Citing Sources
A good researcher knows the importance of keeping track of the information he or she finds. You should always give credit to the people who provide you with information and whose ideas inspired your ideas. Just think – you would want them to give you credit for your ideas, wouldn’t you? One way to give others credit is by having a “References” page where you list all the books, articles, and websites you used.
Here are some tips to help you with your “References” page.
1. Your reference page needs to be in MLA format (“MLA” stands for Modern Language Association).
2. It also needs to be alphabetized, regardless of where you found the information (book, Internet, magazine, etc.)
3. Keep a record of all the sources you use. You can write them down on a piece of paper, or I personally like to copy and paste them into a Word document while I research. I keep it organized as I go so that there is less to do in the end. There is nothing worse or more time consuming than having to go back and re-research a website you already found because you lost track of it.
4. I like to use www.citationmachine.net to organize my information for me. This is not always 100% correct, but for our class, it will be fine.
5. For your research paper you need at least 3 sources, but in reality you may end up using many, many more. Cite all of your sources.
6. Yes, reference what pictures you use.
Note: Google is not a source. It is a search engine. Using Google (and other search engines) is like asking a librarian for help finding a book. The librarian is not your source, the book is.
Fill out the following for practice. This is due at the end of class today.
Create a practice “References” page for the following websites (make sure you alphabetize it):
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/world/asia/21lanka.html?_r=1&hp
Okay, and here’s one that might be a challenge:
http://gigaom.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/product-descr-book_v15485687_.jpg
(I’ll even help you a bit: http://gigaom.com/2008/12/18/the-future-of-books-in-a-digital-world/)
How to use Citation Machine
1. Find your first source.
2. Either open a separate window or a separate tab. (I can show you how to do this.)
3. Go to www.citationmachine.net
4. On the left-hand side, click “MLA”
5. Look at the different options.
“Print” means it was published and you can find a hard copy of it. This includes books, magazines, newspapers, etc.
“Non-Print” usually means it is not on paper (printing it out at home does not count). This includes websites, interviews, films, newspaper articles found online, etc.
If you can’t find the type of source you used, click the link titled “more” and several more options will come up.
6. Click on the type of source you used. In this example, I used a website. I clicked on “Web Document.”
7. Fill in the required info. Fill in as much as you can. This may take some good searching skills. Do not give up too early if you cannot find the author of a page. Ask someone to help you.
8. Click submit.
9. Highlight, copy and paste the information into your “References” page.
- Alphabetize as you go.
- Add a space between each source used.
References
Antelope, Zulu. "Feet Tasting." Butterfly Mania! May 2009: 11-14. Print.
Doe, Jane. "Monarchs." Amazing Butterflies. 09 May 2009. Butterfly Foundation. 20 May 2009 <http://www.amazingbutterflies.com/oiiasagouso/porsl>.
Smiles, All. What's With All the Butterflies?. 3rd. New York: Butterfly Press, 1898. Print.