Citing Sources, Library Hacks, Question of the Week, Research Help, Tips for students

How do I cite sources?

4 Comments

There is a citation help guide available through the library website.

The section on the left explains how to cite sources within your paper. The section on the right explains how to compile a list of references at the end of your paper. Styles covered in this guide include: MLA, APA, Turabian, Chicago, and CSE. If this source does not include what you are looking for – try a Google search. Many libraries create similar citation guides, and one of them just might have what you need. Complete style manuals can also be borrowed from the library. Check the online catalog for availability.

For keeping track of citations and managing your references, be sure to consider some of the bibliographic software options available to Duke students:

  • EndNote, for example, will import references into a document as you write, and papers can be automatically formatted according to many different bibliographic styles.
  • The open-source Zotero (part 1 / part 2) is also an exciting new Firefox extension that allows you to store, retrieve and organize your reference sources for a more streamlined citation process.

Any of these can be fabulous time-saving options, and worth taking the effort to learn and explore!

Written by Kathi Matsura

4 thoughts on “How do I cite sources?”

  1. How about Google’s book section with source citation option? Is this not standarized? I would love to use this way of working for my own graduation thesis…

    GL

  3. Steve, that’s a good and difficult question. As you might expect, there is no specific instruction for creating a reference to a Google Map in CSE. There are instructions for web pages and there are instructions for maps. The general rule is to cite using the same information as you would with a paper material, but to add information about how you accessed it electronically (URL, date accessed, etc.). Please contact the reference desk http://library.duke.edu/libraries/askus.html to discuss your specific case in more detail.

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