Citation helpers
If you want to keep track of your references as you are finding them, and if you use Mozilla Firefox, try Zotero. It's a free Mozilla add-on that makes it easy to save and correctly format your article citations as you find your sources, whether in library databses or on the general web.
In addition, you may want to try a citation generator such as KnightCite, this one from Griffith, or Referencite -- but they're not always perfect, so check with a style guide too.
Ready resources: Style guides in print
MLA Handbook by
"The ninth edition of the MLA Handbook is a textbook and reference guide that offers student writers and writing instructors guidance on creating works-cited-list entries in MLA style using the template of core elements. It features advice on punctuation, grammar, inclusive language, formatting research papers, and in-text citations. Includes an appendix of sample works-cited-list entries, illustrations, and an index"--
Call Number: LB2369 .G53 2016ISBN: 9781603293518Publication Date: 2021-04-06
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by Call Number: BF76.7 .P83 2020ISBN: 9781433832154Publication Date: 2019-10-01The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style. The seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing.
Check out these books at Chambers for the ultimate reference to the different citation styles. If you prefer, check out these UCO handouts summarizing each style:
Why should I cite?
There are some very practical reasons for citing your sources:
- Use your citations to keep track of your own research process
- Enable other researchers to corroborate and verify your sources
- Scholarly ethics: Give credit where credit is due! Provide clear citations to acknowledge the work of your peers, and they will do the same for your work
- Enable more exact citation analysis. (Some databases, like Web of Knowledge, allow you to select a topic, author, article, etc. and then see how many other authors have cited that person/article)
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Isaac Newton in a letter to Robert Hooke, 5 February 1676
