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Research Process

Organizing and Citing Resources

Citation Managers

There are many different ways to organize your references, but the easiest way is through a citation manager. Citation managers allow us to save, organize, and share articles and references. You can even create a bibliography of everything in a folder.

A few of the citation managers that the library promotes are Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote; EndNote is a subscription-based citation manager, Zotero and Mendeley are free to use.

Find more general information in the Citation Managers Research Guide and find more in-depth guidance for getting started with a free citation manager in the Zotero Research Guide.

Citation Styles 

The library has created a citation styles guide for additional information on the different citation styles and ethical uses of sources. The guide also provides instructions on how to cite government resources and DOIs. Find more information in the Citation Styles Research Guide.

Ethical Use of Sources and Writing

The subject of plagiarism is complex and this guide addresses it for students and faculty in a more positive manner by empowering writers with knowledge to avoid common pitfalls. The Ethical Use of Sources and Writing Guide also contains a basic tutorial that can be assigned. Referrals to other campus entities that support learning about this topic is included.

Generating Citations

Databases often provide article citations

  • To the right of the article title are three dots on top of each other (after a chain link icon [permalink], the envelope [to email it to yourself], and the push pin ["add this item"]). The dots are to show actions options.
  • Click on the three dots
  • Click Citation (it looks like a quotation mark)
  • Choose the particular style and copy to clipboard

            or

  • Click on the article title
  • at the top right, you will see several icons including a quotation mark (second option). Click this. 
  • Choose your style and copy to clipboard

USING APA: Documenting Sources

Citation example with individual parts identified.

                                                                                (sample journal article citation)

1.   First, determine the type of work you have before you.  Is it a book, a journal article, a conference paper, a recording?

2.   Next, capture descriptive elements needed for your citation 

BOOKS: title, author(s)/editor(s), publisher name, location, and date
ARTICLES: journal title, article title, author(s), volume, issue, publication date, page numbers
E-RESOURCES: web site URL, publishing entity/type, database provider, date retrieved

3.  Use the current APA style manual to locate citation examples for the type of work you have.

 

Central Michigan University Off-Campus Library Services Literature Review libguide. (n.d.)