Last revised: August 2006
Citation Systems and Style Manuals
Scope: This guide is a basic introduction to the citation process. It discusses why citing is important, what needs to be cited, gives an overview of the two types of citation systems (parenthetical references tied to a list of sources vs. foot or endnotes) commonly encountered, and presents a list of style manuals generally used in specific disciplines.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHY CITING IS IMPORTANT
The advancement of knowledge in a field generally occurs through the following process: a researcher/student familiarizes herself with the existing body of ideas and theories in a field (through reading books and periodicals, consulting Web sites, conducting interviews, observing behavior, etc.), digests those ideas and facts, and generates original ideas of her own. When presenting the fruits of this labor, whether they are papers, products, speeches, Web sites, etc., it is obligatory for her to identify to her audience which ideas, facts, theories, etc., are hers and which are borrowed from others. WHY?
- Proper citation allows others to locate the materials you used. This allows interested readers to expand their knowledge on a topic. In some disciplines, one of the most effective strategies for locating authoritative relevant sources is to follow footnotes or references from known valuable sources.
- Citing other people's words and ideas indicates that you have conducted thorough background research on your topic and therefore are operating from an informed perspective. This increases your credibility.
- In addition, other people's ideas can be used to reinforce your arguments, or, if you disagree with them, can act as points to argue against. In many cases, other people's arguments will act as a backbone structure in your paper providing a context for your own ideas.
- Just as other people's ideas can bolster your arguments and act as evidence for your ideas, they can also detract from your credibility if they are found to be mistaken or fabricated. Properly citing information not unique to you prevents your reputation from being tarnished if these facts or ideas turn out to be inaccurate or off-base.
- Ideas are intellectual property and there are serious repercussions if you fail to follow citing conventions. In the professional world, failure to cite other people's intellectual property ruins careers and reputations and can result in legal action. As students, committing plagiarism, which the University's Code of Academic Integrity defines as "intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own", may result in failure or expulsion.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE CITED
All ideas that are not your own need to be cited. Whether you summarize, paraphrase, or directly quote, if it's not your original idea, the source needs to be acknowledged. The only exception to this rule is information or ideas that are considered to be common knowledge. If in doubt about whether something is common knowledge, take the safe route and cite it, or ask your instructor for clarification.
SYSTEMS FOR CITING SOURCES
Different disciplines use different conventions for punctuation, grammer, presentation, and the documentation of the work of others. These conventions are outlined in guides called style manuals. Some examples of style manuals that you may be familiar with are APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian. These commonly used style manuals explain and suggest the use of one (or both) of these systems for documenting or citing the works of others:
- In-Text Parenthetical References Tied to a list of Sources (Examples: APA [guide], MLA [guide], and Chicago/Turabian author-date system [guide]): This system involves the insertion of required source information (for example, author and page number, or author and date) in parentheses in the text of your paper directly after the mention of someone else's idea, quote, etc. This abbreviated source information in the text is supplemented by complete source information (author, title, publication city,publication date, and sometimes page number) in the list of Works Cited, References, or Bibliography at the end of the paper.
For example, an exerpt from the text of a paper using the APA parenthetical reference system might look like this:The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Kubler-Ross, 1969, chap.3).
The entry in the References list would look like this:
Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. New York: Macmillian.
To see examples of the parenthetical method in the context of a paper, see UM's Guide to APA's sample paper, UM's Guide to MLA's sample paper, or UM's Guide to Chicago/Turabian Author-Date sample paper. - Notes System (Example: Chicago/Turabian notes system [guide]): This system involves the insertion of a superscript number into the text of your paper (directly after the mention of someone else's idea, quote, etc.) which corresponds to either a footnote (a note at the end of the page) or an endnote (a note on a separate page at the end of the paper) which contains the source information (for example, author, title, publication city and date, and sometimes page numbers.) The notes system may or may not require a full bibliography, depending on whether the writer has decided to use the full note form or the shortened note form. (See the UM guide for more information).
For example, an exerpt from the text of a paper using the Chicago/Turabian notes system without a full bibliography would look like this:The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance¹.
The note, located either at the foot of the page (footnote) or at the end of the paper (endnote) would look like this:
1. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, On Death and Dying (New York: Macmillian, 1969), 45-60.
To see this in the context of a paper, see the Sample Paper: Footnotes, No Bibliography.In a paper which contains a full bibliography, the note would look like this:
1. Kubler-Ross, On Death and Dying, 45-60.
and the bibliography entry, which would be required with a shortened note, would look like this:
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. New York: Macmillian, 1969.
To see this in context, see the Sample Paper: Footnotes with Full Bibliography.
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH STYLE TO USE?
The best answer to this question is to always ask your instructors which style they prefer. As the list below illustrates, there are many style manuals in use in addition to those mentioned above. The manuals mentioned above are commonly, but not exclusively, used as follows:MLA: English and the Humanities
APA: Psychology and the Social Sciences
Chicago/Turabian Notes: History and the Humanities
Chicago/Turabian Author-Date: Physical, Natural, and Social Sciences
STYLE MANUALS BY SUBJECT AREA
