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Citation Styles

  • Different academic disciplines have specific guidelines for organizing material and citing sources. These rules are published as style manuals. While each citation system is distinct, the underlying rationale is the same to facilitate written communication among members in a scholarly community.


    Different academic disciplines have specific guidelines for organizing material and citing sources. These rules are published as style manuals. While each citation system is distinct, the underlying rationale is the same to facilitate written communication among members in a scholarly community.


    What is a Citation ?


    A citation is the basic information required to identify and locate a specific publication (e.g. book, book chapter, article, website, video, etc.).


    Example


    Book
    Author Name. Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.


    Book Chapter
    Author Name. “Chapter Title.” Book Title. Editor. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Chapter Page


    Journal Article
    Author Name. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume Number.Issue Number (Year): Article Page Number


    Website
    Author Name. “Title of Page/Work.” Title of Website. Publisher of Site. Date of Publication. Date of Access.


    *Note: The order and punctuation of the citation components is dictated by the style you use. Citation Styles


    MLA


    MLA citation style is most frequently used in the humanities (literature, languages, art). The MLA Handbook was first published by the Modern Language Association (https://www.mla.org) in 1951.


    MLA style relies on parenthetical citations (author, page number) for material that is quoted, summarized or paraphrased in the text of a paper. The sources referenced in parenthetical citations are compiled at the end of the paper as a Works Cited list.


    APA


    APA citation style is most frequently used in the social and behavioral sciences (psychology, education, anthropology, social work, etc.).


    The first style rules were published in 1929. The American Psychological Association (https://www.apa.org) has produced 7 editions of the Publication Manual in ensuing 80+ years. APA style relies on in text citations (author, date) for paraphrased, summarized, or quoted material within a paper. In text citations correspond to sources in the References list at the end of the paper.


    CSE


    CSE style is commonly used in the sciences. The first edition of the style manual was published in 1960 by the Council of Biology Editors (renamed the Council of Science Editors in 2000). (https://www.councilscienceeditors.org/about/about-cse/)


    CSE style offers three options for in text documentation:

    1. (Author, Year) parenthetical citations within a paper to indicate paraphrased, summarized or quoted material.


    2. Citation-Sequence with superscript numbers to designate paraphrased, summarized, or quoted material, which correspond to numbered (no alphabetized) entries in the references list at the end of a paper.


    3. Citation-Author is based on alphabetized, numbered references at the end of a paper. The corresponding in text citations are designated by superscript numbers. The organization of the References list at the end of the paper varies, depending on which in text documentation method the writer follow


    Chicago


    Chicago style is most frequently used within the field of history, although it is used by other humanities based disciplines as well. The first edition of the Manual was published in 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. (https://press.uchicago.edu/index.html)


    Chicago style offers two options for in text documentation:

    1. Superscript numbers within a paper to designate paraphrased, summarized, or quoted material, which correspond to footnotes or endnotes that specify the author, title, and page(s) cited.


    2.(Author, Date) parenthetical citations within a paper to indicate paraphrased, summarized or quoted material.


    In both cases, the Bibliography at the end of the paper includes full citations for all sources referenced in a paper. In addition, it may include sources the writer consulted but did not paraphrase, summarize or quote.

    IEEE

    The IEEE referencing style is widely used by Electrical and Electronics Engineering and related disciplines.

    The IEEE is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and they specify a system of citation in their guidance for authors writing for their publications. IEEE is a numeric system in which a source is given a citation number in-text in [ ]. The full details of the source are provided in a reference list at the end, ordered according to the first appearance in the text.

    More details can be found on the IEEE website.
    https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/referencing-style-guides/ieee