Understanding Citations

A citation is a reference to a source of information. Typically it includes identifying information such as the author, title and source. This information should be sufficient for a reader to be able to locate a copy of the item.

Example:

Munro, Alice. Lives of Girls and Women: a Novel. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1971.

The ability to interpret citations and references is a basic research skill that will enable you to locate additional sources of information relevant to your research.

Following are some examples of citations and references that you might find in a bibliography or online. Depending upon the citation style used , elements of the citation may be ordered

Book Citation

Example of a citation for a book

Journal Article Citation

Example of an Article Citation

Article in a Book

Example of a citation for an article in a book

Internet Resource Citation

Example of a citation for an internet resource