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Q. What are the parts of a citation?

I have a citation; how do I read it so that I know what to look for in the library catalog? How do I know what goes where in my works cited page or bibliography?

Answered By: Beth Juhl
Last Updated: May 16, 2023     Views: 581

Look for these clues to tell the difference between book citations and journal article citations. 

Book

APA Style

Levitt, S. D., & Dubner, S. J. (2005). Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything. William Morrow.

MLA Style

Levitt, Steven D, and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: William Morrow, 2005. 

Turabian Style

Levitt, Steven D., and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: William Morrow, 2005.

Author Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Title Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Place of Publication New York
Publisher    William Morrow
Publication Date    2005

 

Clues that this is a book:

  • Contains only one title: Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
  • Includes a place of publication: New York
  • Includes the name of a publishing company: William Morrow
  • Might or might not include page numbers.

To find a specific book, you can search the Library Catalog by author or title.

 

Journal Article

APA Style

Barth, J., & Parry, J. (2009). Political culture, public opinion, and policy (non)diffusion: The case of gay and lesbian-related issues in Arkansas. Social Science Quarterly, 90(2), 309-325. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6237.2009.00619.x

MLA Style

Barth, Jay, and Janine Parry. "Political Culture, Public Opinion, And Policy (Non)Diffusion: The Case Of Gay And Lesbian-Related Issues In Arkansas." Social Science Quarterly 90.2 (2009): 309-325.

Turabian Style

Barth, Jay, and Janine Parry. "Political culture, public opinion, and policy (non)diffusion: The case of gay and lesbian-related issues in Arkansas." Social Science Quarterly 90, no. 2 (June 2009): 309-325. 

Article Title Political culture, public opinion, and policy (non)diffusion: The case of gay and lesbian-related issues in Arkansas
Author(s) Jay Barth and Janine Parry
Journal Title (title of the journal or magazine in which the article appears Social Science Quarterly
Journal volume and issue Volume 90 issue 2
Date of the Article 2009
Page numbers for the article 309-325
DOI (Digital Object Identifier) doi:10.1111/j.1540-6237.2009.00619.x

 

Clues that this is a journal article:

  • Contains the title of the article, sometimes in quotation marks: "Political culture, public opinion, and policy (non)diffusion: The case of gay and lesbian-related issues in Arkansas."
  • Contains another title, the title of the journal, newspaper, or magazine in which the article appears, often underlined or in italics: Social Science Quarterly
  • Contains a volume and, sometimes, an issue number: 90,2 or sometimes 90(2).
  • The date can be a year or a year and month or season.

If you have a citation to a specific article that you are interested in finding, you can search the Library Catalog or the Electronic Journals List for the title of the journal.

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