The reason for citing your sources is to give credit to those authors whose ideas you used in your research. Even when you do not quote directly from another work, if reading that source contributed to the ideas presented in your paper, you should include it in your bibliography. If you do not cite the source, you may be guilty of plagiarism. Plagiarism is using the ideas and writings of others and representing them as your own.
The American Psychological Association has created a style for creating citations or references and for writing papers for school and for publication. Many disciplines use this style including psychology, history, health sciences, political science, library science and others.
The Modern Language Association style (MLA) has created rules for creating citations or references. Many disciplines use this style including English, art, history, ethnic studies, film studies and others.
Check your assignment or ask your instructor for instructions on which citation style you are permitted to use.
Help with creating citations in APA style. You can find additional information about the style from many sources online.
Use the Citation Resources menu above to access the full guide to MLA formatting style.
Some business journals and magazines use the style created by the American Managment Association. Below are some links to concerning that style and other business oriented citation styles.
A citation generator is a tool to help you create citations (also called references) for papers or projects.
Typically, you enter the information you have about the information source (author; title; publication information; page numbers; journal name, etc.) into the software or online website. That service uses the rules of the citation style to create a citation that adheres to those rules.
College of San Mateo Library subscribes to NoodleTools and has informed instructors about that very useful tool. There are other tools online available and a few are listed below.