| APA | MLA | Chicago | Turabian | Other Citation Styles | Citation Tools & RefWorks | FAQ's & More |
Ask your professor or check your syllabus to see what style your professor prefers. Here are the most common styles:
Official Style Manual: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001.
At the Library: 1st Floor Reference BF 76.7 .P83 2010 (additional locations)
Official Style Manual: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
At the Library:1st Floor Reference PE 1478 .G53 2007 (additional locations)
Official Style Manual: The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
At the Library:1st Floor Reference Z 253 .U69 2003 (additional locations)
Official Style Manual: A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. 7th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. (Known as "Turabian")
At the Library: 1st floor Reference LB 2369 .T8 2007 (additional locations)
| Citation Generators Citation Generators let you type in your citation data (i.e. author, title) and generate your citations in a specific style. These work well for citing common items such as books. If you have something like an interview or video they may not work. Warning: These are experimental so check the formatting. APA and MLA and CBE/CSE Style from North Carolina State APA and MLA from the Landmarks Citation Machine |
RefWorks RefWorks is a web-based citation manager provided by the University Library for all CSULB faculty, students and staff. It allows you to import citations into your own database and then generate bibliographies in all major styles (MLA, APA, Chicago etc.) Learn More about RefWorks Connect to RefWorks |
General
University Style and Format Guidelines for Master's Thesis and Project Reports. Long Beach, CA: California State University Long Beach, 2003. LD 729.6.L6 A556 (also available online).
Form and Style: Research Papers, Reports, Theses. 10th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., c1997.LB 2369 .C3 1997(Popularly known as "Campbell's")
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan, c1979. PE 1408.S772 1979 (earlier edition available online)
Life Sciences
Author's Handbook of Styles for Life Science Journals. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1996. 1st Floor Reference R 119 .A85 1996
The American Chemical Society Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors. 2nd edition Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, 1997. 1st Floor Reference QD 8.5 .A25 1997
Scientific Style and Format: The Council of Biology Editors Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. 6th ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. 1st Floor Reference QH 304 .C68 1994
Health Science
American Medical Association Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 9th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, c1998. 1st Floor Reference R 119 .A533 1998
National Library of Medicine Recommended Formats for Bibliographic Citation. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, Reference Section, 1991. 1st Floor Reference Z 675 .M4 P377 1991 (available online)
Law
California Style Manual. 4th ed. San Francisco, CA: West Group, 2000. 1st Floor Reference KFC 75 .F67 2000
Using the California Style Manual and The Bluebook: A Practitioner's Guide. San Francisco, CA: West Group, 2000. 1st Floor Reference KFC 75 .H45 2000
A Uniform System of Citation. 14th ed.Cambridge, MA : Harvard Law Review Association, 1986. KF 245.U56
Government Resources
The Complete Guide to Citing Government Documents. Bethesda MD: Congressional Information Service, 1984. J 9.5.G37 1984
Engineering
Official Style Manual at the Library: The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
1st Floor Reference Z 253 .U69 2003
Social Sciences
ASA Style Guide. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association, 1997. HM73 A54 1997
Frequently Asked Questions about Citing
When do I need to cite something? Why do I have to cite?
Whenever you quote, summarize, paraphrase or refer to the work of another person you need to cite it. Citing is the way to give credit to other's work when you use them in your papers, speeches and projects. Citing other's work is a very important step in the academic writing process and the best way to avoid plagiarism.
Tip: You do not have to cite anything that is considered common knowledge such as dates of events, well known facts, etc.
How do I cite correctly?
Most styles have an official manual that can give you the most complete information. There are many great web sites that can help you with citing.
1.) Pick a citation style (i.e. APA, MLA). Ask your professor what style they prefer if you are unsure.
2.) When you quote, paraphrase or summarize of someone else's work you need to tell the reader the source you are using. Two common methods to do with are in-text citations/parenthetical citations and footnotes/endnotes.
3.) Give the complete citation at the end of your paper in the bibliography or works cited page.
What types of things do I need to cite?
You need to cite other's words or ideas whenever you use them in your paper (i.e. direct quotes, summaries). This may include:
How do I cite things like interviews, emails, etc.?
When you are using non-standard sources of information it can be more difficult to cite these sources. The official style manual will be the best resource for a complete description of how to cite. Here are a few web sites with information:
Tip: Use a search engine, like Google, and search for "APA citation ERIC document" or "MLA citation interview" to find more examples.
What are in-text citations/parenthetical citations?
In-text or parenthetical citations generally includes a signal phrase (usually the author's name) to alert the author you are using someone's ideas and a reference (usually the page number).
Rose (1994) noted, rap music has both overt and covert political dimensions: "Rap's poetic voice is deeply political in context and spirit, but its hidden struggle--that of access to public space and community resources and the interpretations of Black expression--constitutes rap's hidden politics" (p.145).
In the past twenty years, hip-hop culture and especially its most popular form of expression, rap music, have spread "from the margins to mainstream" (Stapleton 219).
More information:
MLA In-text citations
APA In-text citations
Citations in text of electronic material, APA
How do I quote or paraphrase or summarize?
More information:
Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources from the University of Wisconsin
Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing from OWL at Purdue
Quotation Marks from OWL at Purdue
What are footnotes? What are endnotes?
More information:
How do Write Footnotes and Endnotes in MLA Style
Turabian Style-Sample Footnotes and Bibliographic Entries from Bridgewater State College
Turabian Bibliographic Form: Footnote/Endnote Style from Georgetown University
How to Cite, Using Footnotes: Using the Chicago Manual of Style
What is a bibliography? What is a works cited page?
A bibliography or works cited page is a list of references or citations used to write a paper or project. It is a list at the end of a paper and gives the reader the basic information they would need to find those items such as the book title, author, journal title, articles title, year, etc..
Sample Bibliographies:
Sample Bibliography or Works Cited in MLA Style
Your Works Cited List MLA from OWL at Purdue
Your Reference List APA from OWL at Purdue
Sample paper: Chicago Style
What is an annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography has two parts 1.)a list of works with the citation information and 2.) a descriptive or evaluative paragraph about each work.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is...
CSULB defines plagiarism as "the act of using the ideas or work of another person or persons as if they were one's own, without giving credit to the source." Check out CSULB's Plagiarism Policy and Penalties.
Where can I get help with citing?
Content maintained by Leslie Andersen, Arts Librarian.
