Citation Management Guide

Proper citation is essential in academic and professional writing to give credit to original authors and avoid plagiarism. This guide covers citation styles, examples, and different types of resources.

1. Common Citation Styles

  • APA (American Psychological Association) – 7th edition: Common in social sciences.
  • MLA (Modern Language Association) – 9th edition: Common in humanities.
  • Chicago / Turabian: Often used in history and fine arts.
  • IEEE: Common in engineering and computer science.

2. Citation Basics

In-text Citation Examples:

  • APA: (Author, Year)
  • MLA: (Author Page)
  • Chicago (Author-Date): (Author Year, Page)
  • IEEE: [Number]

Reference List / Bibliography:

  • Listed at the end of the document.
  • Ensure consistency in punctuation, italics, and capitalization.

3. Examples by Resource Type

A. Book

APA: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle. Publisher.
Example: Smith, J. (2020). Introduction to psychology. Academic Press.

MLA: Author Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
Example: Smith, John. Introduction to Psychology. Academic Press, 2020.

Chicago: Author First Name Last Name, Title of Book (City: Publisher, Year), page number.
Example: John Smith, Introduction to Psychology (New York: Academic Press, 2020), 45.

B. Journal Article

APA: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/10.1234/jer.2019.12.3.45
Example: Brown, L., & Green, M. (2019). Cognitive learning strategies. Journal of Educational Research, 12(3), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.1234/jer.2019.12.3.45

MLA: Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. xx–xx.
Example: Brown, Lisa, and Michael Green. “Cognitive Learning Strategies.” Journal of Educational Research, vol. 12, no. 3, 2019, pp. 45–60.

Chicago: Author First Name Last Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal volume, no. issue (Year): pages. DOI/URL.
Example: Lisa Brown and Michael Green, “Cognitive Learning Strategies,” Journal of Educational Research 12, no. 3 (2019): 45–60. https://doi.org/10.1234/jer.2019.12.3.45

C. Website

APA: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Website Name. URL
Example: Johnson, R. (2022, May 10). Climate change effects on agriculture. Global Environment. https://www.globalenv.org/climate-change

MLA: Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Webpage.” Website Name, Publisher (if different), Date Published, URL.
Example: Johnson, Rebecca. “Climate Change Effects on Agriculture.” Global Environment, 10 May 2022, https://www.globalenv.org/climate-change.

Chicago: Author First Name Last Name. “Title of Webpage.” Website Name. Last modified Date. URL.
Example: Rebecca Johnson. “Climate Change Effects on Agriculture.” Global Environment. Last modified May 10, 2022. https://www.globalenv.org/climate-change.

D. Other Resources

Citation Examples for Different Resource Types
Resource TypeAPA ExampleMLA ExampleChicago Example
Newspaper ArticleAuthor, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title. Newspaper, pages.Author. “Title.” Newspaper, Date, pages.Author, “Title,” Newspaper, Date.
Conference PaperAuthor, A. (Year). Title. In Proceedings (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.Author. “Title.” Conference Name, Year, pages.Author, “Title,” in Conference Name, (City: Publisher, Year), pages.
Video / YouTubeAuthor/Creator. (Year, Month Day). Title [Video]. Platform. URL“Title.” Platform, uploaded by Author, Date. URLAuthor/Creator. “Title.” Platform, Date. URL

4. Citation Management Tools

  1. Zotero: Free, open-source, supports multiple citation styles.
  2. Mendeley: Reference management and PDF organization.
  3. EndNote: Popular for research-heavy disciplines.
  4. BibTeX: Often used for LaTeX documents.
  5. Citation Generators: EasyBib, Citation Machine (double-check formatting).

5. Tips for Managing Citations​

  1. Save bibliographic info as you research.
  2. Organize by project or paper in your citation manager.
  3. Use consistent style throughout your document.
  4. Check for DOI and permanent URLs when citing online resources.
  5. Review citations manually—automatic tools can make errors.