Citing Sources Standard 4B

Finding Sources When conducting research, you should use a variety of sources for information. As you gather information, determine whether or not a particular resource fits the requirements of your assignment. You need to ask yourself these questions to establish a source's credibility and usefulness: How current is the information? Is this information from a respected source? Who wrote the information? Is it accurate?

Almanac An almanac is an annual publication composed of various lists, charts, and tables of information in many unrelated fields. The almanac is full of statistics on population, past events, and weather.

Atlas An atlas is a book of maps

Dictionary Use the dictionary to find the definition of a word, or to learn it’s spelling or pronunciation.

Encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference book that has information on a wide variety of subjects. Encyclopedias are good for summary reports on a great many topics

Thesaurus Use the thesaurus to find synonym of a word. When you look up a word in the thesaurus, you will find a list of words that mean the same thing.

Web sites Web sites are found on the Internet. Some may not have true information, so double check the information with another source.

Citations The places where you find information are called sources. It is very important to name (or cite) the sources you use when you write a report so that the reader does not think you made up the information yourself. Content notes and bibliographic notes are two methods for documenting information.

Works Cited Page Sometimes called a bibliography Lists all the books, newspaper articles, magazine articles, encyclopedias, internets sites, and any other source you have used to write your paper.

Works Cited Pages Should be at the end of the report Sources should be listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. The sources should include the author, title, publisher information and type of publication The first line of each entry is not indented. The second and subsequent lines are indented, which is called a hanging indentation.

Books Last Name, First Name. Title. City Published: Publisher, Year Published. Type of publication. examples: Harper, Sally. Dogs. New York: Random House, 2000. Print. Wang, Joseph E. and Cena Nguyen, eds. Essays on Eastern Medicine. Chicago: Fountain Press, 2007. Print. Notes: A book title may be italicized or underlined. The abbreviation "eds." stands for editors. The editors in the example above put the book together, but they did not write the actual essays.

Newspaper Articles Author. "Article Title." Newspaper Name Date published: Page number. Type of publication. example: Wakin, Daniel J. "Headed for Korea, Orchestra Gets Tips." New York Times 25 February 2008: E1. Print. Note: This is also the same way to cite an article from a book of articles (or essays, short stories, and more).

Magazine Articles Author. "Article Title." Magazine Name Date published: Page number(s). Type of publication. example: Rodriguez, Sofia. "Just Your Type: The Right Shampoo for Your Hair." Beauty Consumers 20 Mar. 2012: 19-21. Print. Note: The difference between a citation for a newspaper article and a magazine article is how the page number or numbers are listed.

Articles from a Scholarly Journal Author. "Article Title." Journal Name Volume number. Issue number. (Date of publication): Page numbers. Type of publication. example: Paruchi, Sylvia. "Time Flies When You're Too Busy to Have Fun." Journal of American Psychologists 85.3. (2012): 41-48. Print. Note: When citing a scholarly journal article that is published online, include the same information as an article that is in print plus the date the article was accessed online. If the page numbers are unavailable, use "n. pag." Bonner, Alexi. "Investing in the Future." National Education Journal 50.1 (2011): n. pag. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.

Web Sites Last Name, First Name. "Name of the article." Title of the Web site. Publisher name, Date published. Type of publication. Date of access. example: Oransky, Ivan. "Writing Well." The Good Writer Journal Online. The Writing Lab at Study Island, n.d. Web. 25 February 2008. Note: If no publisher name is available, use the abbreviation N.p. If no publishing date is given, use the abbreviation n.d. MLA format no longer requires the URL (Web site address). However, if the URL is requested by an instructor, include the entire address in angle brackets after the date of access.

CD- ROMs Last Name, First Name. Title of the publication. Name of the editor, compiler, or translator (if relevant). Edition, release, or version (if relevant). Place of publication: Name of publisher, Date of publication. Type of publication. example: Graham, Lucy. The Voice of Poetry. Huntsville, AL: Muziq, Inc., 2012. CD-ROM. Note: Like Web sites, sometimes all the information needed to correctly cite a CD-ROM cannot be found. If you cannot locate some information, leave that information out and include the rest.

More than one work from same author To cite two or more works by the same author, use the author's name in the first entry only. In the next entry, use three hyphens in place of the name. The three hyphens show that the same author wrote both works. example: Rushdie, Salman. East, West. New York: Pantheon Books, 1994. Print. ---. Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991. New York: Penguin Books, 1992. Print.

Footnotes Sometimes you will see footnotes at the bottom of a page. Footnotes list sources or additional information in the order the writer used them in the report. A small raised number in the report should match up with the note at the bottom of the page. The number should go next to the part of the report that goes with the note. example: Experts believe that hot weather also causes people to be more aggressive.1 A footnote should have enough information so that the reader can identify the source on the works cited page. For example, the footnote may include the source's author and title. 1. For more examples on how temperature affects a person's behavior, see Walker 100-101 "Temperature and Temperament."

Crediting Pictures In order to credit pictures in a report, put a note right under the picture. It should say who took the picture or created the graphic. It should also say where you got it (that is, what source you found it in). You can put this information right in the report if you want to, but you should also include it under the picture so anyone looking at it will know where it was found.

Plagiarism Plagiarism is when you copy someone else's work or use their ideas without giving them credit. You must give credit in a footnote or a listing on your works cited page, and you must use quotation marks if you used someone else's exact words. It is not a good idea to copy someone's words without giving them credit, and in many cases it is illegal.