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Citation Guides
What’s a citation?
A citation is a way of giving credit to individuals for their creative and intellectual works. It directs readers to the sources you consulted for your research and helps to avoid plagiarism.
When to cite?
Always cite your sources when you’re directly quoting, summarizing, or paraphrasing someone else’s work. If it’s your own idea, it doesn’t need a citation.
Citation styles by subject
Disciplines and subjects typically use a specific citation style. It’s important to clarify the preferred citation style with each instructor to ensure you’re using the best one.
- APA: Education, Journalism, Music, Nursing, Psychology, Social Sciences, Sciences, etc.
- Chicago/Turabian: Business, History, Humanities, Fine Arts, Music, etc.
- MLA: Arts and Humanities (i.e. English, Art History, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Linguistics, etc.)
Popular citation styles
- APA format (Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University)
- Print version: Publication manual of the American Psychological Association
- APA style blog (tips and tricks)
- Citing business sources
- Citing Canadian government documents (Simon Fraser University)
- How-to videos and frequently asked questions
Chicago style
- Chicago format (OWL at Purdue University)
- Chicago manual of style online (King's University College Library)
- Print version: The Chicago manual of style
- Citing business sources
Turabian style
Based on the guidelines for Chicago manual of style, with modifications for student writers.
- Turabian quick guide (University of Chicago Press)
- Print version: A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations: Chicago Style for students and researchers
- Chicago-Turabian (Indiana University Bloomington) for Musicology / Music Theory papers
- MLA format (OWL at Purdue University)
- Print version: MLA Handbook
Other styles
Citation management software
Looking for software to help you manage the citations you've collected and automatically generate your reference list or bibliography? Find out more.
Questions?
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