Citing Your Sources
What Style Should I Use?
There are many different citation styles that continue to evolve as technology and varieties of resources increase. Generally, a citation style is established by a ruling body, typically one of a specific profession or subject area, and provides rules and conventions that best fit the types of sources used by that profession/ subject area.
While in school, you should use the style required by your assignment or professor.
APA Style
APA Style, currently in its 7th edition, is a citation protocol established by the American Psychological Association. This style was developed to ensure consistency and to provide style rules for scientific writing.
APA is most often used in the disciplines of:
- Social Sciences (including Psychology, Education, Sociology, Economics, Criminal Justice, etc.)
- Business
- Nursing
What does APA Style include?
- the format & structure of your paper
- how you cite other authors within the body of your paper
- how you compile a references page at the end of your paper
MLA Style
MLA Style, currently in its 8th edition, is a citation protocol established by the Modern Language Association. This style was developed for students to support the writing process.
MLA is most often used in the Humanities disciplines including, but not limited to:
- English Language & Literature
- Comparative Literature
- Cultural Studies
- Foreign Languages
- Other areas in the humanities
What does MLA Style include?
- the format & page layout of your paper
- stylistic technicalities (e.g. abbreviations, footnotes, quotations)
- how you cite other authors within the body of your paper
- how you compile a references page at the end of your paper
Chicago Style
Chicago Style, currently in its 17th edition, is a citation protocol established by the University of Chicago.
Chicago Style is most often used in the disciplines of:
- History
- Religion
What does Chicago Style include?
- instruction for manuscript preparation and publication
- guidelines for style, grammar and usage
- rules for documenting your sources in-text including the Notes-Bibliography System (NB) and the Author-Date System
- guidelines for a Bibliography at the end of your paper
Other Styles
First, it's important that you use the citation style required by your assignment or professor (your syllabus or assignment guidelines/description should list the required citation style but if not, ask your professor).
If you are permitted to choose a citation style to use, it may be easiest to choose one of the most common citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago).
You may also want to choose a citation style based on the field of study you are working in. Here is a brief list of some major disciplines and the citation styles most commonly associated with them:
CITATION STYLE | FIELD OF STUDY OR PROFESSION |
---|---|
AAA (American Anthropological Association) Full access pdf - free |
Anthropology |
ACS (American Chemical Society) Information about guide - no free access |
Chemistry |
AIP ( American Institute of Physics) Preparing your manuscript guide |
Physics |
ALWD (Association of Legal Writing Directors) and Blue Book Information about guide - no free access Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (online ed. 2013) by Peter W. Martin Free access to basic legal citation information website from Cornell University Law School |
Legal Studies |
AMA (American Medical Association) Full access with mySNHU login credentials - free |
Medical Sciences |
AMS (American Mathematical Society) Full access pdf - free |
Mathematics |
AP (Associated Press) Information about guide - no free access |
Journalism Public Relations |
APA (American Psychological Association) Information about guide - no free access APA Guide Purdue OWL Full access website - free |
Business Criminology Economics Education Psychology Social Sciences Sociology |
APSA (American Political Science Association) Full access pdf - free |
International Studies Political Science |
ASA (American Sociological Association) Information about guide - no free access ASA Guide Purdue OWL Full access website - free |
Sociology |
Chicago Manual of Style Quick guide access - free (not full manual) Chicago Manual of Style Purdue OWL Full access website - free |
Humanities History Religion Social Sciences |
CSE (Council of Science Editors) Information about guide - no free access CSE Guide by U of Wisconsin Writing Center Full access website - free |
Biology |
Harvard Business School Full access pdf - free |
Business |
LSA Style Sheet Full access pdf - free |
Linguistics |
Maroonbook (The University of Chicago Manual of Legal Citation) Full access pdf - free |
Legal Studies |
MLA (Modern Language Association) Information about guide - no free access |
Humanities Literature |
NLM (National Library of Medicine) Full access website and pdf - free |
Medical Publications |
Turabian Quick guide access - free (not full manual) |
Humanities Natural Sciences Social Sciences |
A larger listing of disciplines and citation styles can be accessed on OWL at Purdue website.