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Education Research

Library resources curated for disciplines within the School of Education @ IU Bloomington

What Is Citation?

Citation involves properly crediting the authors of information sources used in a paper or presentation. Remember to cite not only text-based sources, but also images, video, and other media.

Different disciplines use certain citation styles. Use one of the style guides to the right for the citation guidelines you need.

Citing Sources

Always cite your sources. Follow these Quick Style Guides or the complete style manuals.

Quick Style Guides

Full Style Manuals

Most citation questions can be answered with the quick guides above. For more specific questions, refer to these full manuals, or consult a librarian.

MLA Citation Examples

In-Text Citations

Known Author: (Wordsworth 263)
Example: Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Unknown Author: ("Impact of Global Warming" 6)
Example: [T]his region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . ." ("Impact of Global Warming" 6).

 

Reference List

Electronic Journal Article
Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal 6.2 (2008): n. pag. Web. 20 May 2009.


Print Journal
Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 15.1 (1996): 41-50. Print.


Book
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

*Examples taken from the Purdue OWL MLA Guide 

Chicago Citation Examples

Footnote or Endnote

Books

Known Author:
William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom! (New York: Vintage Books, 1990), 271.
Unknown Author:
Economies of Signs & Space (London: Sage Publications, 1994), 241-51.

Electronic Journals

Known Author:
Henry E. Bent, “Professionalization of the Ph.D. Degree,” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 141, accessed December 5, 2008, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1978286.
Unknown Author:
“Professionalization of the Ph.D. Degree,” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 141, accessed December 5, 2008, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1978286.

Reference List

Electronic Journal Article

Bent, Henry E. "Professionalization of the Ph.D. Degree.” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 0-145. Accessed December 5, 2008. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1978286.

Print Journal

MacDonald, Susan Peck. “The Erasure of Language.” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 585-625.

Book

Danziger, Susan. Slicing up the Pie: Getting a Bigger Half. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.

*Examples from the Purdue Owl Chicago Guide 

Quoting vs. Paraphrasing

Many of your assignments require use of both direct quotes and paraphrases.
Both quotes and paraphrases must be cited. 


Direct quotes are word-for-word quotations.
Cite them with quotation marks and an in-text citation

   e.g., The Gettyburg Address opens "Four score and seven years ago" (Lincoln, 1863, p. #). 

Paraphrases restate someone else's ideas in your own words.
Cite with an in-text citation.

   e.g., The Gettysburg Address opens by looking to past decades (Lincoln, 1863, p. #). 

Citation Managers

Citation managers format references in the style you choose (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).

IU students have free access to several citation managers (i.e., "bibliographic software").

NOTE: Always check the accuracy of citations created through these tools. They can be very helpful, but may make mistakes.


Citation Managers at IU