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Reading Citations

A citation describes a source by presenting information about that source (book, article, web page, etc.) in a standard format.

A citation tells:

  • What was written - title
  • Who wrote it - author and/or editor
  • When - date of book, article or web page
  • Where it was published and by whom - publisher and city; journal name; host of web page

Common citations are to journal articles, books, and book chapters.

Examples:

Article Citation

Citations to journal or magazine articles will include some of the following:

  • author
  • article title
  • journal or magazine title
  • volume number of the journal or magazine
  • date of publication

Citation of a journal article breaking down the individual parts of a citation: the author (in last name, first name format), the article title (in italics), the journal title (underlined), the volume number and issue number (formatted as "x.x"), the date of the article (in parentheses), and the page range following a colon.

Book Citation

Citations to books will include the following:

  • Author or editor of the book
  • Title of Book
  • Publisher and city of publication
  • Date of Publication

Citation of a book, with the citation's components individually broken down: the author of the book (in last name, first name format), the book title (underlined), the city of publication, the publisher, and the publication date.

Book Chapter Citation

Citations to book chapters will also include the title, author, and pages of the chapter.

Citation of a book chapter broken down into individual components: the author (in last name, first name format), the chapter title (in quotations), the book title (underlined), the book editor (in first name, last name format), the book's publication information including city, publisher, and date, and the page range of the chapter cited.

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Check out our Understand Citations guide in Research Now! for more help with understanding citations.

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