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Many styles and forms are used to cite sources in documenting research.
Most college and universities have a standardized form for their students.
Three of the most widely used styles of citation are the following:
Modern
Language Association (MLA)
American
Psychological Association (APA)
Turabian
Whichever style you choose, accuracy, clarity and consistency are the
most important factors when citing information sources. Unfortunately,
guidelines for citing electronic sources are not yet standardized. The
Internet and other information sources are constantly changing, and therefore
citation formats are adapting to these changes.
Modern
Language Association Style
The Modern Language Association (MLA) has developed standardized
ways of citing sources used for research. Also, the MLA has set guidelines
for citing electronic sources. The listing of sources at the conclusion
of the text is called Works Cited.
Basic citation format:
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of work." Article's
original source and publication date, page numbers. Product name.
Publisher. Date researcher visited site. <Electronic Address, or URL,
of the source>.
For example: Bowman, Darcia Harris. "Experts Ponder Sept. 11 Effect on School Violence."
Education Week Vol. 21 Issue 41, 06/19/2002, 1. Available from
Academic Search Premier [database on-line]. Accessed 28 August 2002.
<http://search.ebscohost.com>.
Instead of using footnotes or endnotes, the author's last name and a
shortened version of the title are placed in parentheses within the body
of the text.
For example: (Bowman, 1).
Shown above are basic examples of the MLA style. For further information
on electronic reference formats recommended by the Modern Language Association,
refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
(Fifth Edition). Copies are available at the Randolph C. Watson Library.
You may also see MLA Style available at http://www.mla.org/.
Remember to always consult your library resources for the exact formatting
and punctuation guidelines. The library staff at the Randolph C. Watson
Library are always glad to assist you. Databases and other information
can be accessed through the library's website http://kcfac.kilgore.edu/library.
You may wish to consult "help" on the EBSCO and other databases.
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American
Psychological Association Style
The American Psychological Association (APA) also has created
standardized ways for citing sources in research. Guidelines have been
formulated for citing electronic sources. Parenthetical citations are
used in the APA method instead of endnotes or footnotes.
Basic reference format:
Author (date of original source). Article title. Original source of
article, page numbers. (Retrieved [month, day, year] from [source]
database [name of database], [item no.- if applicable]) on the World Wide
Web: Electronic Address, or URL, of the source.
For example:
Bowman, Darcia Harris (2002) Experts Ponder Sept. 11 Effect on School
Violence. Education Week, 21(41), 1 +. Retrieved August 28, 2002
from EBSCOhost database (Academic Search Premier) on the World Wide Web:
http://search.ebscohost.com.
The author's last name and the publication year (original source/date
of visit to site) are placed in parentheses within the body of the text
in APA style instead of using footnote or endnote.
For example: (Bowman, 2002)
The examples shown above are basic examples from the APA style. For further
information, refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (Fifth edition). This book is available on reserve in
the Randolph C. Watson Library. For more information on electronic reference
formats which the American Psychological Association recommends, see http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html.
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Turabian
Style
Kate L. Turabian developed a system of writing term papers, theses and
dissertations. A bibliography is the list of sources at the end of the
text. Footnotes are at the end of a page.
Basic bibliography entry format:
Author. "Article title." Original source of article,
date of original source, page numbers. Product the article is available
on; URL of specific article (Location of site publisher, publisher, date
of visit to site).
For example:
Bowman, Darcia Harris. "Experts Ponder Sept. 11 Effect on School Violence",
Education Week Vol. 21 Issue 41, 06/19/2002, 1. Available from Academic
Search Premier [database on-line]; http://search.ebscohost.com (Boston,MA:
EBSCO Publishing, accessed 28 August 2002).
Basic footnote format:
Number of
footnote, Author, "Article title," Original source of article,
date of original source, page numbers, product the article is available
on; URL of specific article (Location of site publisher, date of visit
to site).
For example:
1
Darcia Harris Bowman, "Experts Ponder Sept. 11 Effect on School Violence"
Education Week, Vol. 21 Issue 41 06/19/2002, 1, available from
Academic Search Premier [database on-line]; http://search.ebscohost.com
(Boston, MA: EBSCO Publishing, accessed 28 August 2002).
The above examples are basic examples of the Turabian style. For further
information on recommended formats, refer to A Manual for Writers of
Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, (Sixth edition).
Be sure to consult the library staff at the Randolph C. Watson Library.
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