UCB Libraries

Cite, follow citation styles, and manage citations

Guidelines for Citing Sources

 

As writers and scholars, you have a responsibility to use information legally and ethically. As CU students, you are bound by the CU Honor Code which prohibits and penalizes plagiarism.

 

PLAGIARISM: portrayal of the work of another as one's own.

 

To use information legally and ethically, you need to cite any information not originally created by you:

• Quotations
• Key terms or phrases
• Ideas
• Facts not broadly known
• Images and Sounds

There are a variety of style guides and manuals available in the libraries, including those listed below:

 

• American Anthropological Association
• American Chemistry Society Style Guide
• American Institute of Physics
• American Psychological Association
• American Sociological Association
• Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual
• Chicago Manual of Style
• Council of Biology Editors Style
• Council of Science Editors Style
• Modern Language Association
• Turabian

This guide provides examples of MLA, APA, and Chicago citation styles. It also provides information about citation management tools and additional help resources.

You may use the tabs to navigate through resources or click on the links below.

 

MLA | APA | Chicago

Citation Management | Help

Modern Language Association

The MLA Style is most often used in the Humanities. Below you will find some citation examples and links to online resources. For complete guidelines, consult the MLA Handbook:

 

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7th edition, New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009.  Call number: LB2369 .G53 2009

 

NOTE: Due to formatting issues, these examples do not display the 5 space hanging indent for subsequent lines of citations. When drafting your citations, indent the second and subsequent lines of citations five spaces to create a hanging indent.

BOOKS

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Book with One Author

Author's last name, First name and Initial. Title in italics. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Medium of publication.

 

Example:

Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. New York: Harmony Books, 1980. Print.

Book with More Than One Author

Last name, First name of first author, and First name Last name of subsequent authors. Title in italics. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.  Medium of publication.

 

Example :

Riggsby, Andrew, and Sarah Swenson. Caesar in Gaul and Rome.  Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006. Print.

Book with No Author

Title of Book in italics. Place of publication: Publisher, Year. Medium of publication.

 

Example:

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 2005. Print.

Article from a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)

“Entry.” Title in italics. Edition number. Year. Medium of publication.

 

Example:

“Gallic Wars.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 14th ed.  1929. Print.

 

Note: Do not include publisher information or page number. 

 

More MLA cited books: OWL at Purdue

PRINT PERIODICALS

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Article in a Scholarly Journal, One Author

Author Last name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume. Issue (Year): pages. Medium of publication.

 

Example:

Lanau, Kate. “Monster Season is Upon Us.” Journal of Literary Biography 123. 22 (2010): 45-50. Print.

 

Note: Do not include publisher information or page number. 

Article in a Magazine

Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages. Medium of publication.

 

Example:

Smith, Sam. “Why Tell This Story At All?.” Skeptic Magazine June 1, 2009: p. 80. Print.

Article in a Newspaper

Author’s last name, First name. “Title.” Publication Name Day Month Year: pages. Medium of Publication.

 

Example:

Migoya, David. “Chairlift Incidents are Rare in Colorado”. The Denver Post 28 December 2010 late ed.: A1. Print.

 

Note: If there is more than one edition available for the date (as in an early and late edition of the paper), identify the issue following the date (e.g. 24 March 1982, Late ed.). 

 

More MLA cited periodicals: OWL at Purdue

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

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Please note: MLA no longer requires the use of URLs in citations.  Because web addresses are always in flux and documents can be found in many locations, MLA believes most readers can find the cited sources via an author search in Internet Search Engines.

 

Entire Website

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available).  Name of Site.  Version. Name of institution/ organization affiliated with the site, date of resource creation (if available).  Medium of publication.  Date of access.

 

Example:

The University Libraries. University of Colorado Boulder Libraries. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.

Page on a Website

"Title of Article/Page.” Website title. Publisher, date of publication. Medium of Publication. Date of access.

 

Example:

“How do I use Refworks.” University of Colorado Boulder Libraries. UCB Libraries, 9 October 2010. Web.  30 Nov. 2010.

 

Note: Use n.d. if no publishing date is given.

