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Citation Guides

A guide to citing sources, including how to use the most commonly used citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago).

About This Guide

This guide provides a basic overview of creating reference lists in several common citation styles. For comprehensive information on these styles, please refer to the print style manuals available on the wood shelves next to "New Books" located in Research, Instruction & Outreach on the 2nd floor of Mitchell Memorial Library.

If your needed style is not listed, check the "Other Citation Styles" tab for links.

To cite sources in speeches, this guide from USM's Southern Miss Speaking Center will help.

Note on Citation Generators

Most databases provide sample citations drawn from standard templates, in many of the styles demonstrated in this guide. Citation Management Software and websites (EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley) and generators such as Chegg and EasyBib also will auto-generate citations. In many cases the citations may have mistakes in formatting. In addition, artificial intelligence tools using Large Language Models (LLM) such as ChatGPT can generate false citations using legitimate author names and journal titles.

Always double-check your citations for authenticity and accuracy!

Note on Citing AI-Generated Text (e.g., ChatGPT)

As OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard, Adobe's Firefly, and other large-language model (LLM) artificial intelligence text generators see more frequent use, ethical questions relating to citation and academic integrity inevitably arise. The following steps are a good start in using AI responsibly:

  • AI tools cannot consent to publication, sign contracts, or take resposibility for accuracy of content; therefore they cannot be named as a "co-author."
  • Text generated using AI tools must be documented using proper citation methods; please see the specific citation style tabs in the Citation Guides for examples.
  • You as the author are ultimately responsible for the validity and accuracy of any text generated by AI. Fact check the text against reliable sources before using!

For more information on AI Text and academic publishing, see "Taylor & Francis Clarifies the Responsible use of AI Tools in Academic Content Creation."