Citation Styles

Dear Student,

Proper use of a citation style serves to identify you as a serious and conscientious scholar while also giving your readers access to your sources if they wish to engage with them more fully. Different academic disciplines use different styles for citing sources in research papers. The Judicial Affairs Office and the Program in Writing and Rhetoric recommend that prior to writing research papers you consult with your professor or TA to find out which style they prefer -- often teachers will specify a citation style in the course syllabus or assignment sheet, so pay close attention to any written instructions. If they do not have a preference, you may choose a citation style to follow, consulting the guidelines for particular disciplines listed below, compiled by librarians at the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University:

• APA: psychology, education, and other social sciences.
• MLA: literature, arts, and humanities.
• AMA: medicine, health, and biological sciences.
• Turabian: designed for college students to use with all subjects.
• Chicago Manual of Style: used with all subjects in the ¡§real world¡¨ by books, magazines, newspapers, and other non-scholarly publications.

Listed below are several additional internet reference sources you may utilize to ensure that your research papers adhere to the academic standards of institutions of higher learning.

Please note that you should not create your own citation system but should instead follow the format of an accepted style. If you are confused about how to cite sources for a particular assignment, consult your teacher or TA.

Internet Reference Sources

• http://library.stanford.edu/guides/style.html
  This site focuses on using Bibliographic Management Software at Stanford and Citation Styles based on Harnack and Kleppinger's Online.
• http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm
  This site provides examples of proper usage for each of the citation style.
• http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html
  This comprehensive site provided by Bedford/St. Martin's Press covers a wide range of citation practices.
• http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/
  This guide made available by Capital Community College focuses on APA format.
• http://www.citationonline.net/CitationHelp/idh_footnotes.htm
  This site focuses on proper format for footnotes.

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