APA Style
Cite your sources using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 6th edition.
There is a copy of the APA Style Manual at the Information Desk in the Valley Library and there are copies in the collection you can check out at BF76.7 P83 2010b (6th floor).
Many of the databases provide citation assistance. Take a look for the icon or link to "Cite this article" or "Choose a bibliographic style." These sometimes only show up when you go to print, save, or email the article, and different databases use different terminology.
Always check your references for accuracy! Database citation "machines," while a great help, often get the little things wrong, so review the citation before you add it to your bibliography.
There are also some online sources to help you:
- OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab
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APA Exposed (Harvard)
A self paced tutorial. -
Basics of APA Style
Self paced tutorial from the APA. -
APA Style Blog
A great place to look for suggestions on how to cite more unusual things, like Facebook and Twitter.
Avoiding Plagiarism
To learn what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, use the tutorial below:
- Oops, I Plagiarized Carlos & Eddie learn how to avoid plagiarism. UCLA Library
Learn about OSU's Academic Dishonesty policy.
Citation Management
As you research, you will want to keep track of all the information you are finding. One way to do this is to use a citation management program like Zotero or EndNote. Citation management programs let you store, retrieve and organize your citations. There are some free programs you may wish to try out before committing to an expensive software purchase:
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Zotero
A free citation management software plug-in for Firefox. -
Mendeley
A free internet based citation management program. You can sync it to your iPhone, too. -
EndNote Web
Free web based citation management tool.
