Who Should Use This Guide
This LibGuide is intended to support the research needs of students and faculty who need information about:
- when to cite a source
- what citation style to use
- how to create citations
- establishing a RefWorks account
Overview of Citation & Style Guides
Style guides demonstrate how a particular academic discipline recommends formatting bibliographies and footnotes. These manuals also frequently provide specific information about outlining, editing and writing according to their style.
Many academic disciplines have a preferred citation style (e.g. APA for psychology or the social sciences in general, MLA for literature or the humanities in general, etc.). This guide provides an overview of several of the most frequently used citation styles (APA, Chicago, MLA, Turabian) as well as access to additional styles used within the scientific disciplines.
The instructor, college/school or department generally specifies which style manual(s) are to be to used. Students should always confirm with their instructors as to what specific style guide is allowed/required for an assignment/course/paper.
This guide provides overviews of different citation styles with examples specific to each, RefWorks and other citation management programs, and links to our online tutorials and additional recommended sources for learning about the importance and mechanics of properly citing sources.
How to Use This Guide
Use the tabs across the top of this guide to assist you in finding the relevant information.
Individual citation styles [e.g APA, MLA etc] that are used across multiple disciplines warrant individual tabs with more detailed information. Many disciplines within the Sciences have unique citation styles; for example, Physics, Chemistry & Engineering etc, use citations styles specific to that discipline.
Selecting a Citation Style
Deciding which specific citation style to use depends on several factors:
- what style is most-used in the discipline for which you are writing
- what style is recommended or required by your instructor, department, school or college
- what style is required by the editor, association or other source in which you are submitting a document for publication

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