What Are Citations

WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
https://www.lib.umn.edu/apps/instruction/citations/#/ Last updated April 2018
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:
 Explain what a citation is and where to use one.
 Articulate reasons why citations are important.
 Identify the parts of a citation.
 Recognize a source’s type by its citation.
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

Citations:
 indicate which ideas are taken from others

 from whom those ideas were taken
 give credit where credit is due
 allow researchers to find, read, and comment on each others’ sources
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
WHY ARE CITATIONS IMPORTANT?

Authors use citations for many important reasons:
 to show how their arguments or theses are built upon

the ideas of others
 to give readers the opportunity to look up the authors'
sources for further inquiry
 to indicate well-rounded and well-researched
scholarship
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
WHAT DOES A CITATION LOOK LIKE?

A citation is typically found in two places:
In-Text Citations
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
Reference Lists/Bibliographies
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
IN-TEXT CITATIONS
Authors use in-text
citations after they have
paraphrased, summarized,
quoted or otherwise used
another author’s work.
Examples of in-text
citations include
parentheses, footnotes or
endnotes.
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
REFERENCE LISTS
A reference list includes
information on all of the sources
an author used. It can also be
called a bibliography or works
cited.
Each item in the list includes

information such as title, author
and publication date.
A reference list is usually listed at

the end of a paper with the
exception of footnotes which are at
the bottom of each page.
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
READING A CITATION
Knowing how to read a citation in a reference list or
bibliography will help you identify different types of
sources that an author used in their research.
You can use a reference list from another researcher to

find related sources on your topic, or to find counterpoints
to your research.
Let’s look at citations for three common types of sources:

 articles
 books
 websites
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
READING CITATIONS: ARTICLE

CITATIONS
A citation for an article can include:
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

CITATIONS
Why is this important?
You will use citations to find articles. To find an article, you need to know:
 the title of the article

 the title of the journal it's published in
The journal title is often what is listed in library catalogs.

WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

CITATIONS
How do you know if it is an article?
The presence of two titles (article and journal) are the biggest clue that this is an article.
Volume Number and Issue Number are also big clues as books will not have those
pieces in a citation.
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
READING CITATIONS: BOOK

CITATIONS
A citation for a book can include:
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

CITATIONS
You will use citations to find books.

To find a book, you need to know:
 the title of the book

 the author
Year, edition, format, and publisher

help distinguish between versions.
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

CITATIONS
How do you know if it is a book?
The place of publication and publisher’s name are the biggest clues that this is a book.
The single title and lack of page numbers are additional clues.
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
READING CITATIONS: WEBSITE

CITATIONS
A citation for a website can include:
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

CITATIONS
To find and verify a website, you need to know the

URL.
Since websites change frequently, knowing the date

accessed is similar to knowing a publication date.
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

CITATIONS
How do you know if it is a website?
The date accessed and the presence of a URL are the biggest clues that you are looking
at a citation for a website.
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
CITATION STYLES
Citations 2 CC by fixedandfrailing
Different disciplines cite in different ways

which means that there are many different
citation styles.
Your professor or department will tell you

what style to use.
Style guides, manuals and handbooks are

available both in print and online.
Citation Guides at the University Libraries

WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
EXAMPLES OF CITATION STYLES:

BOOK CITATIONS
Here is a citation for book in two different citation styles: MLA and APA. Note how the
same information is available, just in a different order.
MLA Style:
Dreger, Alice. Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in
Science. New York: Penguin. 2015. Print.
APA Style:
Dreger, A. (2015) Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, activists, and the search for justice
in science. New York, NY: Penguin.
WHAT ARE CITATIONS?
WHAT ARE CITATIONS? REVIEW

You are now able to:
 Explain what a citation is and where to use one. For example, researchers use
citations to give credit to other authors’ research.

 Articulate reasons why citations are important. Citations communicate the
breadth and depth of research.

 Identify the parts of a citation. Information included in a citation depends on
the source and citation style you use.

 Use style manuals (in print or online) to help you cite your sources correctly.

What Are Citations

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WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

https://www.lib.umn.edu/apps/instruction/citations/#/ Last updated April 2018

WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

 Articulate reasons why citations are important.

 Identify the parts of a citation.

 Recognize a source’s type by its citation.

WHAT ARE CITATIONS?

 indicate which ideas are taken from others

WHY ARE CITATIONS IMPORTANT?

 to show how their arguments or theses are built upon

WHAT DOES A CITATION LOOK LIKE?

Each item in the list includes

A reference list is usually listed at

You can use a reference list from another researcher to

Let’s look at citations for three common types of sources:

READING CITATIONS: ARTICLE

READING CITATIONS: ARTICLE

Why is this important?

 the title of the article

The journal title is often what is listed in library catalogs.

READING CITATIONS: ARTICLE

READING CITATIONS: BOOK

READING CITATIONS: BOOK

Why is this important?

You will use citations to find books.

 the title of the book

Year, edition, format, and publisher

READING CITATIONS: BOOK

READING CITATIONS: WEBSITE

READING CITATIONS: WEBSITE

Why is this important?

To find and verify a website, you need to know the

Since websites change frequently, knowing the date

READING CITATIONS: WEBSITE

Different disciplines cite in different ways

Your professor or department will tell you

Style guides, manuals and handbooks are

Citation Guides at the University Libraries

EXAMPLES OF CITATION STYLES:

WHAT ARE CITATIONS? REVIEW

citations to give credit to other authors’ research.

breadth and depth of research.

the source and citation style you use.

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