Why Cite?
Whenever you quote or base your ideas on another person's work, you must document the source you used. If reading a source contributed to the ideas presented in your paper, you must give the author(s) credit, even if you do not quote their work directly.
Citations should provide answers to the following questions:
- Who produced the work?
- Where is it published or made available?
- When was it written?
For a book, it is standard to include the following:
- the name(s) of authors or editors
- the title, the publisher's name and the place of publication,
- the most recent copyright year.
Content of the citation will vary between type of material you are referencing. Use the tabs on the left for specific resources.
Decoding a Citation
Books, chapters, and journal articles should all be entered uniquely in a bibliography.
When looking at an existing bibliography, look for the following clues to determine the format of the material that is being referenced. This information will help you to search appropriately for the material and use it for your own research.
1)A Citation for a Book:
Smith, Christopher J. 1996. Early Rome and Latium: Economy and Society c. 1000 to 500 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press
How do we know this is a book?
- Books always have publisher information - in the example above, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- In most formatting styles, the title will be in italics.
2)A Portion of a book (Chapter)
Corbeill, A. (2002), ‘Political Movement: Walking and Ideology in Republican Rome’, in D. Fredrick (ed.), The Roman Gaze: Vision, Power, and the Body (Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press), 182–215.
How do we know this is a chapter in a book?
- Chapters in books always have an author for the chapter - in the example above - Corbeill, A.
- Chapters in books always use the word in as part of the citation - in the example above - in D. Fredrick (ed.), The Roman Gaze
3)An Article in a Journal
Jones, C. P.(1971). The Levy at Thespiae under Marcus Aurelius. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 12(1), 45-48.
How do we know this is an article in a journal?
- An article in a journal always includes the name of the journal (sometimes in italics) - in the example above, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies
- An article in a journal includes a year, volume, issue number and page numbers. - In the example above, (1971). 12(1), 45-48. So the article would be in Volume 12, issue 1, pages 45-48.