Transcript What is a citation?

APA Style
A Guide to Citing Sources
First things first: What is a citation?
APA citation style
Why you need to cite your sources
How to cite your sources
References list
In-text citations
First things first: What is a citation?
A citation is a reference to a source used in a
research project.
Walker, S. (1994). Volcanoes:
Earth’s inner fire.
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda.
Whenever you use another
person’s ideas or words in a
research paper, you must cite, or
give credit, to that person.
That’s called citing your source.
APA citation style
Citations must be accurate and standard so
that anyone who reads your research can easily
find the information you used.
APA style is a standard way of
citing sources. This means
each source you use should be
formatted in a specific way.
APA style was developed by the
American Psychological
Association.
Why you need to cite your sources
There are three important reasons to cite
your sources.
1. to find information
2. to show that you
understand your topic
3. to avoid plagiarism
Why you need to cite your sources
Citations help you remember
where you got your
information.
You can return to a source for more
information or to clarify facts.
Citations help your readers locate
information when they want to do
more research.
Why you need to cite your sources
Citations show that your research was careful
and thorough.
They also show that other people support what
you’ve written about your topic.
Why you need to cite your sources
Citations give credit to people whose ideas you
use.
Plagiarism is using
someone else’s
ideas or knowledge
without giving that
person credit. Avoid
plagiarism by giving
people credit for
their ideas and their
words.
How to cite your sources
Use two ways to cite your sources.
1. At the end of your paper,
add a References list.
2. Within the paper, use
in-text citations.
How to cite your sources
A References list is a list of all the sources you used
in your research paper. Here are some entries for part
of a References list.
Crane, C. (2008, February). In the shadow of a
volcano. Science World, 16–19.
Walker, S. (1994). Volcanoes: Earth’s inner fire.
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda.
Wood, C. (2007, September 13). Current volcanic
activity. Retrieved October 29, 2007, from
http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/
current.html
References list
Books
Here is the basic format for a book entry in a
References list.
Author’s last name, First
initial. (year of publication).
Book title. City of
publication: Publisher’s
Name.
Walker, S. (1994). Volcanoes: Earth’s inner fire.
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda.
References list
Periodicals
Periodicals are publications that are published
regularly, or periodically, such as newspapers,
magazines, and journals.
References list
Periodicals
Here’s the basic format for a magazine article entry
for the References list.
Author’s last name, First initial. (year, Month published).
Article title. Magazine Title, volume number (if
available), pages where article appears.
Crane, C. (2008, February). In the shadow of a
volcano. Science World, 16-19.
If the article isn’t printed on consecutive pages,
include each series of pages.
Bruce, V. (2001, March/April). No apparent
danger. National Geographic Adventure, 112–
118, 142–150.
References list
Citing nonprint sources
There are many other kinds of sources besides books
and magazines. You might use TV programs, DVDs,
CDs, or Web sites.
Web sites can be very useful as source material, but
you must cite them properly.
References list
Citing nonprint sources: Web site
Here’s the basic format for a Web site entry for the
References list.
Author’s last name, First initial. (year, Month day
of publication, or n.d. if no date is available).
Document title. Retrieved Month day, year,
from URL
Wood, C. (2007, September 13). Current volcanic
activity. Retrieved October 29, 2007, from
http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/current_volcs/
current.html
References List
Sources are put in
the References list in
alphabetical order,
double-spaced, and
indented one-half
inch.
References
Crane, C. (2008, February). In
the shadow of a volcano.
Science World, 16-19.
Here is an example
of a final References
list.
Walker, S. (1994). Volcanoes:
Earth’s inner fire.
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda.
In-text citations
Listing all your sources in the References list is an
important part of your research paper.
In the body of your paper,
you also need to tell
exactly where you found
any information that came
from other sources.
You do that using an
in-text citation.
In-text citations
An in-text citation appears in the
body of your paper wherever you use
another person’s ideas, facts, or
words.
An in-text citation always
refers to a source in your
References list.
In-text citations
To create an in-text citation, give the author’s last
name and the year of the source’s publication. Put
this information in parentheses at the end of the
sentence, before the final punctuation.
The earth’s climate can be affected if volcanic
gases go into the earth’s stratosphere and form a
dark mist (Walker, 1994).
Readers can now find complete information about the
source in your References list.
Walker, S. (1994). Volcanoes: Earth’s inner fire.
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda.
In-text citations
If the author’s name appears in the sentence, include
the year of the publication in parentheses directly
after the author’s name.
Walker (1994) claims that the earth’s climate
can be affected if volcanic gases go into the
earth’s stratosphere and form a dark mist.
For sources without a year of publication, like many
Web sites, you should include the initials (n.d.) in
parentheses in place of the year.
In-text citations
Citations for a specific document within a Web site
should appear in both the References list and the
body of the text, but citations for an entire Web site
should not appear in the References list.
A citation for an entire Web site should only be
cited within the body of the text. You should
include the source title, a short description, and
the URL.
The Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Web site
provides information on volcanic activity for the
past 10,000 years (http://www.volcano.si.edu).
Your Turn
All of the examples in this presentation can be found
in the References List Reference Sheet, which is
part of the Student Handouts for the MLA/APA Styles
feature.
The handouts Your Turn: Create APA Source
Citations and Your Turn: Create APA In-text
Citations also provide opportunities to practice
creating source and in-text citations.
The End