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Citation Guide

Cite sources, create annotated bibliographies, and avoid plagiarism.

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Citing online periodical articles and supplements

Note: Omit page numbers if they're not provided. If there is an "Article Number," include that.

Periodical articles in library databases

[Cite like print articles. Then:] https://doi.org/… (if given)

Burunat, E. (2019, August). Love is a physiological motivation (like hunger, thirst, sleep, or sex). Medical Hypotheses, 129, Article 109225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2019.05.011

Articles and supplements from periodical websites

[Cite the same as print articles; include description in brackets to help locate supplements. Then:] https://doi.org/… (if given)

  • Beconyte, G., Eismontaite, A., & Zemaitiene, J. (2014, January 10). Mythical creatures of Europe [Supplemental material: Main map]. Journal of Maps10(1), 53-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2013.867544
  • Pionke, J. J. (2017). Beyond ADA compliance: The library as a place for all. Urban Library Journal, 23(1), Article 3. http://academicworks.cuny.edu/ulj/vol23/iss1/3
  • Turkewitz, J. (2019, June 22). Who gets to own the west? The New York Times, p. A1. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/22/us/wilks-brothers-fracking-business.html

Citing blog posts and news site items

Blog posts

Author(s). (Date). Title of post. Blog Title, otherwise, use Periodical Title, if given. https://doi.org/… (if available) or URL of work cited

Lewis, R. (2020, January 9). Will new knowledge of gender identity genomics counter discrimination? DNA Science. https://blogs.plos.org/dnascience/2020/01/09/will-new-knowledge-of-gender-identity-genomics-counter-discrimination

Items from news sites

Author(s). (Date). Title of article. News Site Name. https://doi.org/... (if given) or URL

Illing, S. (2018, April 6). How search engines are making us more racist. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2018/4/3/17168256

Citing works published by specific databases or repositories

Works published by specific databases or repositories

Author(s). (Date). Title of work (Document number, if any) [Description of information, if relevant]. Database or Repository. https://doi.org/… (if given) or, URL if material is open-access

  • Abdalla, S. (2018). Experiences of faculty women of color: A literature review (ED582905). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/ fulltext/ED582905.pdf
  • Teen homelessness [Topic overview]. (2019). Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection.

Citing Electronic Books

Note: Omit page numbers and/or publisher, if not provided.

Ebooks in library databases

[Cite the same as print books, omitting, if not provided, publisher name and/or page numbers. Then:] https://doi.org/… (if given)

  • Carillo, E. C. (2018). Teaching readers in post-truth America. University Press of Colorado; Utah State University Press. https://doi.org/10.7330/9781607327912
  • Mountain oysters. (2014). In J. F. Mariani, The encyclopedia of American food and drink (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury.

Ebooks from websites

[Cite the same as print books, omitting, if not provided, publisher name and/or page numbers). Website, if different than author or title. Then:] https://doi.org/... (if given) or URL for book or section

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Anxiety disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm05
  • Brownstein, M. (2019). Implicit bias. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Fall 2019 ed.). Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2019/entries/implicit-bias

Citing dissertations and theses

Dissertations and theses

Author. (Year). Dissertation or thesis title (Publication No., if any) [Doctoral dissertation or Master's thesis, Name of Institution]. https://doi.org/… (if available) or Database or Repository and URL

  • Nkere, N. (2016). Involvement of African-American girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education (Publication No. 10619097) [Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University]. ProQuest Education Database.
  • O'Brien, S. M. (2019). Unsupervised summarization of public talk radio [Master's thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. DSpace@MIT. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Citing government webpages and reports

Government webpages or reports without named authors

Agency, office, institute, bureau, or department. (Date). Webpage or report title (Report number or Series Title, number and issue, if any). Parent Agencies, if any. https://doi.org/... (if given) or URL

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019, March). Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2018 (Report No. 1078). U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/ minimum-wage/2018/pdf/home.pdf
  • MedlinePlus. (2020, January 14). Flu. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/flu.html

Government webpages and reports with named authors

Author(s). (Date). Webpage or title of report Title (Report number or Series Title, number and issue, if any). Agency, office, institute, bureau, or department. https://doi.org/... (if available) or URL

