Sources and Citation

Two Methods

Choosing a method

• Depends on your audience

• Depends on the subject matter

• Gives readers an opportunity to consider your interpretation

• Creates a history of your reasoning process.

The Two Methods…of many.

• There are many methodologies for source citation.

• Many are derivative

• First principles– Use the method requested by your

employer or professor– Do not create your own citation method

unless you get grant money to do it

The Standards

• MLA– Applies to the

preparation of scholarly papers and student research papers.

– Is generally used in liberal arts programs

– 125 scholarly journals require MLA source citation.

– Applies to the mechanics of writing as well

– More info: www.mla.org

• APA– The standard in social and

behavioral studies– Is the required standard of

the American Psychological Association

– Is used by science researchers in general

– Follows the Chicago Manual of Style as a general rule - if APA doesn’t define it the author uses CMS

– More info: www.apastyle.org

Getting started…

• For the purposes of this course you can chose a style appropriate to your career or academic pursuit.

• While both styles deal broadly with standards of language we will only concern ourselves with the citation process.

• A good investment

APA Citation Style Primer

For the three basic citation elements go to:

http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html#8

This displays the journal article, book, and book chapter citations

APA Citation Style Primer

Electronic citations, or references to works obtained from the Internet follow this guideline at the APA website:

http://www.apastyle.org/elecmedia.html

This reference is too long to reproduce here, however it emphasizes the differences between types of electronic citation methods.

APA Citation Style Primer• Questions you will need to answer for electronic

citation– Who is the author– What is the URL– Is the content original or does it build on previous citations

• The citation should, at least, indicate the title or content description, the date retrieved, and a direct URL– Avoid general URLs where possible, instead directing your

reader immediately to the source, even if that URL is long and cumbersome

MLA Citation Style Primer

• For quick answers to your citation questions go to:– http://www.mla.org/publications/style_faq

• An excellent online resource for MLA (and APA) style guidelines is at:– http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cit

e5.html

MLA Citation Style Primer

• Citing online information in MLA style requires you to answer the same questions you faced using APA.

• There are many different online references

• If you can’t find the correct citation, base your method on standard MLA style.

Where do your citations go?• MLA

– Use citation numbers in text, i.e. citation(1)

– Quotes are handled with the author’s name and page number (Pauly 123)

– The most common, and easiest method is to list your citations in an Endnotes, however footnotes at the bottom of the page are acceptable.

– The Works Cited page provides the bibliographic information

• APA– The “Reference Page”

lists all material used in paper.

– Quotes begin; Author (year)……and end with the page (p.11)

– Footnotes usually expand on cited material or provide depth to a particular element in the paper.

Electronic Citation – A Caution

• Electronic resources, unlike their printed forebears, have a habit of moving or disappearing.

• Print any electronic materials as a backup. Don’t simply depend on the URL.

• Retain the copy for your records, do not include with a paper.

Presentations

• These styles typically apply only to research papers and essays.

• Should you be called on to give a presentation, don’t feel you must dogmatically follow the style guides.

• Quick references to cited materials in the PowerPoint and a “More Information” slide at the end should suffice.

Finally…

• There are a large number of helpful resources– http://owl.english.purdue.edu is one of the better

ones. For an extended PowerPoint presentation on both APA and MLA styles go to: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/index.html#research

– Buy the manual. It will be a valuable resource.