Article in an Online Scholarly Journal Online Only

Author last name, First name.  “Article Title.”  Online Journal Publication Title Volume number. Issue Number (Year) : pages  Web.  Date Month Year.

 

Example:

Pan, Denise, and Yem Fong. “Return on Investment for Collaborative Collection Development: A Cost-Benefit of Consortia Purchasing." Collaborative Librarianship 2.1 (2010): 183-192. Web. 10 February 2011.

 

Note: If the journal appears only in online format use n. pag. to denote that there is no pagination for this publication.

Article in an Online Scholarly Journal (also available in print)

Author last name, First name.  “Article Title.”  Journal Title  Volume number.Issue Number (Year):  Page numbers. Medium of Publication used. Day Month Year.

 

Example:

Smith, Mark. “Disease Outbreak in Confined Monkeys.” Zoology Monthly 6.2 (2001): 500-546. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.

Article from an Online Database

Author Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Journal Name  Volume Number.Issue Number (year) : Page Numbers. Title of Database. Medium of Publication.  Day Month Year.

 

Example:

Sonder, Clara. “Love in Medieval English Literature."

Historical Literature Journal 50.4 (2008): 145-187. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.

 

 

MORE ONLINE GUIDES

click here to view

• Purdue OWL site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
• Research and documentation in the electronic age: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch08_s1-0001.html

American Psychological Association, APA

The APA Style is most often used in the social sciences. Below you will find some citation examples and links to online resources. For complete guidelines, consult the APA Handbook:

 

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th edition, Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, 2010. Call number: BF76.7 .P83 2010

NOTE: Due to formatting issues, these examples do not display the 5 space hanging indent for subsequent lines of citations. When drafting your citations, indent the second and subsequent lines of citations five spaces to create a hanging indent

 

BOOKS

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Book with one author

Author Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of work only first word capitalized: Capital also for subtitle. Place of publication: Publisher.

 

Example:

Adams, D. (1980). The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy. New York, NY: Harmony Books.

Book, with an author and editor

Author Last Name, First Name Initial. (Date of Publication). Title: Subtitle.  Editor First Name Inital Last Name, (Ed). Place of publication: Publisher.

 

Example:

Cook, J.R.  (2006). British science fiction television: A hitchhiker’s guide. P. Wright, (Ed). London, UK: I.B. Tauris.

Edited Book, no author

Editor Last Name, First Name Initial.  (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work. Publication location: Publisher.

 

Example:

Tan, L.W.H., & Subramamian, R. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of research on literacy in technology at the K-12 level. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Reference.

Article or chapter in an edited book

Author Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In Editor First Name Initial and Last Name (Ed.), Title of book (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.

 

Example:

Franks, S. (2010). Depositories of knowledge: Library instruction and the development of critical consciousness. In M.T. Accardi, E. Drabinski& A. Kumbiar (Eds.), Critical library instruction: Theories and methods (pp. 30-35). Duluth, MN: Library Juice Press.

 

PRINT PERIODICALS

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Journal Article in print form, journal paginated by issue

Author Last Name, Author First Name Initial. (Year of publication). Title of the article. Journal Title, volume number (issue number), page numbers.

 

Example:

Wang, L. (2007). Sociocultural learning theories and information literacy teaching activities in higher education. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 47(2), 149-158.

Journal article in Journal Paginated by Volume

Author last name, First Name Inital (year of publication). Article Title. Journal Title, Volume number, Page Numbers.

 

Example:

Hansen, J. (1994). The fundamentals of preparing children for school. Journal of Education, 55, 765-777.

Article in a Magazine

Author Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year, Month Date if available).  Article title. Publication Title, Issue Number, page number.

 

Example:

Park, A. (2011,  January 1). 5 new rules for good health. Time, 69, 33-40.

Article in a Newspaper

Author Last Name, First Name Initial. (year, Month Date).  Article title. Publication Title, pp. page numbers.

 

Example:

Anas, B. (2010, December 28). Study: College students lie on faculty evaluations. The Daily Camera, pp. 1A, 2A.

 

Note: Unlike other periodicals, p. or pp. precedes the page numbers for a newspaper. Single pages use p. and multiple pages use pp.   

