Brian's Best Citation Sites

There are many different citation style guides. Which one you use will depend on what your professor requires and the area of study in which you write.

For example, if you are writing papers for an English course, you will be expected to use the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. If you are an education major, you are usually required to use the American Psychological Association’s APA Publication Manual. Biologists use the Council of Science Editors' CBE Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers.

If your professor doesn’t clearly state which citation style guide you should use, don’t hesitate to ask! For starters, here are links to a few guides that will introduce you to different citation styles:

MLA Style Guide Information

• Frequently Asked Questions from the Official MLA Web Site
  http://www.mla.org/style_faq
  
  
• MLA Style: How to Use Guide from Bowling Green State University
  http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/infosrv/
  lue/HTU/MLA.pdf
  
  
• MLA Formatting and Style Guide from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL)
  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

APA Style Guide Information

• APA Style Tips from the Official APA Web Site
  http://apastyle.apa.org/previoustips.html
  
  
• APA Style: How to Use Guide from Bowling Green State University
  http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/infosrv/
  lue/HTU/apa5th.PDF
  
  
• APA Formatting and Style Guide from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL)
  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Information about Other Citation Style Guides

• Bedford / St. Martin's Online
  Covers APA,CBE, Chicago Manual of Style, and MLA.
  http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html

• Duke University Libraries' Guide to Library Research: Citing Sources
  Covers APA, Chicago Manual of Style, CSE, MLA, and Turabian.
  http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/

• Research and Documentation Online by Diana Hacker
  Covers APA, Chicago Manual of Style, CSE, and MLA.
  http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
  
  
• Documenting Electronic Sources in Specific Disciplines
  Provides links for APA and MLA as well as styles for disciplines such as anthropology and sociology.
  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/584/02/

Citation Generators
Commercial products exist that can help you convert your sources into the proper citation format.  Here are three that you can check out:

• Son of Citation Machine http://citationmachine.net
  
• NoodleTools http://www.noodletools.com
  
• KnightCite http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/

Your college or university might also subscribe to citation management software like RefWorks or EndNote or Reference Manager.  The librarians at your school or college can tell you more about these options.