Also referred to as works cited, references and bibliographies, it is a short text notation that describes a work and where and in what form that work can be referred to.

The structure of the citation will be different, depending on the citation format (MLA, APA), but normally includes author, title, publisher, and format (print, online) information.

There are two (2) types of citation:

In-Text: refers to an entry within the prose of your paper that signals where you obtained an idea or an image, or paraphrased or quoted another author. Depending on the style, the in-text citation can appear in (parentheses), indicated by a number in brackets [1] or by a footnote.1

Bibliographic: refers to the full citation entry of the works you cited in the prose of your paper or extra reading that informed your knowledge of the topic. It appears in the references, works cited or bibliography section of your paper. Each in-text citation should match a full citation in the reference list.

The following is a list of some common elements for citing journal articles and books.

“Draft Citations” are automatically generated citations created by Library OneSearch, a library database, citation management software, and websites.

They save you time, meaning that they often gather the basic elements you need to make a complete citation. However, they often have some mistakes that you need to correct before using them.

Correcting Draft Citations

In order to correct a draft citation you will need to compare it to an up-to-date citation guide to locate the mistakes. You can also compare the draft citation to the source (the article, book, etc.) to find problems with the citation elements (like the author, title, year, etc.).

What is wrong with this draft citation?

Cook, M. (1999). Ibn qutayba and the monkeys. Studia Islamica, 89, 43–74. JSTOR. https://doi.org/10.2307/1596085

Nevertheless, professors and librarians are aware that students use these resources, so we figure it is best to show you how correct draft citations and direct you to the highest quality citation software.

While all of these software get the job done with varying degrees of accuracy, I would suggest using Zotero. The library has a subject guide on Zotero, which you can find here. We also have an in-house librarian who is trained on how to use Zotero effectively. You can find her information on the subject guide.

In addition, Zotero has a simple online version called Zoterobib in addition to an offline version that you can download to your laptop or desktop computer. The second option is particularly useful in helping you keep up with your sources on a longer research project or if you want to keep a record of different research projects. Of course, you will need to learn some things about the software, but once you have learned it you know it.

Special cases* of citation refer to those sources that require extra exploration into how to cite them. They tend to be born digital primary sources. In an increasingly digital environment, there are many cases that do not fit the conventional ways of citing. Citation guides like Purdue OWL and Chicago have included instructions on how to cite a number of digital sources of information such as data sets, email, social media, podcasts, etc.