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

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Article from an Online Periodical

Author Last Name, Author First Name Initial.(Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical, volume number (issue if available). Retrieved from

http://www.internetaddress.com/full/url/

 

Example:

Pan, D. & Y. Fong (2010). Return on investment for collaborative collection development: A cost-benefit of consortia purchasing. Collaborative Librarianship, 2 (1). Retrieved from 

http://www.collaborativelibrarianship.org/

Online Scholarly Article with DOI Assigned

Author Last Name, Author First Name Initial. (Date of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number, page range. doi: 0000000/0000000000

 

Example:

Ottestad, G. (2010). Innovative pedagogical practice with ICT in three Norwegian countries- Differences and similarities. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26 (6), 478-491. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00376.x

 

Note:Because online materials can potentially change URLs, APA recommends providing a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), when it is available, as opposed to the URL. DOIs are an attempt to provide stable, long-lasting links for online articles.

Article from a Database

Author Last Name, First Name Initial. (Date of publication). Title of Article. Title of Journal, volume number.  Retrieved from

http://journalhomepage.com/full/url

 

Example:

Rader, H.B. (2002). Information literacy1973-2002: A selected literature review. Library Trends, 51 (2). Retrieved

from http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/8464/

Article from an Online Database

Author Last Name, First Name Initial. (Year). Article title. Journal Title, Volume number (issue if available),  Page numbers.

 

Example:

Rubin, L. B. (2007). Sand castles and snake pits. Dissent, 54 (4), 51-56.

 

Note:APA states that including database information is not necessary because databases change over time.

Online Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Entry name. (publication date). In Title of Reference Work online. Retrieved from

http://titleofonlineencylopedia.com/topic/765432/entryname

 

Example:

Horses. (n.d.) In Encyclopaedia Britannica online. Retrieved from

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76528/horse

Online Newspaper Article

Author Last Name, First Name Initial.(Year, Month Day). Title of article.  Title of Newspaper.  Retrieved from

http://www.somenewspaper.com/full/url

 

Example:

Smith, J. (2007, May 3).  Doctors recommend you take vitamins. The New York Times. Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/doctorsreccomend/1001

MORE ONLINE GUIDES

click here to view examples

• Purdue OWL site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/
• Research and documentation in the electronic age: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch09_o.html
• APA Style Site: http://www.apastyle.org/

 

Chicago Manual of Style

Below you will find some citation examples and links to online resources. For complete guidelines, consult the Chicago Manual of Style:

BOOKS

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Footnote or Endnote (N): First Name Last Name, Title of Book  (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page number.

Corresponding Bibliographical Entry (B): Last name, First name.  Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of publication.

 

 

Books

N: 1.  First Name Last Name, Title of Book  (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page number.   

 

Example:

1.  Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless (New York:  Harmony Books, 1992), 108.

 

B: Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication:  Publisher, Year of publication.

 

Example:

Adams, Douglas. Mostly Harmless. New York:  Harmony Books, 1992.

Book by Multiple Authors

N: 1.  First Name Last Name and First Name Last name, Title of Book  (Place of Publication, Publisher, year),  page numbers.

 

Example:

1.  Joanne Berry and Philip Matyszak, Lives of the Romans (London, Thames & Hudson, 2008), 50-55.

 

B: Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name.  Title of Book.  Place of Publication:  Publisher,  year.

 

Example:

Berry, Joanne and Philip Matyszak. Lives of the Romans. London: Thames & Hudson, 1992.

Translated Work with One Author

N:  1.  First Name Last Name, Title of Book, trans.  First Name Last Name (Place of Publication:  Publisher,  year), page number.

  

Example:

1. Marcel Le Glay, A History of Rome, trans.  Antonia Nevill  (Massachusetts:  Wiley-Blackwell,  2009), 30-32.

 

B: Last Name, First Name.  Title of Book.  Translated by First Name Last Name.  Place of Publication:  Publisher,  year.

 

Example:

Le Glay, Marcel. A History of Rome. Translated by Antonia Nevill. Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

Book with Author and Editor

N: 1.  First Name Last Name,  Title of Book,  ed.  First Name Last Name  (Place of Publication:  Publisher,  year),  page number.

