Thursday, October 24, 2013

Looking for help with citations? We can help!

As the leaves change and the days become shorter, assignments get more and more intense for local students.  The semester is in full swing as college and high school students everywhere continue (or begin) their writing assignments.

But one little problem that has plagued students for years, and will continue to do so until the end of time, is what to do with those citations.  It seems many folks spend more time getting their citations together than actually working on their papers.  The guides for citations styles like MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago Style are notoriously difficult to wade through.  The proliferation of electronic resources only further complicates matters.

Don't fear!  We can point you to some wonderful resources that can help clear the citation waters for you.  First, check out Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) website.  This site breaks down each citation style in a way to make it easy to find what you need.  In-text citation and reference list rules break down books, websites, journal articles, and more.  It's really very user-friendly.

Ohio State University Libraries put together another intuitive tool for citing resources.  This site includes information on MLA, APA and Chicago Style, as well as help with The Council of Science Editors (CSE) and Turabian styles.  What I especially like about this site is that it breaks down each style guide to four basic parts: citing articles, books, electronic resources, and other resources (speeches, etc.).

Keep in mind, the many databases we offer here at the library include the citation information you need.  For example, check out the example below using an EBSCOhost database.  Simply click on "Cite" on the right-hand side of the screen after pulling up an article.  The various citation formats will appear.  However, remember that these are a great starting point but always double-check these citations.  They are not always foolproof.


No comments:

Post a Comment