Need Help with Citing?

“Citation Needed” – Wikimedia Commons.

We’re entering the homestretch of the semester – and assignments will soon be due. While we all know we should “cite as we write,” few students do. So, if you’re polishing up your researched writing assignments and need assistance, the Library can help. Three heavily-used resources librarians use to answer your citing questions include:

• GRCC’s Citing Sources Subject Guide 
• APA from Purdue Owl 
• MLA from Purdue Owl

If you’ve got a citing question you cannot answer, copy the citation info into an Ask-a-Librarian form. Mention what format you are supposed to be following and whether you need an in-text, bibliographic citation, – or both – and submit it. A librarian will respond.

Remember, while database-generated citations are a great place to start, you *do* need to eyeball them to see that they match your assigned citation formatting style.

Where’d you find THAT info?

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Citations contain detailed information about the sources used in your research – so the reader can track the source down, if needed. GRCC professors utilize a variety of formatting styles used for presenting this information, depending on your academic field, including Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), and Chicago Style. Consult your syllabus if you are unsure about which style to use. Regardless of which style you use, there are two basic types of citations:

1. full citations – those you list at the end of your work (such as a Works Cited or References page) 
2. in-text-citations – those within the text of your work 

See the Citing Sources Subject Guide for more. The Guide includes examples of citations for each of the three main formats used at GRCC, plus links to the Owl at Purdue, a highly-regarded website on citation formats. There’s more, too, about computer-generated citations (which can save you lots of time and librarians LOVE) but which should always be double-checked against the citation rules.

Still need help? Ask-a-Librarian!

APA 7 – There’s a rule for that!

The American Psychological Association (APA) announced a revised version of their Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association in a 7th edition last Fall.  The APA announced that the new version would supersede the 6th edition during Spring 2020 semester, and most GRCC academic departments decided to make the move to the 7th edition this semester.

At GRCC, APA Style is typically used by: Business; Communication; Criminal Justice; Dental Assisting; Dental Hygiene; Exercise Science; Gerontology; Medical Assistant; Nursing; Occupational Therapy Assistant; Pharmacy Technician; Phlebotomy; Psychology; Radiologic Technology; Social Work; and, Sterile Processing.

Thanks goes to librarian Natalie Karsten who updated the Citing Sources Subject Guide with APA 7 rules for reference pages and in-text citations, and links to sources that will help students and their professors. Citing Sources is appended to almost all Library Subject Guides – so it’s easy to find.

If you need help citing, the easiest way to get it is to use Ask-a-Librarian.

Cite as you Write – Help is Available

[Citation needed] sign. Image by Mahanga used through Creative Commons attribution license 2.0.

Cite as you Write – words to live by so you can avoid that sinking feeling if you haven’t kept track of your information sources used to write a paper, and that job looms before you.

Need help with citing?  Librarians suggest the Purdue Owl websites for both APA Formatting & Style Guide and MLA  Formatting & Style Guide citation formats.  You’ll find those links on our Citing Sources Subject Guide. They’re easy to use, provide the “pattern” or “recipe” for a citation, followed by real examples.

Librarians are ready to assist you with citing. Visit the Reference Desk, call us at 616-234-3868, or use the Ask-a-Librarian email form.

 

Need help with citing?

• Visit the Reference Desk.
• Call a Reference Librarian (616-234-3868).
• Copy the info you are trying to cite into the Ask-a-Librarian form and a librarian will respond.
• Two favorite citing websites are: APA from Purdue Owl & MLA from Purdue Owl.

For more on citing, use the Citing Sources Subject Guide.