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History of Science: Citations/Citing

APA Formatting and Style guides

Citation Management Tools

Citation management tools allow you to organize your research.  In addition to saving citation information and linking to PDFs, many programs also assist with in-text citations and bibliography formatting.

Academic Writing & Citing

When writing for academic assignments or projects, you must provide a citation and reference for any information that is not your original work.  This includes paraphrasing someone else's ideas, as well as direct quotations.  You need to cite your sources for a variety of reasons:

  • To give credit to the original author (avoiding plagiarism)
  • To allow your reader to refer back to the works you cited
  • To show your reader you've done the proper research by listing the literature you used when conducting your research

Proper citations usually include two parts:

  • In-text citations: indicate when you are referencing a source and whom you are referencing
  • Bibliography/reference list: a detailed list of the sources used so that your reader can locate them if needed

APA (American Psychological Association) is the most common style used at SMU.  Use our APA Style Research Guide to learn about citing different types of resources.  However, always ask your professor what style he/she prefers.

Need help getting started? Ask A Librarian if you have any questions!

How to retrieve formatted APA citations from databases

1. After performing a search, click on the title of the article you would like to cite:

2. When you are viewing the full record for the article, click on 'Cite' in the right-hand menu.

   

3. Copy and paste the APA citation into your reference list.  Note, the in-text citation for this example is: (Milne, 2015)

1. After performing a search, click on the title of the article you would like to cite:

2. When you a viewing the full record of the article, click on 'Cite' in the upper right menu:

3. Copy and paste the APA citation into your reference list.  Note, the in-text citation for this example is: (McCarthy, 2014)

 

1. After performing a search, click on the title of the article you would like to cite: 

2. When you are viewing the full record of the article, click on 'More' in the top menu, then 'Create bibliography':

3. Choose the output format and citation style using the appropriate drop-down menus.  Then click 'Create':

3. Copy and paste the APA citation into your reference list.  Note, the in-text citation for this example is: (McCarthy, 2014)

 

1. After performing a search, click on the 'Cite this item' button to the right of title:

2. Copy and paste the APA citation into your reference list.  Note, the in-text citation for this example is: (Milne, 2012)

1. After performing a search, click on the 'Cite' button underneath the title and brief description:

2. Copy and paste the APA citation into your reference list.  Note, the in-text citation for this example is: (Milne, 2012)

The use of electronic resources must comply with the Appropriate Use of Electronic Resources Policy and Singapore Management University Acceptable Use Policy