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BIOL 1224 General Zoology

Introduction to animal biology.

Citations

Give Credit Where It’s Due

It’s essential to credit the sources you use in your research, and that’s why there are standardized style guides for in-text citations and lists of references.

In this class, you may use any official style as long as you use it consistently and correctly. See these resources to learn about different citation styles.

Follow any instructions from your professor. Nothing in this research guide supersedes information in your syllabus or from your instructor.

Formatting & Citation Styles

Styles and formats vary from one discipline to another.

For most courses at the university, you will use either MLA or APA style. The former is common in the humanities, and the latter is common in the sciences. Many web resources exist to help you with styles and formatting, and the official manuals of all the major styles are available for your reference at the front desk of the J. W. Martin Library.

See the resources below to learn about various styles:

The MLA format, created by the Modern Language Association, is common in English and the humanities.

Find the handbook at the library or explore the linked websites to learn how to use this style.

Style Guide

The APA Style, created by the American Psychological Association, is common in the social sciences.

Find the handbook at the library or explore the linked websites to learn how to use this style.

Style Guide

The Chicago Manual of Style, produced by the University of Chicago, is widely used in the publishing industry.

It is an influential reference work not only for proper citations but for all aspects of English grammar and style. Kate L. Turabian produced a modified version for term papers and theses.

Style Guides

This style from the American Medical Association is common in medical disciplines.

Find the handbook at the library or explore the linked websites to learn how to use this style.

Style Guide

This style from the Council of Science Editors is common in the sciences, especially biology.

Note: Most academic science journals have their own styles. Ask your professor what citation style to use in class.

Find the style guide at the library or explore the linked websites to learn how to use this style.

Style Guide

This style from the Associated Press is standard in journalism.

AP style focuses on usage and does not include a specific system for citing sources. For your academic papers, ask your professors what citation style to use.

Find the stylebook at the library or explore the linked websites to learn how to use this style.

Style Guide

Lawyers use this style to cite legal documents such as court cases, dockets, statutes, or the U.S. Constitution.

The APA format defers to the Bluebook for legal citations; in other words, to cite a legal document in APA format, you must use Bluebook style.

Style Guide

Example Citations

MLA Style

A sample in-text citation and bibliographic entry for a journal article are presented here.

See the style guide for more complete and specific rules. You may also notice that all citations in this research guide are in MLA Style.

In-Text Citation

According to Pamboukian, Kipling’s short stories and novels exhibit a paradoxical mixture of magic and reality, which may be due, in part, to Kipling’s own ambivalence about the supernatural and enthusiasm for new gadgetry (429).

Note the following:

  • Place all quoted text in quotation marks.

  • Place the page number of the citation in parentheses after the closing quotation mark.

  • Name the author in the text (as here) or place the author’s name in the parentheses before the page number.

Bibliographic Entry

Pamboukian, Sylvia. “Science, Magic and Fraud in the Short Stories of Rudyard Kipling.” English Literature in Transition, –, vol. 47, no. 4, , pp. 429–445. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.2487/72G3-5668-57JT-82GG.

Note the following:

  • Place the author’s name first, followed by the article title in quotation marks.

  • Italicize the journal title.

  • For journal articles, include volume, issue, date, and page numbers.

  • Following the journal information, include any other container, i.e., where the article is stored—in this case an EBSCOhost database.

  • Italicize container names.

  • Finally, include the location where the article can be found.

  • Use a “stable” or “permanent” web address as the location unless a DOI is available.

  • Always include a DOI if possible.

APA Style

The APA places a heavy emphasis on date of publication.

Date of publication helps distinguish between works, so it is always in the in-text citation and has a prominent place in the bibliographic entry.

In-Text Citation

Quotation

According to Martin and Albers (), the traditional opinion that the cerebellum is exclusively associated with the control of balance, fine motor, and oculomotor coordination has been challenged on various fronts (p. 245).

Note the following:

  • Place the year of publication immediately after the authors’ names.

  • Place the page number after the citation. Abbreviate page as p. and pages as pp.

  • Place the closing punctuation mark (usually a period) outside the parenthetical citation.

Paraphrase

Although it had long been believed that the cerbellum serves no fuction aside from balance and coordination, more recent research has modified that view (Martin & Albers, ).

Note the following:

  • You don’t need to cite a page number when you paraphrase.

  • If you don’t name the authors in the text, place the names before the year in the citation.

  • When you paraphrase, completely reword the thought of the original work to avoid plagiarism.

Bibliographic Entry

Martin, P., & Albers, M. (). Cerebellum and schizophrenia: A selective review. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 21(2), 241–250. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/21.2.241

Note the following:

  • Date of publication immediately follows the authors’ names.

  • Write article or book titles in sentence case. Write journal titles in title case.

  • Do not place quotation marks around the article title.

  • Italicize the journal title and volume number.

  • If the article is from the open web, include an address unless a DOI is available.

  • Include a DOI, written as a URL, whenever possible.

  • Do not place a final period after a DOI or URL.

Citation Websites

Quick Links

Find Numbers and Identifiers

Legal and Government Publications

Infographic explaining that all information from another source must be cited.
Fig. 1. An infographic explaining how to avoid plagiarism [1].

Research Librarian