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Philosophy

Citation Basics

What are citations?

  • A citation is short way to uniquely identify a published work

What do citations include? 

  • A citation consists of all standard bibliographic elements and includes all information necessary to identify a work.
  • i.e. Title, author, publication date, location, volume, issue, page numbers, etc. 

Why do we cite sources? 

  • To give credit to other researchers and to acknowledge their ideas
  • To avoid plagiarism
  • To provide a trail so others can consult the materials you've used / so they can do further reading
  • To provide evidence of your own research 

What should you cite?

  • Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge 
  • Ideas, words, theories, or exact language that another person used
  • Images, photos, artwork, sculptures, media (i.e. videos, movies, television, podcasts, etc.)

MLA Formatting & Citations (8th edition)

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.

If you are asked to use MLA format, be sure to consult a copy of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, located in McQuade Library's reference collection: 

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is the gold standard for online tools to teach you about citations and formatting.

From the website you can learn to:

  • Format in-text, and full bibliographical citations for a variety of source types
  • Follow formatting and style guidelines for a variety of assignments

APA Formattng & Citations (7th edition)

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the social sciences.

If you are asked to use APA format, be sure to consult the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, located in McQuade Library's reference collection:

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is the gold standard for online tools to teach you about citations and formatting.

From the website you can learn to:

  • Format in-text, and full bibliographical citations for a variety of source types
  • Follow formatting and style guidelines for a variety of assignments

Chicago Formatting & Citations

Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the humanities, particularly in the disciplines of the Arts, English, History, Religion & Theological Studies.   

If you are asked to use CMOS format, be sure to consult the Chicago Manual of Style, located in McQuade Library's reference collection:

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is the gold standard for online tools to teach you about citations and formatting.

From the website you can learn to:

  • Format in-text, and full bibliographical citations for a variety of source types
  • Follow formatting and style guidelines for a variety of assignments

Getting Started with NoodleTools

NoodleTools is an online research management platform that promotes critical thinking and authentic research. NoodleTools helps to keep researchers organized as they evaluate information, build accurate citations, archive source material, take notes, outline topics, and prepare to write. Using NoodleTools, users can generate citations in MLA, APA, or Chicago/Turabian styles, as well as create note cards and outlines. NoodleTools also allows researchers to collaborate with peers and instructors.