  • Keisman, J. L. D., Devereau, O. H., LaMotte, A. E., Sekellick, A. J., & Blomquist, J. D. (2018). Manure and fertilizer inputs to land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 1950–2012 (Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5022). U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185022
  • Perry, S. W. (2019, July). Tribal crime data-collection activities, 2019 (NCJ 252983). Bureau of Justice Statistics. http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=6646

Citing webpages

Webpages not from periodical, news, government, or blog sites

Author(s). (Date). Title of webpage [Description of information, if relevant]. Website Name, if different than author. https://doi.org/… (if given) or URL

  • Association of College & Research Libraries. (2011). Standards for libraries in higher education. http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/standards/slhe.pdf
  • Laskowski, E. R. (2018, October 26). What is hot yoga? Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/expert-answers/hot-yoga/faq-20058057

Citing social media

Social media posts

Author [screen name]. (Date). Content of post, up to 20 words [Attached media, if any] [Description or Format]. Site Name. URL

Tyson, N. D. [@neiltyson]. (2020, January 7). Climate versus Weather... [Video attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1214676892265123842

Citing online artwork

Artwork in library databases

[Cite the same as artwork.]

Kahlo, F. (1948). La columna rota [The broken column] [Painting]. Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City, Mexico.

Artwork from websites

[Cite the same as artwork. Then:] URL

Sherald, A. (2018). First Lady Michelle Obama [Painting]. Smithsonian Institution National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, United States. https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2018.15

Citing online video and audio

Films and TV episodes in library databases

[Cite the same as films and broadcast TV episodes).]

  • Culpepper, M. & Draper, N. (Directors). (2005). Bachelor farmer [Film]. Stick Pony Rodeo Productions.
  • Rowley, R. (Writer & Director). (2018, November 20). Documenting hate: New American nazis (Season 37, Episode 10) [TV show episode]. In R. Rowley, A. C. Thompson, K. Hajj, J. Soohen, N. Verbitsy (Producers), Frontline. Midnight Films.

Uploaded videos (to YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, etc.)

Person or group who uploaded the video [screen name, if any]. (Date). Video title [Video]. Website. URL

  • Singh, L. (2017, June 8). A geography class for racist people [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/8WfEkXvGQhY
  • TEDx Talks. (2018, March 6). Sheila Sarem: The social capital gap [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/z9kHCO7xbYQ

TED Talks from the TED website*

*If, instead, the talk is on a TED or TEDx YouTube channel, cite it as a YouTube video.

Speaker(s). (Date). Title of talk [Video] TED Conferences. URL

Lee, D. N. (2019, April). How hip-hop helps us understand science [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/danielle_n_lee_how_hip_hop_helps_us_understand_science

Audio and video podcast episodes

Host(s) or Executive Producer(s). (Date). Title of episode (Episode number, if given) [Audio or Video podcast episode]. In Podcast title. Production Company, if any. URL, if known

Britt, M. A. (2019, April 4). An introduction to cross cultural psychology [Audio podcast episode]. In The psych files. http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2019/04/ep-322-an-introduction-to-cross-cultural-psychology

Digital versions of speeches, readings, interviews, etc.

Speaker(s) or Interviewee(s). (Date). Title, if any [Description, e.g., Interview, Reading video recording, Speech audio recording, etc.]. Digital Repository; Parent Organization, if any. Website, if different than Repository/Organization. URL

Wilson, M. (1987, January 30). Off the record interview with Mary Wilson, 1987-01-30 [Interview]. Joe Smith Collection; Library of Congress. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsrs/mbrsjoesmith.1836013

Online slideshows (PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.)

Author(s). (Date). Presentation title [Description, i.e., PowerPoint slides, Prezi slides, etc.]. Website. URL

Le Meur, E. (2017, January 11). How to think like a startup [PowerPoint slides]. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/loiclemeur/how-to-think-like-a-startup

Citing personal communications

Personal communications include emails, letters, text and direct messages, telephone and in-person conversations, interviews, and any other unrecoverable, unarchived sources. Because they are difficult to recover, they are not listed in bibliographies and references pages; instead, they are cited in-text only. Example:

(E. A. Champlin, personal communication, May 3, 2017)