In the field of research, a lot of information comes from other sources and it is important that you cite your references correctly. This can help you to avoid plagiarism and also improve the quality of your writing. The rules for citing and articles wehn writing vary from discipline to discipline, so it is important that you are familiar with the style your school or department prefers.
Whether you are a first year student or a post-graduate, it is essential that you understand how to cite and articles wehn writing. Proper referencing can make your work look professional and can also help you to stand out from the crowd. There are a number of different styles for citations, including the Modern Language Association (MLA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and Chicago style.
The basic structure of a reference is the same for all cited works, but some elements can be adapted to suit different types of sources. For example, if you are quoting from an audio-visual source like a YouTube video or a podcast, place the time of the clip in parentheses. If you are citing a book or other print source, place the title of the book in quotation marks.
You should also cite the year of publication, even if you are quoting from an online or electronic source. This is especially important when the date of publication is not known or can’t be found in the source.
To cite an article from a journal, place the journal name in italics and the article’s title in quotation marks. The journal title should be followed by the issue number and volume if possible.
When citing an edited journal article, provide the name of the editor(s) and their respective first and last names. If there is more than one author, use the surname of the first author and then list the authors using their initials.
For journal articles with three to 20 authors, list the authors in the same order as for two-author journal articles, but separate each author and their initials using a comma. For the final author, follow the same format as for two-author journal articles, but include an ampersand “&” before the last author’s name and place a space between each author’s initials.
The format of a reference for books is similar to that for journal and magazine articles. However, when citing a book, you should also provide the publisher of the book in parentheses.
Similarly, when citing a collection of essays or an edited collection of articles, give the title of the collected work and the name of the collection in italics. The collection or collection’s name should then be followed by the series name in italics.
You should cite the name of the publisher in parentheses as well, if it is not known or is not available. The publisher is usually the same as the journal or magazine that published the original article.
When citing online or other digital sources, you should put the DOI (digital object identifier) in parentheses. Alternatively, you can give the URL (web address) of the website where you accessed the source.
