There are many styles and forms used to cite sources that support research. Most academic institutions have standardized requirements for their students. Three of the most widely used styles of citation have been described in this document. They are: Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), and Turabian.

Commonly used terms
Citation Methods

American Psychological Association (APA): An association that has developed standardized methods for citing sources used in research. They have also formulated guidelines for citing electronic sources. The bibliography, found at the end of the text, is called references. The APA method does not use endnotes or footnotes, but instead uses parenthetical citations.

Bibliography: An alphabetical list of books and other sources used in writing a work. It is placed at the end of the text. MLA guidelines call this works cited. APA guidelines call this references.

Documentation: Supplying exact references to the sources of authoritative information used to support your research, statements or hypotheses.

Electronic Source: Information found on computer software, computer and information services, and on on-line sites such as: FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Sites, WWW, MOO’s, MUD’s, GOPHER Sites, and e-mail.

Endnotes: Numbered citations in the text that are keyed to citations placed at the end of the chapter, with complete bibliographic listings at the end of the text.

Footnotes: Numbered citations in the text that are keyed to citation notes place at the bottom of the page with bibliographic listings at the end of the text.

Modern Language Association (MLA): An association that has developed standardized methods of citing sources for research. They have also formulated guidelines for citing electronic sources. The bibliography, found at the end of the text, is called works cited.

Parenthetical Citations: Author’s name and page numbers placed in text in parentheses, with full bibliographical data in a list at the end of the text.

References: Term used by APA to refer to bibliography or works cited.

Turabian: A system of writing term papers, theses, and dissertations developed by Kate L. Turabian. The sources listed at the end of the text is called a bibliography.

Works Cited: Term used by MLA to refer to bibliography or references.

Whatever style you choose, accuracy, clarity, and consistency are the most important factors when citing information sources. Guidelines for citing electronic sources are not yet standardized. Information sources, such as the Internet, are constantly changing, and therefore citation formats are adapting to these changes.

MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA)

An association that has developed standardized methods of citing sources for research. They have also formulated guidelines for citing electronic sources. The bibliography is called "works cited."

Example:

Instead of footnotes or endnotes, the author’s last name and a shortened version of the title are place in parenthesis within the body of the text.

Example: (Lanken, When the)

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA):

This association has developed standardized methods for citing sources used in research. They have also formulated guidelines for citing electronic sources. The bibliography is called "references." The APA method does not use endnotes or footnotes, but instead uses parenthetical citations.

Example :

Instead of footnote or endnote, the author’s last name and the publication year (original source/date of visit to site) are placed in parenthesis within the body of the text.

Example: (Canadian Geographic/1998, April 15)

TURABIAN

A system of writing term papers, theses, and dissertations developed by Kate L. Turabian. The sources listed at the end of the text is called a bibliography. Foot notes are placed at the end of the page.

Example :

Footnote format:

Example: