Citations
Citations are the convention that is used to quickly acknowledge the source that is used. A citation (e.g. (Scullard, 1982, p321) is a quick reference which will be fleshed out in the Bibliography.
This page outlines a number of conventions for accurately citing a work.
This page outlines a number of conventions for accurately citing a work.
Citation from a book or source with pages
This is always the format when citing from a book.
If you have taken a reference which runs over a couple of pages, instead of 'p321', you would put 'p321 - 333' (for example).
Occasionally, you will encounter a book with no author acknowledged. If so, only then would you use the title instead of the author e.g (Discovering the Incas, 1992, p8).
Some written texts, like old style encyclopaedias don't acknowledge a single author. In this case, it is called a 'corporate author' e.g. (Britannica, 1998, p 368).
If you have taken a reference which runs over a couple of pages, instead of 'p321', you would put 'p321 - 333' (for example).
Occasionally, you will encounter a book with no author acknowledged. If so, only then would you use the title instead of the author e.g (Discovering the Incas, 1992, p8).
Some written texts, like old style encyclopaedias don't acknowledge a single author. In this case, it is called a 'corporate author' e.g. (Britannica, 1998, p 368).
Citation of a quote from another source
In many cases, you will find original documents being reprinted in other sources. In this case, it is a citation for a speech from President Roosevelt, which has been reprinted in a book by someone called 'Jones'.
Citation from other websites
Unlike books, there is a lot of inconsistency in website design. Here are some of the most common things to look for when citing from a website:
Corporate author is where there is no single acknowledge author for the site. Wikipedia is the most used site with corporate authorship, but there are countless others.
Single author is straightforward, and most a feature you would hope to find in quality websites.
Sometimes blogs, forums and other interactive sites allow the use of the 'nom de plume' (pen name). In this case the nom de plume is 'Cambyses'.
A common complaint is that sites don't clearly show when they were written or updated. This doesn't say a lot about the quality of the information, but if it happens, you use 'online'.
Corporate author is where there is no single acknowledge author for the site. Wikipedia is the most used site with corporate authorship, but there are countless others.
Single author is straightforward, and most a feature you would hope to find in quality websites.
Sometimes blogs, forums and other interactive sites allow the use of the 'nom de plume' (pen name). In this case the nom de plume is 'Cambyses'.
A common complaint is that sites don't clearly show when they were written or updated. This doesn't say a lot about the quality of the information, but if it happens, you use 'online'.
A truly horrible example of what not to do ....
This is the sort of thing that makes the person reading your assignment begin to doubt your competence!
Gives URL (uniform resource locator, or 'web address') and just says 'n.d.'
Basically saying 'I couldn't be bothered doing my citation correctly!