| There are many different style guides for documenting research papers,
including the MLA
(Modern Language Association), used in many of the humanities; the APA
(American Psychological Association), used for psychology and some other
sciences; the CBE (Council of Biology Editors) used for biology
and chemistry; the Number, Date system, used in computer science
and engineering; and the Turabian (Chicago style) for history. However,
not
all history research papers use the Turabian style, nor do all humanities
research papers use the MLA style. The major style guides also include
how to document online sources.
You should follow the style your professor
requires. If you can choose your own, don't mix styles in a particular
project. Be consistent.
There are two basic forms of documentation you need to use when writing
a research paper:
1. In-text citation - used in the text of your paper where you
cite or paraphrase sources.
2. Bibliographic citation - used for the reference list at the
end of your paper, which refers to all of the works cited in your paper.
Some styles also use footnotes and/or superscripts to refer the reader
to additional information.
All information that is not common knowledge and is not your original
opinion needs to be cited with a source.
Use parenthetical citations (citation information between parenthesis)
for information that is someone's opinion and is not common knowledge.
Give parenthetical citation information for quotations and paraphrases.
Include page number for direct quotes. MLA, but not APA, requires page
numbers for paraphrases. APA, but not MLA, requires the date be included
in in-text citations.
Spacing and punctuation in citations also differ according to documentation
style.
Different types of written material, media, and Internet sources
have different citation formats.Follow the style guidelines recommended
by your professor, for a particular paper. For general information
about different styles, see the brief examples and links below.
Brief examples of two major styles:
Resources:
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