Citations are the pieces of information that describe a source. This is a brief overview of citations (sometimes referred to as bibliographic citation). We show what’s included in citations, provide useful tips, and direct you to more sources to write successful citations.
Author: This may be one person, several people, or an organization. There also may be no author listed—move on to next available information in.
Title: What is the title of your source? This could be the title of an article on a website, of a chapter in a book, the name of a video, etc. Usually, the title is at the top or beginning of a page.
Date: When was the source published? Usually, this information is found at the very top or bottom. If there is no specific day or month for an online article, you can use the copyright date at the bottom of the website. If there is no date listed, write “no date”.
URL: If you viewed your source online (even if you printed it), include a hyperlinked URL for the exact page you used. You should be able to click on this link and see exactly what you read or watched! When you use library databases, look for a permalink or DOI (Digital Object Identifier) before using the URL from the address bar.
*Every item is unique- may include different information
The type of source you use, and the citation style will require more detail, but here are some basic parts in a citation, including author, title, and publication information.
Table of basic parts of a citation and common types of sources
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Books | Periodical articles | Web Sites |
| Author | All authors named; editor(s) usually considered author | All authors named | All authors named; personal or corporate |
| Title | Complete title and complete subtitle | Complete title of article (e.g. "Life and times of George Conway") | Title of web site/page |
| Publication Information | City, publisher, year of publication | Title (e.g. Journal of American History), volume, issue number (when available), and date of periodical; page numbers of article | URL, date retrieved or used |
This content was originally created by Tacoma Community College Library and shared with a CC BY SA 4.0 license.
You can cite from the library catalogs and databases such EBSCO, ProQuest, and Gale, using the citation button. Select what citation style you need (APA 7, Chicago, MLA and more) and it will generate the citation. When you are using it, make sure to check that citation includes all the information you need, and is in the correct format.
Not: Common knowledge (If most readers know the info), and your ideas (own ideas, discoveries and reasoning's).
Must: You must cite the following types of information:
Have a source you're not sure how to cite properly? These websites can help to guide you in creating a citation. They can be a great starting point; however, remember to double check that everything is correct because these citations tools make mistakes and can provide you with an inaccurate citation. When in doubt, ask for help!