  

Example:

1.  William Bowden, Roman Europe,  ed. Edward Bispham (Oxford:  Oxford University Press,  2008), 10.

 

B:  Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Edited by First Name Last Name. Place of Publication:  Publisher,  year.

 

Example:

Bowden, William. Roman Europe. Edited by Edward Wispham. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

PERIODICALS

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Journals

N: 1. Author First Name Last Name, “Title of Article,” Journal Title Volume number, Issue, number (year of publication): page number of citation only.

 

Example:

1. John F. Hock, “The Language of the East,” Asian Studies Journal 58, no. 4 (2006): 517.

 

B: Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Journal Title Volume number, Issue, Number (Year of publication): Page numbers of entire article.

 

Example:

Hock, John F. “The Language of the East.” Asian Studies Journal 58, no. 4 (2006): 500-545.

Online Journals

N: 1. Author First Name Last Name, “Article Title,” Journal Title, Volume number, Issue number (year of publication), URL or DOI.

 

Example:

1. Stanley Weintraub, “Marie Corelli’s Satan and Don Juan in Hell,” English Literature in Translation 54, no. 2 (2011): 165, accessed December 28, 2010,

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&

AN=55527050&site=ehost-live.

 

B: Author Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume number, Issue number(year of publication): Page numbers of entire article. accessed Month date, year. http://journalwebsite.org.

 

Example:

Weintraub, Stanley. “Marie Corelli’s Satan and Don Juan in Hell.” English Literature in Translation 54, no. 2 (2011): 165-173 accessed December 28, 2010.

 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&

AN=55527050&site=ehost-live.

Note: The entries include the DOI or URL but DOIs are preferred. The date accessed may be included but is not required by Chicago in citations of formally published electronic sources. 

Magazines

N: 1.  Author First Name Last Name, “Article Title,” Magazine Title, Publication Month year, page.

 

Example:

1. Jenny Lacey,“Being Modern,” The Sun, February 2009, 35.

 

B: Author Last Name, First Name.  “Article Title.”  Magazine Title,  Publication Month year.

 

Example:

Lacey, Jenny. “Being Modern.” The Sun, February 2006.

Online Magazines

N: 1. Author First Name Last Name, “Article Title,” Online Magazine Title, Publication Month date, year,  http://www.magazine.com

 

Example:

1. Simon Doonan, "The State of Fashion Today," Slate, November 4, 2010, http://www.slate.com/id/2202431/.

 

B: Author Last Name, First Name.  “Article Title.”  Online Magazine Title,  Publication Month date, year.  http://www.magazine.com

 

Example:

Doonan, Simon. "The State of Fashion Today." Slate, Novemeber 4, 2010. http://www.slate.com/id/2202431/.

Newspapers

N: 1.  Author First Name Last Name, “Article Title,”  Newspaper Title (City, State), Abbreviated Month date, year.

 

Example:

1. Tom McGhee, “Snow Trips Some DIA Travelers,” Daily Camera (Boulder, CO), Dec. 28, 2010.

 

B: Author Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Newpaper Title (City, State), Abbreviated Month date, year.

 

Example:

McGhee, Tom. “Snow Trips Some DIA Travelers.” Daily Camera (Boulder, CO), Dec. 28, 2010.

 

 

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

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Webpage with Known Author and Date

N: 1. First Name Last Name, “Title of Web Article,” Publishing Organization or Name of Web Site in Italics, publication date and access date if available, URL.   

 

Example:

1. Phil Plait, “The ISS Sails Above the Waves,” Bad Astronomy, last modified December 29, 2010.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/

2010/12/29/the-iss-sails-above-the-waves/

 

B: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Web Article.” Publishing Organization or Name of Web Site in Italics.Publication date and/or access date if available. URL.

 

Example:

Plait, Phil. “The ISS Sails Above the Waves.”  Bad Astronomy. Last modified December 29, 2010. 

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/29/

the-iss-sails-above-the-waves/.

Webpage with Known Date but without Known Author

N: 1. “Title of Web Article,” Publishing Organization or Name of Web Site, Publication date and/or access date if available, URL. 

