How to Cite your Research

Cite your sources!
 
It is important to cite your sources when writing a research paper.  The information didn't magically appear in your brain, you found it from somewhere!  You need to give the original author credit for his or her work.
 
Plagiarism is using someone else's work as your own without giving them credit.  It is the same thing as stealing.  The penalty for plagiarizing can include getting a "zero" on your assignment.  By citing your work, you are giving the original author credit and you won't get in trouble for plagiarism. 
 

Helpful Resources for Citing Your Work:

  • World Book’s Citation Builder provides users with a clear format of how to cite the sources they are most likely to encounter (printed and online books, reference sources, magazines, newspapers, etc.): 

  • The WorldCat website offers citations for each book (choose book and click cite button): 
Please see this guide for how to cite your sources:   

How to cite a full-text article through an online database (including World Book Online Info Finder)

Format:
Author's name, last name first [if given]. "Article title." [enclosed in double quotation marks] Publication title. [in italics] Edition [if stated]. Year of publication [do not include if stated in edition information]. Publication medium.

Example:
Example: Beller, Steven. "Vienna." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2012 ed. Print.

How to cite a website

Format:
Author's name, last name first [if given]. "Article or web page title." [enclosed in double quotation marks] Website title. [in italics] Publisher's name [if not available, use n.p.], Date of publication. [day, month, and year; if no date is available, use n.d.] Publication medium. Access date.

Example:
Beasley, Maurine H. "Roosevelt, Eleanor." World Book Online Info Finder. World Book, 2012. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.

How to cite an e-book

Format:
Author's Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. edition. Place of Publication [if not available, use n.p.]: Publisher [if not available, use n.p.], Year [if not available, use n.d.]. Name of Database. [in italics] Publication medium. Date of access.

Example:
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company, 1920. World Book Online Reference Center. Web. 16 January 2012.

How to cite an article from a print encyclopedia

Format:
Author's name, last name first [if given]. "Article title." Publication title. Edition [if stated]. Year of publication.

Example:
McGrath, William J. "Vienna." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2012 ed. 2012.

How to cite a book with one author

Format:
Author's name, last name first. Full book title. [in italics] Edition [if stated]. Number of volumes [if a multivolume work]. City of publication: Publisher's name, year of publication. Publication medium.

Example:
Eshleman, Clayton. Grindstone of Rapport: A Clayton Eshleman Reader. Boston: Black Widow Press, 2008. Print.

How to cite a book with two or more authors

Format:
Author's name, last name first, next listed author's name(s) in normal form. Full book title. [in italics] Edition [if stated]. Number of volumes [if a multivolume work]. City of publication: Publisher's name, year of publication. Publication medium.

Example:
Gates, Henry L., Jr., and Evelyn B. Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. 8 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.

How to cite an article from a magazine

Format:
Author's name, last name first. "Article title." [enclosed in double quotation marks] Publication title [in italics] date of publication: page numbers. Publication medium.

Example:
Jackson, Thomas A. "Power for a Space Plane." Scientific American Aug. 2006: 56-62. Print.

How to cite an article from a newspaper

Format:
Author's name, last name first. "Article title." [enclosed in double quotation marks] Publication title [in italics] complete date of publication, edition [if given], section letter or number [if applicable]: page numbers. Publication medium.

Example:
Wronski, Richard. "Prairie Parkway Project on a Road to Nowhere?" Chicago Tribune 4 May 2009, sec. 1: 6. Print.

How to cite a blog

Format:
Author's name, last name first. "Title of individual blog entry." [enclosed in double quotation marks] Title of blog. [in italics] Date posted. [if not available, use n.d.] Publication medium. Date accessed.

Example:
West, Jessamyn. "On the road." librarian.net. 27 February 2009. Web. 10 March 2009.

How to cite a podcast

If the podcast is accessed from the web:
Format:
"Description or title of individual podcast." [enclosed in double quotation marks] Title of main Web site [if applicable]. [in italics] Publisher or sponsor of site [if not available, use n.p.], Date of publication. [day, month, and year, as available. If not available, use n.d.]. Publication medium. Date of access.

Example:
"Iconic Images Emerge from Mideast Summits." NPR: All Things Considered. Natl. Public Radio, 27 Nov. 2007. Web. 6 Jan. 2009.

If the podcast is stored on a computer or digital device:
Format:
"Description or title of individual podcast." [enclosed in double quotation marks] Title of main Web site [if applicable]. [in italics] Publisher or sponsor of site [if not available, use n.p.], Date of publication. [day, month, and year, as available. If not available, use n.d.]. Description of digital file, if unknown use Digital File.

Example:
"Iconic Images Emerge from Mideast Summits." NPR: All Things Considered. Natl. Public Radio, 27 Nov. 2007. MP3 file.

How to cite a program on DVD

Format:
Program titleProgram title. [in italics] Director [if given]. Producer. Original release date [if relevant]. Medium. Distributor, year of release.

Example:
America's Endangered Species: Don't Say Good-Bye. Dir. Robert Kenner. National Geographic Video. DVD. National Geographic Society, 2008.

How to cite a radio or television program

Format:
"Episode or segment title." [enclosed in double quotation marks] Program title. [in italics] Name of the network. Call letters, city of local station [if any], Broadcast date. Medium of reception (Radio or Television).

Example:
"State of Denial." 60 Minutes. CBS. WBBM, Chicago, Oct. 2006. Television.

How to cite a pamphlet

Format:
Pamphlet title. Author's name, last name first. Pamphlet title. [in italics]. City of publication: Publisher's name, year of publication. Publication medium.

Example:
Modern Language Association. Language Study in the Age of Globalization: The College-Level Experience. New York: MLA, n.d. Print.

How to cite a government publication

Format:
Government name. Issuing agency name. Publication title. [in italics] City of publication: Publisher, year of publication.

Example:
United States. Census Bureau. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2002. Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service, 2001.

How to cite a personal interview

Format:
Interviewed person's name, last name first. Kind of interview. Date of interview.

Example:
Meyers, Davin. Personal interview. 9 May 2012.