Lycoming faculty were surveyed in the spring of 2015 to determine which styles are generally used in their academic disciplines and the list below is a good starting point. If you are unsure which style to use, it is best to ask your professor which style they prefer - their preferred style may also be indicated in the syllabus or in the assignment guidelines. In any case, it is important to be consistent with the style you use throughout your assignment.
| Academic Discipline | Style | |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropology | Chicago (Author/Date) | |
| Archeology | Dr. Johnson: SBL (Society of Biblical Literature) | |
| Art | Any, be consistent | |
| Astronomy and Physics | AIP (American Institute of Physics) | |
| Biology | Ask your professor | |
| Business | Ask your professor | |
| Chemistry | ACS (American Chemical Society) | |
| Computer Science | ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) | |
| Corporate Communication | APA (American Psychological Association) | |
| Criminal Justice | APA (American Psychological Association) | |
| Economics | Any, just be consistent | |
| Education | APA (American Psychological Association) | |
| English | MLA (Modern Language Association) | |
| History | Turabian | |
| Languages | MLA (Modern Language Association) | |
| Math | Any, just be consistent or APA | |
| Music | Turabian or MLA | |
| Philosophy | Ask your professor | |
| Political Science | Ask your professor | |
| Psychology | APA (American Psychological Association) | |
| Religion | Dr. Johnson and Dr. Knauth: SBL (Society of Biblical Literature). Dr. Heyes: Chicago or MLA . Other professors, ask. | |
| Sociology | ASA (American Sociological Association) | |
| Theatre | MLA (Modern Language Association) |
Citing your sources will give credit to the original author or producer of the information you are quoting and paraphrasing. Giving recognition is important in every context.
Citing the right way makes it possible for those who read your work to trace the information you used to produce it. It gives you credibility and improves your ability to contribute your voice to scholarly discussions.
Citing will allow you to avoid unintentional plagiarism. Read the Student Handbook's policy on academic dishonesty to see what constitutes plagiarism.
Conforming to citation styles can seem daunting, but it becomes simpler if you remember to look for the basics:
Remember that this information can look different depending on your source's type (video, book, article, tweet, etc.).
Citation managers are tools that help you collect, organize, and cite your sources. They can also be used for team research projects to share citations and organize them in a single place. Remember that those tools are helpful, but not perfect. Check the citations they generate for mistakes!
You can use any citation manager you are comfortable with, like Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley. We recommend Zotero: you can create a free account, download Zotero and install an MS Word add-in and a browser connector. Contact a Librarian or use the quick guide below to get started (credits: Jason Puckett at Georgia State University Library).
ZoteroBib will quickly generate a citation or bibliography. Choose your citation style and paste in a DOI, Title, or another identifier to create your bibliography.
