Citing Electronic Publications Guide

Many styles and forms are used to cite sources in documenting research. Most college and universities have a standardized form for their students. Three of the most widely used styles of citation are the following:

Whichever style you choose, accuracy, clarity and consistency are the most important factors when citing information sources. Unfortunately, guidelines for citing electronic sources are not yet standardized. The Internet and other information sources are constantly changing, and therefore citation formats are adapting to these changes.

Modern Language Association Style

The Modern Language Association (MLA) has developed standardized ways of citing sources used for research. Also, the MLA has set guidelines for citing electronic sources. The listing of sources at the conclusion of the text is called Works Cited.

Basic citation format:

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of work." Article's
	    original source and publication date, page numbers. Product name. 
     Publisher. Date researcher visited site. <Electronic Address, or URL, 
     of the source>.

For example:

Bowman, Darcia Harris. "Experts Ponder Sept. 11 Effect on School Violence."
     Education Week Vol. 21 Issue 41, 06/19/2002, 1. Available from
     Academic Search Premier [database on-line]. Accessed 28 August 2002.
     <http://search.ebscohost.com>.

Instead of using footnotes or endnotes, the author's last name and a shortened version of the title are placed in parentheses within the body of the text.

For example: (Bowman, 1).

Shown above are basic examples of the MLA style. For further information on electronic reference formats recommended by the Modern Language Association, refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Fifth Edition). Copies are available at the Randolph C. Watson Library. You may also see MLA Style available at http://www.mla.org/.

Remember to always consult your library resources for the exact formatting and punctuation guidelines. The library staff at the Randolph C. Watson Library are always glad to assist you. Databases and other information can be accessed through the library's website http://library.kilgore.edu/library. You may wish to consult "help" on the EBSCO and other databases.

American Psychological Association Style

The American Psychological Association (APA) also has created standardized ways for citing sources in research. Guidelines have been formulated for citing electronic sources. Parenthetical citations are used in the APA method instead of endnotes or footnotes.

Basic reference format:

Author (date of original source). Article title. Original source of 
     article, page numbers. (Retrieved [month, day, year] from [source] 
     database [name of database], [item no.- if applicable]) on the World Wide 
     Web: Electronic Address, or URL, of the source.

For example:

Bowman, Darcia Harris (2002) Experts Ponder Sept. 11 Effect on School 
     Violence. Education Week, 21(41), 1 +. Retrieved August 28, 2002 
     from EBSCOhost database (Academic Search Premier) on the World Wide Web: 
     http://search.ebscohost.com.

The author's last name and the publication year (original source/date of visit to site) are placed in parentheses within the body of the text in APA style instead of using footnote or endnote.

For example: (Bowman, 2002)

The examples shown above are basic examples from the APA style. For further information, refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Fifth edition). This book is available on reserve in the Randolph C. Watson Library. For more information on electronic reference formats which the American Psychological Association recommends, see http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html.

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Turabian Style

Kate L. Turabian developed a system of writing term papers, theses and dissertations. A bibliography is the list of sources at the end of the text. Footnotes are at the end of a page.

Basic bibliography entry format:

Author. "Article title." Original source of article, 
     date of original source, page numbers. Product the article is available 
     on; URL of specific article (Location of site publisher, publisher, date 
     of visit to site).

For example:

Bowman, Darcia Harris. "Experts Ponder Sept. 11 Effect on School Violence",
     Education Week Vol. 21 Issue 41, 06/19/2002, 1. Available from Academic
     Search Premier [database on-line]; http://search.ebscohost.com (Boston,MA:
	 EBSCO Publishing, accessed 28 August 2002).

Basic footnote format:

          Number of footnote, Author, "Article title," Original source of article, date of original source, page numbers, product the article is available on; URL of specific article (Location of site publisher, date of visit to site).

For example:

          1 Darcia Harris Bowman, "Experts Ponder Sept. 11 Effect on School Violence" Education Week, Vol. 21 Issue 41 06/19/2002, 1, available from Academic Search Premier [database on-line]; http://search.ebscohost.com (Boston, MA: EBSCO Publishing, accessed 28 August 2002).

The above examples are basic examples of the Turabian style. For further information on recommended formats, refer to A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, (Sixth edition).

Be sure to consult the library staff at the Randolph C. Watson Library.