Citing sources is important in order to give credit where credit is due. As a journalist or blogger, you will most likely be asked to do research or cite sources frequently. If you are writing about a controversial topic or if you are just generally unfamiliar with the subject matter, then making sure that the sources are properly cited could be quite tricky. If this is the case, then why not hire a professional to do the job for you? Hiring an expert may not be the most cost-effective option, but it will certainly ease the tension of citing properly. Here are some of the most commonly used citation styles and how to properly format each one. Hopefully, this article will assist you in being more confident when it comes to citing sources and being able to properly format each one.
APA
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the most commonly used when it comes to psychology journals and articles. If you are writing for a general audience, then the APA citation style is probably the best option for you. This is because it is the least academic of the three common citation styles and still fits within the realm of a general audience.
The APA citation format is as follows:
- Last Name, First Name – Use this if the author has only one name
- N. A. – Use this if the author has only a first name
- Year – Use this if the work was published in the past year
- Title – Use this if the work is a book or a compilation of several articles
- Volume Number – Use this if the work is a collection of several print volumes
- Page Number – Use this if the work is a journal article or a chapter in a book
As you can see, the APA citation format is much shorter than the other two styles, making it easier to fit into your writing. If you are following the APA citation format, then your text should look as follows:
- Last Name, First Name
- N. A.
- Year
- Title
- Volume Number
- Page Number
If you are citing the work of an academic, then you should use the more specialized style known as the ‘Modern Language Association (MLA)’. The MLA citation style is an extension of the APA style, so you will not be using a blind item in your text. If you are not sure which citation style to use, then the best thing for you would be to contact your local librarian or academic advisor. They will be able to help you choose which style is best suited for your needs.
Chicago
The Chicago citation style is another common citation format used in academic and scientific journals and articles. It is named after the city that it was first developed for, and it is also the style that is most associated with the field of sociology. Like the APA style, the Chicago style is also quite easy to apply and understand. It requires minimal formatting, making it ideal for those who are just getting started.
The format of a Chicago citation is as follows:
- Last Name, First Name – Use this if the author has only one name
- N. A. – Use this if the author has only a first name
- Year – Use this if the work was published in the past year
- Title – Use this if the work is a book or a compilation of several articles
- Publisher – Include the name of the publishing house if it is not the same as the author’s
- Location – Include the city, state, and country if the work is set in more than one location
- Pages – Use this if the work is a journal article or a chapter in a book
- Volume Number – Use this if the work is a collection of several print volumes
- Division or Section Number – Use this if the work is a section in a book or a journal
- Part Number – This is used if the work is a segment in a news magazine or other periodical
- Digital ID – Include the digital ID of the work if it is available
As you can see, the Chicago style is very similar to the other two styles. The only difference is that it does not have a volume number, but it does have a division or section number. This is because the Chicago style was designed for use in scientific articles, where parts and sub-sections often have numbers instead of letters. The section number is typically two digits while the part number can be up to four digits. Many publishing houses have adopted the Chicago style, so it is readily available to those who want to cite sources using this format. The best part about the Chicago style is that it does not require you to use any additional symbols or special fonts.
Web
The last style that you need to be aware of is the web style. Like the others, the web style is also ideal for those who are new to citing sources. It was originally designed for use on the World Wide Web, but it can still be applied to other forms of media. Like the other two styles, the web style does not require you to put in quite as much work as the APA and Chicago styles, but it does require some additional steps to ensure that your citation is correctly attributed.
The web style citation format is as follows:
- Last Name, First Name – Use this if the author has only one name
- N. A. – Use this if the author has only a first name
- Year – Use this if the work was published in the past year
- Title – Use this if the work is a book or a compilation of several articles
- Url – Include the URL of the source if it is available
- Website – Include the website name if it is available
- Archived URL – Include the archived URL if it is available
- Media Type – This is the genre of the source, in other words, whether it is news, blog post, or any other type of content
- Content Number – This is the unique identifier for the content, in other words, the blog post or news article that you are citing
- Search Term – This is the search term that you used to find the content that you are citing
- Encoding – This is the method that you used to access the content, in other words, whether it was downloaded or streamed
- Description – This is a free-form field that you can use to provide additional information about the content that you are citing
- Name of website or blog – Include the name of the website or blog that you are citing
- Title of the website or blog article – Include the title of the website or blog article that you are citing
- Description – Include a short description of the content on the website or blog
- Blog article URL – Include the URL of the specific blog article that you are citing
- Social Media Handles – Include the handles of any social media accounts that you have associated with your article
- Citation – This is a hyperlink to the source document or website that you are citing
As you can see, the web style requires a lot more information than the other two styles, which makes it more difficult to use. If you are citing a piece of content that was originally published on the web, then the easiest way to ensure that your work is correctly attributed is to include the url of the article or website in your text. When citing a source that was originally published on social media, then you should include the handles of the accounts in your text as well. If the source was not published on the web or social media, then you should still include this information as part of your bibliography or footnotes. Failure to do so can lead to your article being flagged as plagiarism. Plagiarism is all the more likely if you are using un-cited material. Make sure that your text is as original as possible and that you have cited all of your sources.