Section Four B - Evaluate & Cite - Citing Your Sources - Getting Help with Citations

1. Citation Style Guides and Online Help
2. Citation Generators in Online Databases
   • EBSCO databases: e.g., Academic Search Ultimate
   • Google Scholar citations
   • WorldCat Library catalog citations
3. Free Online Citation Generators

Online Citation Generators and Managers are a good way to create citations and bibliographies. Since these programs will produce good citations only if you enter correct article and book information, it's a good idea to check the results against the appropriate Style Manual.

1. Citation Style Guides and Online Help:

• Print Style Manuals:​
  • Modern Language Association of America. MLA Handbook. 8th Edition. New York: Modern Language Association of America. 2016. (LB2369 .G53 2016; available in the Main, Reference, and Reserve collections)
  • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th Edition. American Psychological Association.(BF76.7.P83 2010, Reserve and Reference Collection.)
• Purdue Online Writing Lab Style Guides (OWL)
  Purdue University Writing Lab guides for APA and MLA formatting, grammar and writing tips.
• SUU Writing Center Writing Tipsheets
  SUU English Department Writing Center guides, including MLA and APA format, grammar and paper writing guides.

2. Citation Generators in Online Databases

NOTE: Citations from databases are computer generated and should be checked against style guides or the citation guides noted above. You need to pay particular attention to personal names, capitalization, and dates to make sure they're accurate.

Most databases will automatically create citations for the article or book you are viewing:

• Look for a Cite, "Cite This" or "Citation" button on the record for the article or chapter you are viewing.
• Select the format you need, for example, MLA or APA.
• Copy the citation and paste it into your list of citations.
• Check the citation for accuracy against style guides.

EBSCO databases: e.g., Academic Search Ultimate 

• In the search results view, click the article title, HTML Full Text,  PDF Full Text, or Check other databases to view the full text article.
• In the Detailed Record view, click the  Cite icon in the right panel.
• In the Citation Format view choose a citation format, e.g.,APA or MLA.
• Copy/paste citation. 
• Be sure to check for exact formatting and punctuation. Provided citations are not always correct!

Google Scholar citations

When viewing Google Scholar records, click the " link under article information for APA, Chicago, and MLA citation format:

WorldCat Library Catalog Citations

When WorldCat Library Catalog records, note the Cite/Export link at the top of a record.

3. Free Citation Generators and Managers

Citation Generators are software applications that can generate citations for your Works Cited or Reference list. However, since these programs only work well when you enter the correct information, it's advisable to check the results against the appropriate Style Manual. Here's a list of sites that have templates to create citations for journals, books, newspapers, and websites:

Citation Managers are are more sophisticated software applications that can help researchers:

• gather references automatically from article databases,
• format papers and citations in a variety of styles (MLA, APA, etc.),
• generate bibliographies,
• create and organize a personal research database of references, URLs, images and PDFs.

The following citation managers are free but should be used with the same caution noted above for database citation generators: Check the citation for accuracy against style guides.

• EasyBib. Free software that will generate citations and a bibliography of references in MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian citation styles.
• KnightCite. Maintained by Calvin College, this site generates citations in MLA, APA and Chicago formats.
• NCSU Citation Generator. Citation builder maintained by North Carolina State University.
• Citation Machine. Uses a web form to generate citations in MLA, APA, Chicago and Turabian formats.

Microsoft Word References Feature

The Microsoft Word 2010 and 2011 References feature can manage citations, in-text citations, and generate a bibliography of sources in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles.

Zotero

Zotero is a free, open-source bibliography manager. It can function as an Add-on to Firefox and is a great tool for managing complex bibliographies. This is probably your best choice for a large research project where much of your research is done on the computer with databases, electronic books, or webpages.