Citations are found in bibliographies and indexes, usually from one of the library's databases. A citation identifies a book, periodical article, or other information resource. A citation will include the basic pieces of information necessary to allow you to find the article. That same information is used to create the list of references, or bibliography you will put in your research paper. Your instructor can then use the citations in the bibliography of your paper to identify and locate those same articles.
A single citation is sometimes called a "reference." A list of citations is generally known as a "bibliography," although sometimes the list is called simply a "list of references."
Citation Elements for a BOOK |
Citation Elements for a Periodical Article |
| Author (ex.- Hemingway, Ernest) | Author (ex. - Durham, Carolyn A.) |
| Title (ex. - The Sun Also Rises) | Title of the Article (ex. - Modernism and mystery: the curious case of the lost generation) |
| Place of Publication (ex. - New York) | Title of the Periodical (ex. - Twentieth Century Literature) |
| Publisher (ex. - Scribner) | Volume number (ex. - Vol. 49 Issue 1 |
| Date published (ex. - 1932) | Pages (ex. - p. 82-103) |
| Date (ex. - Spring 2003) | |
| When you place citations in
your research paper, they must be written in a correct format by following
the Style Manual of a particular discipline. The two most used citation
styles at Victoria College and the University of Houston-Victoria
are the APA (American Psychological Association) style and the MLA
(Modern Language Association) style. Be sure to follow the style manual
recommended by your instructor. See the Study
Guide on Citation Formats. |
|
Page by Karen Locher
Last updated: 27 September 2004