Citing Resources
Whenever you include someone else's ideas in a paper, you must document the source of the ideas. In other words, if you have learned anything new and include it in your paper, you must give credit to whomever provided the new information. Remember that failure to do so properly is plagiarism.
Documenting is accomplished by:
- Identifying (briefly in parenthesis) in the paper's body the works you have used.
- Listing a citation (author, title(s), publisher, date, pages) of all the works in alphabetical order at the end of your paper. This list is called a works cited page, bibliography, source list, or references. How you list your citations depends on which style you use. It is important to be consistent in identifying your sources so that another reader can locate the same source.
Different professions have their own requirements for documentation and publish their own style manuals, such as those published by Modern Language Association (MLA), the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Council of Biology Editors. Ask your professor which of the two different styles you should use. Although we offer some examples of both styles, they are only intended as a guide. Consult the APA, CBE, and MLA style guides and Web pages listed below for more specific information on using the styles.
- APA - American Psychological
Association (http://www.apastyle.org/)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 5th ed. 2001.
Call Number: Reference 808.06615 P976 (Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon)
Examples of APA style (--Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader--)
- CBE - Council of Biology Editors (http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/publications/ssf_7th.cfm)
Scientific Style and Format: the CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers 6th ed. 1994.
Call Number: Reference 808.0666 S416 (Harrisburg Only)
Examples of CBE style (--Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader--)
- MLA - Modern Language Association (http://www.mla.org/)
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 6th ed. 2003.
Call Number: Reference 808.02 G437 (Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon)
Examples of MLA style (--Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader--)
Additional help in citing resources from other sites:
- APA
- APA Style Guide for Print &
Electronic Sources
http://www.isr.bucknell.edu/img/assets/6535/apa.pdf - APA Formatting and Style Guide
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
- APA Style Guide for Print &
Electronic Sources
- CBE
- National Library of Medicine
Recommended Formats for Bibliographic
Citation.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/formats/internet.pdf
CBE does give specific instructions on how to cite electronic formats. They recommend using the NLM format - The Council of Biology Editors (CBE)
Style ofDocumentation in Science and
Mathematic
http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/library/cbe.htm
- National Library of Medicine
Recommended Formats for Bibliographic
Citation.
- MLA
- MLA (Modern Language Association)
Citation Style Guide
http://www.isr.bucknell.edu/img/assets/6535/mla.pdf - MLA Formatting and Style Guide
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
- MLA (Modern Language Association)
Citation Style Guide
Prepared by: Linda Rhoades,
Adjunct Reference Librarian.
Last updated: September 1, 2004. cln