Information Jungle HomeLesson Seven HomePfau Library Documenting Sources Why Bother With Documentation? IN ACADEMIC research, documenting all sources of information is important.  Full and accurate documentation allows readers to easily identify and find the original sources for an article which they may wish read for themselves.   Documentation prevents plagiarism.   It is crucial that you clarify for the reader which ideas and opinions are yours and which are those you discovered in your research.  Professors also want to be able to verify the research that was done. Scholarly journal articles, for example, always have a list of sources (also known as a bibliography or reference list) which is composed of citations for each source; it is arranged alphabetically by author. What is a Citation? A citation (also known as a reference) is composed of all the elements of information that identify one particular publication.  For example, here are the standard citation elements for two types of printed publications... PERIODICAL ARTICLE author's name article title periodical title volume number issue number date pages BOOK author's name book title publisher publisher's city year of publication Once all the citation elements for each source have been collected, a style manual is consulted to determine the format of the citation.  In other words, the style manual shows how to organize or format the individual elements into a citation.  There is more than one way to do this, so there is more than one style manual. Web Citations When Web sites are used as sources, they also must be documented but they present some special problems since they can be changed quickly and frequently unlike printed sources.  The information you need to write a citation for a Web site can be challenging to locate, record, and format. Recording Web Citation Information You must ensure that for each Web site you use, you accurately record enough information to identify and locate each of them.  Print out the appropriate form listed below and use it to record the full information for each Web site.  This will ensure that you don't miss anything no matter what style manual you use.  Fill it out when you use the source--don't wait!  Things can change very quickly on the Web and you must give the date on which you accessed the information. An Entire Web Site Part of a Web Site A Periodical Article From a Web Site A Book From a Web Site Please note that these forms only cover ordinary Web sites, and electronic periodicals and books appearing on ordinary Web sites–there are many other possibilities.  Consult one of the style manuals mentioned below or one of the Web sites listed under "Further Resources" for this lesson for more information. If you can't find all the citation information you don't forget to try the "nibbling away at the URL" trick.  See Lesson Six for more details. Style Manuals Next, you need to know what style manual your professor wants you to follow for your bibliography.  If it wasn't mentioned in class, it may be in your syllabus.  Most likely you will be using either MLA (Modern Language Association) or APA (American Psychological Association) but there are others. Printed style manuals cover both print and electronic sources and are available at the Reference Desk on the first floor of the library.  You will need some sort of current photo ID to use them in the library.  To consult online style manuals for MLA and APA formats, use this list .  Please note that the standards for electronic citations are still evolving so expect contradictions.  Your professor is the final judge. Examples Here are two citations for The Information Jungle as an entire Web site, one in MLA and one in APA format: MLA Petry, Bonnie.  The Information Jungle.  1997-2000.  Retrieved 25 April 2000 <http://www.csusb.edu/bpetry>. APA Petry, Bonnie.  (1997-2000).  The Information Jungle.  [Online].  John M. Pfau Library. <http://www.csusb.edu/bpetry>.  [ April, 25, 2000]. This concludes The Information Jungle.