manuals

These style manuals are available through the library's database collection.

AMA Manual of Style This link opens in a new window
This guide specifies the writing and citation styles used in journals published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
Chicago Manual of Style Online This link opens in a new window
Provides guidelines on style, usage, grammar, and citation format with examples. Both the 17th and 16th editions are accessible.