Citations

When you research a topic you may use information from articles, books, or the Web to support your ideas. However, you must credit the original authors of these sources by citing them. To cite means that you state where you found the information so that others can find the exact item again. In this way you build upon the ideas and knowledge of other people.

Citations explained

Researching & citing best practices

• Take clear, accurate notes about where you found specific ideas.
• Write down the complete citation information for each item you use.
• Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words.
• Always credit original authors for their information and ideas.

Parts of a citation
As you do your research, keep a list of your sources--books, articles, and the internet. Below is the type of information you need to write down from a citation with each of its important parts labeled:

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Reviewed 1/23/2013 by Ammie Harrison.

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Citation manuals

Different subjects use different styles or formats for citations. If you are uncertain about which style to use, ask your professor. Each style includes the same basic parts of a citation but may organize the information slightly differently.

Some commonly used writing style guides

• The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).
  • The APA style is often used by students in the social sciences and health sciences.
  • Information Commons, IC Help Desk, Call No: BF76.7 .P83 2010 Four Hour Loan
• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
  • The MLA (Modern Language Association) style, is often used by students in languages and literatures, including English.
  • Information Commons, IC Help Desk, Call No: LB2369 .G53 2009 Four Hour Loan 
• A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations : Chicago Style for Students and Researchers.
  • This commonly-used style by Kate Turabian is a student version of a longer guide, The Chicago Manual of Style.
  • Information Commons, IC Help Desk, Call No: LB2369 .T8 2007 Four Hour Loan
• The Chicago Manual of Style
  • Information Commons, IC Help Desk, Call No: Z253 .U69 2010 Four Hour Loan

The style guides listed above are available at the Information Commons Desk on the main floor of the TCU Library.

Online style guides

All style manuals
APA style
Chicago/Turabian style
Turabian in a nutshell
MLA formatting and style guide
MLA documentation (from the TCU Center for Writing)
Citing government information sources (in MLA style)

More style help

When to cite - "Oops, I plagiarized"
Research & documentation online (APA, Chicago, MLA)
RefWorks (personal online bibliography creator)

 

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Reviewed 1/23/2013 by Ammie Harrison.

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Citation lookup

Find a journal or book by title

1. The TCU Library Catalog link is located on the library website under Research and Tools.
2. In the drop-down menu next to the search box, select Journal name begins with...(skip a/an/the) for periodicals or Title begins with...(skip a/an/the) for books.
3. In the search box, type the title.
   • Punctuation and capitalization are not necessary.
4. Click on Go.
5. Click on the Full View of Record link for the title you need.
6. Often the journal issue or book that you want may be available electronically. If the item you want is not full text online but is available in our print collection, write down the journal or book location and call number.
   • Write down the complete call number. You will need all this information to find the book on the shelf.
   • Be sure to click the Location link to see a map of where the item is shelved.
7. Retrieve the journal or book.
   • If you need help locating where your book is shelved, ask for help at the TCU Library IC Reference Desk on the main floor.

Questions? Ask a Librarian!

 

 

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Reviewed 1/23/2013 by Ammie Harrison.

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RefWorks

The TCU Library subscribes to RefWorks, which is software to manage footnotes, endnotes, citations, bibliographies, and works cited lists for papers. This online research management tool allows users to create personal databases of references and citations and use them for a variety of research activities. References are quickly and easily imported from text files or online databases. The databases can then be used to manage, store, and share the information. Users can automatically insert references from their database into their papers and generate formatted bibliographies and manuscripts in seconds.

Note: Always double check citations created by RefWorks. It can make mistakes and/or omit information.

Login to RefWorks and/or create your Refworks account

Use TCU's Subscriber Group Code to set up your account the first time you use it. The code is also needed for off-campus access to RefWorks.

Frequently asked questions (a RefWorks site)

RefWorks tutorial (a RefWorks site)

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Reviewed 1/23/2013 by Ammie Harrison.