 

Example:

“Injuries Reported in Explosion in Michigan,”  CNN.com,  last modified December 29, 2010, 

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/29/

injuries-reported-in-explosion-in-michigan/?hpt=T2.

 

B: Title of Web Article. Publishing Organization or Name of Web Site.  Publication date and/or access date if available. URL

 

Example:

Injuries Reported in Explosion in Michigan. CNN.com. Last modified December 29, 2010. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/29/

injuries-reported-in-explosion-in-michigan/?hpt=T2.

Webpage with Unknown Author and Date

N: 1. “Page Title,” Publishing Organization or Name of Web Site,  access Month date, year, URL.   

 

Example:

1.  “The Latin Alphabet,” Omniglot, accessed December 28, 2010,  http://www.omniglot.com/writing/latin.htm#alatin.

 

B: “Page Title.”  Publishing Organization or Name of Web Site. Access Month date, year. URL.

 

Example:

“The Latin Alphabet.” Omniglot. Accessed December 28, 2010. http://www.omniglot.com/writing/latin.htm#alatin.

 

MORE ONLINE GUIDES

click here to view examples

• Chicago Manual of Style Online: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
• Purdue OWL Site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/
• Research and documentation in the electronic age: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch10_o.html

Citation Management Tools:

Looking for a way to organize and collect citations?

There are number of citation management tools available to you.

 

Which Citation Manager is right for you? Compare features and benefits at:

http://library.wisc.edu/citation-managers/comparison.html  (from The University of Wisconsin at Madison).

 

Zotero- Zotero is a free research tool that helps you gather and organize sources, including: citations, full texts, web pages, images, and other objects. Zotero allows you to share the results of your research in a variety of ways. http://www.zotero.org/

+ CLICK HERE FOR ZOTERO RESOURCES AND HELP

• Zotero- Steve Bailey CU Arts and Humanities, Academic Technology Advisor http://academictechnology.colorado.edu/humanities/tutorials/zotero/
• Zotero Videos http://www.zotero.org/support/screencast_tutorials
• Using Zotero with Engineering Village Tutorial
  http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/engineering/flash/zotero_ev/index.html
• Zotero standalone beta

Refworks – RefWorks is a web-based tool that allows you to collect, organize and store citations and create bibliographies (in hundreds of different citation styles) in seconds. Campus-wide access to RefWorks is provided by the University Libraries. http://www.refworks.com/

+ CLICK HERE FOR REFWORKS RESOURCES AND HELP

• How Do I Refworks page? http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/how/refworks.htm
• Refworks quick start guide- http://www.refworks.com/content/quick_start_guide.asp
• Database specific export:
  • Full List
  • How to Export Citations from Engineering Village into RefWorks- from the CU Engineeering Library
  • How to Export Citations from the Aerospace and High Technology database into RefWorks- from the CU Engineeering Library
  • How to Export Citations from the ASCE Research Library into RefWorks- from the CU Engineeering Library

 

Endnote- Endnote is a desk and web-based tool for managing and citing references. Endnote organizes your research, generates bibliographies, and provides an online collaborative environment. http://www.endnote.com/.

+ CLICK HERE FOR ENDNOTE RESOURCES AND HELP

• More about Endnote at CU.
• Endnote support services.

 

 

Mendeley- Mendeley is a free reference manager for organizing your research, including citations, PDFs and more. Mendeley also has an online crowd sourced research database allowing you to discover new research and collaborators. http://www.mendeley.com

+ CLICK HERE FOR MENDELEY RESOURCES AND HELP

Content

 

Papers- Papers is a desktop/mobile reference management software for Mac OS X and Windows that can be used to manage PDFs, bibliographies and citations while writing. Student discounts available. http://www.mekentosj.com/papers/

+ CLICK HERE FOR PAPERS RESOURCES AND HELP

Support
Knowledge Base

 

CU does not have a proxy for connecting to databases. When you are off campus, please use the VPN in order to connect to our resources.

 

Still have questions?

• CU Writing Center- http://www.colorado.edu/pwr/writingcenter.html
• OWL at Purdue- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
• Research and Documentation Online- http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/
• KnightCite:   automatic citation generator: http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/