Interpreting Citations

A citation is a reference to a source of information. A citation typicallly includes enough identifying information, such as the author, title, and source, for a reader to be able to locate a copy of the item.

Example:

Bolgiano, Chris. Mountain Lion: An Unnatural History of Pumas and People.

Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1995.

The ability to interpret citations or references to various sources of information is a fundamental research skill. In order to be able to locate an item from a bibliography at the end of an article or book or from a database printout, you need to be able to determine what type of source the item is. A partial list of types of sources would include:

book
essay or article in a book
journal article
magazine article

newspaper article
government document
dissertation
Internet document

speech
interview
manuscript
audiotape

Following are examples of the most common types of sources students find in bibliographies and in databases:

Book Citation

Note: Check LEO by author or title to determine whether Carrier Library owns this book.

Magazine Article Citation

Note: To determine whether Carrier Library owns a magazine, go to Periodical Locator and type in the title of the magazine, not the title of the article.

Journal Article Citation

Note: To determine whether Carrier Library owns a journal, go to Periodical Locator and search for the journal title, not the title of the article.

Government Document Citation

Note: To find out whether Carrier Library owns a document, search LEO.

Article in a Book

Note: To find out whether Carrier Library owns this item, look for the title of the book in LEO, not the title of the article.

Internet Source Citation