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Citation Basics
Recommended Citation Generator
- ZoteroBibUseful citation generator. Be sure you are generating your citation in the correct format before getting started, and make sure to double check the formatting before you copy/paste into your assignment.
Reading a Citation
Key to formatting a citation correctly or locating an item you see referenced in a bibliography is recognizing the type of material you are working with. Is it a journal article? A book? A chapter in a book?
The following links will help you understand the parts of a citation. Additionally, if you are reviewing a bibliography, knowing how to tell the type of source from its formatting will help you locate the item using the appropriate library resource.
APA Citation Resources
- APA Quick Citation GuidePenn State guide for APA references with examples.
- APA Formatting and Style Guide (Purdue OWL)Extensive explanations and examples for how to cite using the APA style, commonly used in the social sciences.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 6th Edition by Call Number: BF76.7.P83 2010Publication Date: 2010In addition to providing guidance on grammar, the mechanics of writing, and APA style, this manual offers an authoritative reference and citation system. It also covers the treatment of numbers, statistical and mathematical data, tables and figures.
MLA Citation Resources
- MLA Quick Citation GuidePenn State guide for MLA references with examples.
- MLA Formatting and Style Guide (Purdue OWL)Extensive explanations and examples for how to cite using the MLA style, commonly used in the humanities.
Citation Managers
A citation manager is a software that will assist you in creating and managing citations for the articles you use in your research. Some of the software will also store the articles you find.
You may want to consider using a citation manager as you conduct your research to save the resources you find and quickly access and cite them as you write your assignments.
View the various guides for each manager from the links below.
- Citation Management OverviewThe chart on this page provides an overview of the different citation managers available, with the features of each software to help you make a decision.
- EndNote (PSU Guide)a citation manager that you must purchase and download onto your personal computer. There is a free web version as well.
- Zotero (PSU Guide)a free stand alone program that allows for easy capturing of citation information from web pages.
- Mendeley (PSU Guide)a free tool for both the desktop and web that integrates with Zotero and easily manages PDFs.