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SUNY Jefferson

Citing Sources

Tutorial - ATTRIBUTION

Information Literacy Tutorial Unit 5 Attribute

For more about citing sources taking our Information Literacy Tutorial Unit 5 on Attribution

What is Citation

What is a citation? A citation....

  • Describes a journal article, book, website, or another type of published item
  • Credits the author for the idea
  • Helps the reader retrieve the item that you are referring to
  • Includes the author's name, title of piece, source (publisher, place of publication, or URL), and date

How do I know what citation format to use?

Your course instructor will normally tell you what citation format to use. 

  • MLA (Modern Language Association) Style - most commonly used format within the liberal arts and humanities.
  • APA (American Psychological Association) Style - most commonly used format within the social sciences.
  • Chicago Manual of Style - common in some social sciences but most notably in area of history.
  • CSE (Council of Science Editors) - most commonly used format within the sciences.