How to Cite Your Sources
To cite something means, basically, to tell where it is or where you found it. You need to give enough information that someone else could find the exact same item again. "In the library" or "on the web" or "in Scientific American about six months ago" isn't enough. Over the centuries, scholars have decided what specific information is needed to cite different kinds of
sources. In the last few years, new forms and formats of information have been created on the internet, and new citation rules have been developed for email, electronic full-text, webpages, etc.
A citation includes the information, or citation elements, needed
to identify a source so that it can be found again. Different kinds of publications
have different citation elements. Following are the citation elements you need
for some of the most frequently cited types of publications and examples of
how you would cite them in a bibliography:
Citations follow standardized rules for arranging the citation elements. Style
manuals are books that explain the rules for citations. Most disciplines
have a preferred style manual. You may have been told which style manual to
use. If not, ask your instructor. The Architecture Studies Library has Turabian's:
A Manual for Writers, the MLA Handbook, and the Chicago Manual
of Style. The first three examples below use the rules in The Chicago
Manual of Style and the MLA Style Manual, which are the same for
the bibliographic format of books and articles.
The format is slightly different for the citation of a web page, so both formats
are given. (book -- print journal -- electronic journal -- webpage)
For a book, the citation elements you need are: author's name
(there may be more than one); title of the book; publisher's name; place the
book was published; and date of publication or copyright. If there is an edition
statement (2nd edition, for example) or a series title, you need
those, too.
Example:
Nieto, Sonia. Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education.
2nd ed. White Plains, NY: Longman Publishers, 1996.
For a print journal article, the citation elements you need
are: author's name (there may be more than one); title of the article; title
of the journal; volume number; issue number or date if there is one; publication
date; and page numbers of the article.
Example:
McDowell, Andrea G. "Daily Life in Ancient Egypt." Scientific American
275 (December 1966): 100-105.
For an electronic full-text version of a print journal article, the
citation elements you need are the same as for a print journal article,
plus the access path or database name; the library which subscribes to the full
text; and the date you accessed, printed, or downloaded the article. Note: Page
numbers of the article may not be available in the electronic format.
Example:
Cockburn, Alexander. "The Headwaters Deal". The Nation 268(1999):90-98. Available:
Academic Search Elite. University of Nevada, Las Vegas. April 17, 1999.
Here is an
Example of a JSTOR citation, in MLA style, specifically cited in a format for the UNLV AAD 201 class:
Mitrovic, Branko. "Palladio's Theory of the Classical Orders in the First Book of I Quattro Libri Dell' Architettura."
Architectural History 42 (1999): 110-140. JSTOR. 11 October 2006.
<http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0066-622X%281999%2942%3C110%3APTOTCO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Z>.
For a webpage, the citation elements you need are: author's
name; title or description of the page; page date; the URL;
the date you accessed,
printed, or downloaded the information.
MLA Style Manual
Example:
Library of Congress. "American Memory: The New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal
Theatre Project 1935-1939." 1999. 23 August 2000. <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/fthome.html>
Chicago Manual of Style
Example:
Library of Congress. "American Memory: The New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal
Theatre Project 1935-1939." 1999. <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/fthome.html> (23 August 2000)
General Purpose Style Manuals
- Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and
Dissertations LB2369 .T8 1996
- Campbell, William Giles. Form and Style: Theses, Reports, Term Papers
- Garner, Diane L. The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information
Sources: A Manual for Writers and Librarians Z7164.G7 G37 1993
- Shields and Uhle. Where Credit is Due: A Guide to Proper Citing of
Sources - Print and Nonprint
PN171.F56 S35 1997
Arts & Humanities
Social Sciences, Business, Medicine
Sciences, Natural Resources
Here are two style manuals for citing electronic or Web-based sources
If you are citing electronic or web-based sources, you may find that the printed
style manuals don't have enough information to guide you. The link below takes
you to a list of online style manuals that will help.
Style Guides
Questions? Ask the Architecture Studies Librarian online http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/archquestions.html
or any of the staff in the Architecture Studies Library. The general phone number
for the library is 702-895-1959.
If you have comments about the usefulness of this module and/or how it can
be improved, please contact Caroline Smith, Architecture Studies Librarian, at
caroline.smith@unlv.edu.
©
2000 Humboldt State University Library - Modified and used with permission
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