Citing Your Sources...How?

Now you just need to let your audience know where this information that you are using for your presentation came from.

You will compile a bibliography or Works Cited list. For each source you will write a citation.

Citation styles define:

which pieces of information about your source to include
how to put them in order and format them

You want to send your audience to the exact same publication that provided the information to you! Writing citations is not rocket science but you need to pay attention to detail!

The COA Library online catalog provides a detailed record for each type of material the library owns or leases. Looking at the record for the book you used, you have all the necessary information to write a citation but you need to reformat them by placing the information in the correct order with correct punctuation/capitalization.

The two most common citation styles are MLA and APA. Ask your instructor which one you should use. For LIS85, Introduction to Information Resources, we will be using MLA.

While creating citations, it is important to pay attention to the capitalization, punctuation and italicization of the format.

Here are examples of both styles:

MLA: Modern Language Association

Here is the catalog record for the book:

MLA tells you to include:

Author Lastname, Firstname MiddleInitial. Title: Subtitle. Publisher, Publication Date.

So you write:

Szatmary, David P. Rockin' in Time: A Social History of Rock-and-Roll.

Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007.

If the citation continues onto lines beyond the first line, all lines (except the first one) must be indented 0.5 inches. This is called a Hanging Indent. For tips or videos on how to format a hanging indent in a Word document, try searching Google using the keywords "hanging indent" and "Word".



APA: American Psychological Association

Here is the catalog record for that same book:

APA tells you to include:

Author Lastname, FirstInitial. MiddleInitial. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher Name.

So you write:

Szatmary, D.P. (2007). Rockin' in time: A social history of rock-and-roll.

Pearson Prentice Hall.

Similar to MLA, a Hanging Indent is required for all lines beyond the first line.

TIP: If you use the citation tools available with the catalog and databases, be warned that they tend to have errors. So, be sure to double-check the accuracy of these database provided citations by referring to the Library Handout for the format style you are using (MLA handout, APA Handout, etc.) found on the Library's How to Cite Links to an external site.webpage.