Citing Sources
As a scholar, you need to cite the sources that you use in your research. Your discipline determines the citation style you use. Many disciplines in the humanities use the Chicago citation style. Citations are important because they:
About APA
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association Guide is the official guide to the APA citation style. Generally it is used in the field of Psychology and heavily used in other fields of social and life sciences. The examples have been adapted from this manual and demonstrate how to document common source materials.
Check our print copy for more examples or ask a librarian for help. The print copy is located on a wooden stand next to the reference collection on the first floor of the Hatfield Library.
In-Text Citation
These in-text examples use the APA author-date method of citation; the author's last name and year of publication are inserted within the text of the paper and refer to the reference list at the end of the work.
Reference Examples
The reference list is organized alphabetically typically by the author's last name, followed by additional info that describe the source to help readers locate the item. The following examples are the most commonly referenced types of sources.
Sapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst. Penguin Books.
Schulian, J. (2019). The great American sports page: A century of classic columns from Ring Lardner to Sally Jenkins. Library of America.
Herndon, D. (2018). Total burn care
Aron, L., Botella, M., & Lubart, T. (2019). Culinary arts: Talent and their development. In R. Subotnik, P. Olszewski-Kubilius, & F. C. Worrell (Eds.), The psychology of high performance: Developing human potential into domain-specific talent (pp. 345-359). American Psychological Association.
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Culture. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved September 9, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture
News From Science. (2019, June 21).Are you a fan of astronomy? Enjoy reading about what scientists have discovered in our solar system--and beyond? This [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNOW/photos/a.117532185107/10156268057260108/?type=3&theater
National Cancer Institute. (2019). Taking time: Support for people with cancer (NIH Publication No. 18-2059). U.S. Department of Health and Services, National Institute of Health https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/takingtime.pdf
Joly, J. F., Stapel, D. A., & Lindenberg, S. M. (2008). Silence and table manners: When environments activate norms. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(8), 1047-1056. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208318401
Barber, A. E., & Roehling, M. V. (1993). Job postings and the decision to interview: A verbal protocol analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 845-856.
Hess, A. (2019, January 3). Cats who take direction. The New York Times, C1.
King, M. L., Jr. (1963, August 28). I have a dream. [Speech audio recording]. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm.
Barris, K. (Writer & Director). (2017, January 11). Lemons (Season 3, Episode 12) [TV series episode]. In K. Barris, J. Groff, A. Anderson, E. B. Dobbins, L. Fishburne, & H. Sugland (Executive Producers), Black-ish Wilmore Films; Artists First; Cinema Gypsy Productions; ABC Studios.
Gates, B. [@BillGates]. (2019, September 7). Today, it's difficult for researchers to diagnose #Alzheimers patients early enough to intervene. A reliable, easy and accurate diagnostic would [Thumbnail with link attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1170305718425137152
Note: URLs are no longer preceded by “Retrieved from,” unless a retrieval date is needed.
Fagan, J. (2019, March 25). Nursing clinical brain OER Commons. Retrieved September 17, 2019, from https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/53029-nursing-clinical-brain/view
World Health Organization. (2018, May 24). The top 10 causes of death. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death
Harvard University. (2019, August 28). Soft robotic gripper for jellyfish [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRoWTYfxMs
About MLA
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is designed for the humanities (e.g. English, Spanish, German). These examples are adapted from the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers and provides examples of how to document source material when preparing scholarly papers.
Check our print copy for more examples or ask a librarian for help. The print copy is located on a wooden stand next to the reference collection on the first floor of the Hatfield Library.
In-Text Citation
You must cite the source of either a quotation or paraphrased material. Include the author's name and the page number(s) from which the material was taken in parentheses following the statement you make. If you mention the author in the text, you do not have to repeat his or her name in the citation. If you cite more than one work by the same author in your paper, you must include a short title to inform the reader of which work you are citing.
Bibliography
Author/editor. Title. Edition statement (if given). Place of publication: publisher, date. Medium. Source of electronic information (if available). Available: URL. Access date.
Unlandherm, Frank. Middle East studies resources . New York: Columbia University, 1997. Online. Columbia University: Available: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/MiddleEast/index.html. 19 August 1997.
Arab republic of Egypt. Austin, TX: Center for Middle East Studies, 1 June 1997. Online. Middle East Network Information Center. Available: http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/countries/egypt.html. 18 August 1997.
Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat
For other examples of citing Internet resources see: The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. (Ref. LB 2369 .G53 2003) sections 5.9 (page 207), sections 6.4 (page 242).
The MLA website also has helpful info on their MLA Style Center page.
About Chicago Manual of Style
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is a style guide for American English that is used in the humanities (e.g. literature, history, arts). The examples have been adapted from this manual and demonstrate how to document common source materials.
Chicago Manual of Style Online
Check our print copy for more examples or ask a librarian for help. The print copy is located on a wooden stand next to the reference collection on the first floor of the Hatfield Library.
