What are citations?
Citations indicate:
- which ideas are taken from others
- from whom those ideas were taken; give credit where credit is due
- allow researchers to find, read, and comment on each others’ sources
- Tutorial: What are citations?Understand what citations are, why they are important, and how to create and use them.
- Citation Guides and Style ManualsA guide to different citation styles.
Resources for MLA Citation and Chicago Styles
MLA Citation Style or the Chicago Manual of Style are the citation styles you'll be using for your capstone research papers.
The current version of the MLA Citation Style is noted in the MLA Handbook (9th edition). Use the resources below to see how to cite using MLA.
The current version of the Chicago Manual of Style is noted in the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
You can also ask Brian Vetruba, your librarian for this course, for citation assistance.
- Purdue Online Writing LabGood first stop for citation questions. Online guide to formatting citations in APA, Chicago, MLA and other styles.
- MLA Handbook PlusThe MLA Handbook is an online textbook and reference guide for student writers and writing instructors. Get guidance on writing research papers and creating works-cited-list entries in MLA style and get advice on punctuation, grammar, inclusive language, formatting research papers, and in-text citations. In addition, learn from the MLA Guide to Digital Literacy and the MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature, as well as video courses.
- Chicago Manual of Style OnlineThis resource provides online access to the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, which covers a variety of topics from manuscript preparation and publication to grammar, usage, and citation formating. The citation quick guide covers both the author-date and the notes and bibliography systems.
- MLA Handbook (9th edition) byCall Number: eBook; also available in printISBN: 9781603293518Publication Date: 2021This is the only official, authorized book on MLA style.
- Citing Primary SourcesOffers instructions on and examples of citing electronic sources in MLA and Chicago styles.
Citation managers
What are citation managers? They are apps that allow you to import citation information from databases and catalogs, save PDFs, and format citations for your research using different citations styles (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.). Some managers also allow you to include your own notes.
Common citation managers include Zotero, Mendeley, and Endnote. Many of these are FREE! More information on citations and a comparison of citation managers.
- Citation Managers (e.g. Zotero, EndNote Online, etc.)Citation managers are software packages used to create personalized databases of citation information and notes. They allow you to: import and organize citation information from article indexes and other sources; save links to pdfs and other documents; format citations for your papers and bibliographies using APA and many other styles; and include your own notes.
- Citation Manager WorkshopsUMN Libraries offers a number of 1-hr. workshops on citation managers throughout the year. These include a general introduction to citation managers as well workshops on Zotero and EndNote. Registration required.
Resources for Zotero
- Zotero (Citation tool)Free, web-based software that is useful for organizing your research sources, creating bibliographies and sharing sources with others.