Proper Citation Format

 

In Text Referencing

When paraphrasing information from a source, proper credit must be given to the author of that source using the Name-Year system. For example, if you read an article by John Smith which was written in 1989 titled "Deviant Behavior in Newts" and you want to refer to its contents in your paper, you would write (bold lettering for emphasis only):

Smith (1989) found that male newts are attracted to females by the female's odors.

Or

The odor from female newts attracts males (Smith, 1989).

Or

Unlike birds (Robinson, 1969), newts (Smith, 1989) and mammals (Johnson, 1979) use odors to attract mates.

Use the form of the first sentence if the author is to be the subject of the sentence. Use the form of the second sentence if the citation is to be entirely seperate from the grammatical structure of the sentence. Use the form of the third sentence when the sentence refers to different pieces of information gathered from different sources.

Suppose that another author (ex. Martin (1989) and Brown (1994)) studied mating behavior of newts and came to the same conclusion as Smith (1989) did. You would write:

The odor from female newts attracts males (Martin, 1989; Smith, 1989; Brown, 1994).

When using multiple citations as in the above example, order is determined 1) chronologically and 2) alphabetically.

Use the following formats for references with multiple or no authors.

1) Smoking increases the risk of some cancers (Smith and Wilson, 1992). (Two Authors)

2) Acid rain is harmful to freshwater lake ecosystems (Williams et al., 1995). (Three or More Authors)

3) Genetic make-up may be a risk factor for some cancers (Anonymous, 1994). (No Author)

Literature Cited

Each reference used must be listed on a Literature Cited page. Alphabetize the references using the last name of the first author. The format for jounal and book citation is given below with example written above and format following.

Book

Author(s).	Year of Publication.	Book Title,	Edition.	Publisher,	Place of Publication.
Salisbury, F., and C. Ross. 1985. Plant Physiology, Third Edition. Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.

 

Journal

Boraiko, A.A., and F. Ward. 1980. The pesticide dilemma. National Geographic. 157(2): 145-183.

Author(s). Year of Publication. Article Title. Journal Title. Volume(Issue): Page numbers.

 

Author(s).	Year published.	Article title.	Journal title.	Volume (Issue):	Page numbers.
Boraiko, A.A., and F. Ward.	1980.	The pesticide dilemma.	National Geographic.	157(2):	145-183.

 

 

The format and instructions for referencing and citation were taken from French, D P., and H. C. Miller. 1997. Biological Sciences 1114: Laboratory and Discussion Session Manual, Fourth Edition. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.

home