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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).

APA Reference Examples

The following are examples of how to cite sources in the bibliography of a paper or article. Remember that APA citations require a "hanging indent" and that most APA style papers should be in Times New Roman font. For citations within papers, APA uses an in-text parenthetical format usually consisting of the author's last name and year of publication, plus a page number in cases of direct quotes; for instance, (Downey, 2009, p. 133).

Book with one author

Johnson, S. (2002). Who moved my cheese? An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life. Putnam.

Parenthetical Citation: (Johnson, 2002)

Book with two authors

Goyer, T., & Putman, C. (2016). Blessed are the cheesemakers. Guideposts.

Parenthetical Citation: (Goyer & Putman, 2016)

Book with three or more authors (up to 20)

Barnham, L., Priestley, P., & Targett, A. (1999). In search of Cheddar man. Tempus.

Parenthetical Citation: (Barnham et al., 1999)

Edited book

Donnelly, C. (Ed.). (2016). The Oxford companion to cheese. Oxford University Press.

Parenthetical Citation: (Donnelly, 2016)

Chapter from an edited book

Jacobowitz, S. (2005). Chuck E. Cheese at noon: Adventures in parenting and higher education. In R. H. Bassett (Ed.), Parenting & professing: Balancing family work with an academic career (pp. 133-140). Vanderbilt University Press.

Parenthetical Citation: (Jacobowitz, 2005)

Journal article with DOI

Ma, L., & Lillard, A. (2006). Where is the real cheese? Young children's ability to discriminate between real and pretend acts. Child Development, 77(6), 1762-1777.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00972.x

Parenthetical Citation: (Ma & Lillard, 2006)

Journal article without DOI, from an academic database, or print

Carter, L., Sumrall, W., & Curry, K. (2006). Say cheese! Digital collections in the classroom. Science and Children, 43(8), 19-23.

Parenthetical Citation: (Carter et al., 2006)

ERIC Document

Sabieh, C. (2002). American chunky blue cheese salad: A look at multicultural education (ED478571). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED478571.pdf

Parenthetical Citation: (Sabieh, 2002)

Data Sets

Ginder, S. (2021), Graduation rates for selected cohorts, 2012-2017; outcome measures for cohort year 2012-2013; student financial aid, academic year 2019-2020; and admissions in postsecondary institutions, fall 2020. (NCES 2021105) [Data set]. NCES. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2021105

Parenthetical Citation: (Ginder, 2021)

Doctoral dissertation or master's thesis

Baxter, B.L. (1997). Use of adjunct cultures and elevated temperatures in reduced fat cheddar cheese (Publication No. 1386022) [Master's thesis, Mississippi State University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Parenthetical Citation: (Baxter, 1997)

Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master's thesis

Honer, C.J. (1947), The influence of citric acid in milk on the body texture and flavor characteristics in Mississippi cheddar cheese [Unpublished master's thesis]. Mississippi State University.

Parenthetical Citation: (Honer, 1947)

Newspaper article

Print:

Hevesi, D. (2010, August 3). Morrie Yohai, 90, the man behind Cheez Doodles, is dead. The New York Times, A16.

Online:

Hevesi, D. (2010, August 2). Morrie Yohai, 90, the man behind Cheez Doodles, is dead. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/business/03yohai.html

Parenthetical Citation: (Hevesi, 2010)

TED Talk

From TED's website:

Kindstedt, P.S. (2018, December). A brie(f) history of cheese [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_s_kindstedt_a_brie_f_history_of_cheese?language=en

From YouTube:

TEDx Talks. (2017, October 17). American Cheese Revolution | Zach Berg | TEDxLivoniaCCLibrary [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEQGaXznUbU

Parenthetical Citations: (Kindstedt, 2018; TEDx Talks, 2017)

Music album

The String Cheese Incident. (2005).One step closer [Album]. SCI Fidelity.

Parenthetical Citation: (The String Cheese Incident, 2005)

Twitter or Facebook

Mississippi State University [@msstate]. (2012, December 13). Celebrate 75 yrs of MSU cheese & tell us how you’re enjoying it this season, tweet a pic! Use hashtag #SayCheeseState. bit.ly/Z3Nj9N  [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/msstate/status/279351983213801472

Parenthetical Citation: (Mississippi State University, 2012)

TV series episode

McCracken, C. (Writer & Director). (2007, May 4). Cheese a go-go (Season 5, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In L. Faust, C. McCracken, & B. Miller (Executive Producers), Foster's home for imaginary friends.  Boulder Media; Cartoon Network Studios.

Parenthetical Citation: (McCracken, 2007)

Generative Text AI (ChatGPT, Bard, etc.)

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Parenthetical Citation: (OpenAI, 2023)

 

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