Bibliographic citations refer to an alphabetical list of works cited. Included at the end of your paper, this list (the Bibliography) enables the readers of your paper to locate your source materials.

The main components of a bibliographic citation are the author's full name (last name first), the title of the work (with all important words capitalized) and the publication information which includes the place of publication, the publisher's name, and the date of publication.

Listed below are examples of basic bibliographic citations.

Books

Articles

Newspapers

Encyclopedias

Microform Materials

Electronic Information

Reference

A basic citation for a periodical article includes the author, the title of the article, the title of the periodical, the volume number (if available), the issue number ( if available), the year of publication, and the page numbers.

In newspaper citations the volume and issue are replaced with the complete date of publication (day, month, year) and there may be a section number added.

Entries for widely known reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, yearbooks, need not include facts of publication. When an article is signed the name of the author may be included.

Citations for materials available on microform (microfiche, microfilm) follow the format for books and include the name of the information service supplying the microform.

The goal of the citation is to allow the information to be retrieved again. Punctuation

and capitalization, especially in the "electronic address" of the resource, should appear

just as it is used in the database.

Include author's name (if given). "Title of article." Periodical Title Date Month Year [of print publication]: page numbers. Title of database. CD-ROM. Name of the vendor. Electronic publication date. Item number.

Cite the work as it was originally published. Then give the format in which you used it, the computer service through which you accessed it (Lexis/Nexis), including enough detail to enable others to find it, and the date when you accessed it.

(Available via Lynx, Netscape, Other Web Browsers)

To cite files available for viewing and/or downloading via the World Wide Web, give the author's name (if known), the full title of the work in quotation marks, the title of the complete work if applicable in italics, the full http address, and the date of visit.

List the author's name (if known), the title of the work (if shown) in quotation marks, the title of the full work if applicable in italics, the complete telnet address, along with directions to access the publication, and the date of your visit.

To cite files available for downloading via ftp, give the author's name (if known), the full title of the paper in quotation marks, the address of the ftp site along with the full path to follow to find the paper, and the date of access.

Give the author's name (if known), the subject line from the posting in quotation marks, and the address of the listserv or newslist, along with the date.

The formats used in the previous examples are basically the ones recommended in the Chicago Manual of Style and theMLA Handbook for Writers of ResearchPapers. Should your instructor require another format, the references listed below are available in the Reference area on the first floor. For examples of citation formats for public documents, legal documents, dissertations, unpublished sources or other sources not covered in this handout, please see references below.

The ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors. The American Chemical Society:

Washington, 1986. REF QD 8.5 A25 1986

The Chicago Manual of Style. 14th ed. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1993

REF Z 253 U69 1993.

Electronic Style: A Guide to Citing Electronic Information. Xia Li and Nancy B Crane

Westport, CT: Meckler, 1993. REF PN 171 D37 L5 1993

Form and Style, Research Papers, Reports, Theses. 10th ed. Carol Slade

Houghton Mifflin: Boston, 1997. REF LB 2369 C3 1994

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 4th ed. Modern Language Association:

New York, 1995. REF LB 2369 G53 1995

Manual for Authors of Mathematical Papers. 9th ed. American Mathematical Society:

Providence (RI) 1990. REF QA 42 M37 1990

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations. 6th ed. KL Turabian.

University ofChicago Press: Chicago, 1996. REF LB 2369. T8 1996

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 4th ed. American

Psychological Assn.: Washington, 1994. REF BF 76.7 P82 1994

Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors and Publishers. 6th ed.

Council of Biology Editors: Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1994. REF T 11 S386 1994

Questions, comments or feedback to: Emma C. Gibson

Updated October 9, 1998