The Chicago Manual of Style provides two documentation systems: the humanities style (notes and bibliography) and the author-date system.
The humanities style is preferred by many in literature, history, and the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in notes and often a bibliography. It accommodates a variety of sources, including esoteric ones less appropriate to the author-date system.
The more concise author-date system has long been used by those in the physical, natural, and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text between parentheses, including the author’s last name and date of publication. The short citations are included in a list of references, often at the end of the paper, where full bibliographic information is provided and is arranged alphabetically.
In-Text Citation
An in-text citation is used to point readers toward any source you quote, paraphrase or refer to in your writing. The Chicago Manual of Style has two options for in-text citations:
Choose one of these citation options and use it consistently throughout your text. The source details are listed in full in a bibliography or reference list at the end. Make sure to pay attention to punctuation (e.g., commas and quotation marks).
Reference List
The reference list is organized alphabetically typically by the author's last name, followed by additional info that describe the source to help readers locate the item. The following examples are the most commonly referenced types of sources.
Lash, Scott, and John Urry. Economies of Signs & Space. London: Sage Publications, 1994.
Schulian, John, ed. 2019. The Great American Sports Page : A Century of Classic Columns from Ring Lardner to Sally Jenkins. New York, N.Y: Library of America.
Herndon, David N. 2012. Total Burn Care. 5th ed. Edinburgh ; Saunders Elsevier.
Aron, Laurent, Marion Botella, and Todd Lubart. "Culinary arts: Talent and their development." In R. Subotnik, P. Olszewski-Kubilius, & F. C. Worrell (Eds.), The psychology of high performance: Developing human potential into domain-specific talent, 53-64. American Psychological Association, 2019.
In-text: (ChatGPT, March 7, 2025).
Reference list: not needed because it cites only in-text.
AsapSCIENCE. "A Star Is Born...LITERALLY. If you want to support our channel, watch the video on YouTube!" Facebook, April 10, 2019. http://www.facebook.com/AsapSCIENCE/.
U.S. Department of State. 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2017. https://www.state.gov/reports/2017-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/.
Images (online)
Cheng, Minder. Double-Crested Cormorant. 2021. Photograph. Flickr. March 21, 2021. https://flic.kr/p/2kQcKZ3.
Images (print)
Bruegel, Pieter, the Elder. Christ Carrying the Cross. 1564. In Rose-Marie Hagen and Rainer Hagen, Bruegel, 24. Cologne: Taschen, 2019.
Artwork viewed in person
Goya, Francisco. The Third of May 1808. 1814. Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid. https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-third-of-may-1808/.
MacDonald, Susan Peck. “The Erasure of Language.” College Composition and Communication 58, no. 4 (2007): 585–625.
Gibbons-Neff, Thomas, and Mujib Mashal. 2019. “U.S. Is Quietly Reducing Its Troop Force in Afghanistan.” New York Times, October 21, 2019. https://nyti.ms/31xXNQb.
Deo, Nisha. “Visiting Professor Lectures on Photographer.” Exponent (West Lafayette, IN), Feb. 13, 2009.
Hanstedt, Paul. “This is Your Brain on Writing: The Implications of James Zull’s The Art of Changing the Brain for the Writing Classroom.” Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, San Francisco, CA, March 2009.
Recorded speech
Morrison, Toni. “Nobel Lecture.” December 7, 1993. Grand Hall of the Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden. MPEG-4, 33:18. https://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/.
Snodgrass, Melinda M, writer. Star Trek: The Next Generation. Season 2, episode 9, “The Measure of a Man.” Directed by Robert Scheerer, featuring Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, and Whoopi Goldberg. Aired February 13, 1989, in broadcast syndication. Paramount, 2012.
Gates, B. [@BillGates]. (2019, September 7). Today, it's difficult for researchers to diagnose #Alzheimers patients early enough to intervene. A reliable, easy and accurate diagnostic would [Thumbnail with link attached] [Tweet]. X. https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1170305718425137152
World Health Organization. "The top 10 causes of death." 2018, May 24. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death
Web page (unknown author)
"Illinois Governor Wants to 'Fumigate' State's Government.” CNN online. January 30, 2009. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/30/illinois.governor.
Liu, Jessica. “How to Write a Strong Essay Conclusion.” YouTube video, 3:50. February 8, 2021. https://youtu.be/2UElC_YZ0Eo.
Zotero is a powerful reference manager that stores, organizes, and creates bibliographic references for you. It works with Google Docs and MS Word (a beta version for Chromebooks is available).
Instructions at: Libguides.willamette.edu/zotero
For help contact:
Bill Kelm, bkelm@willamette.edu or
John Repplinger, jrepplin@willamette.edu
You have many resources to help you cite properly:
Learn tools that will make citing resources much easier when using the library catalog, library databases, and Google Scholar. Also discover, Zotero, a free resource for managing citations/bibliographic data. Additional information is available on the Why Cite Sources page.