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Bibliographic Citations: Resources and Guides

Rules of thumb for citing sources:

  • Include as much information as necessary to uniquely identify the source. For example, the citation to a weekly periodical must include the day of the month as well as month and year.
  • When in doubt about whether to include clarifying information in a citation, include it. Example: if no date is available in or on the source, use n.d. to indicate that. Be sure to check the Library Catalog/WorldCat to see whether catalogers have derived a publication date from other sources.
  • In the social sciences and humanities, cite the full title of a journal, magazine or newspaper. Bibliographies and indexes often cite abbreviated periodical titles. To locate the full title use these reference sources, or search the Cornell Library Catalog by periodical abbreviation.
    Note that journal titles are often abbreviated in citations in the physical and life science styles (See the ACS and CSE styles below).

It's important to give credit where credit is due. Cite your sources using one of the styles listed below or another style approved by the instructor. Knowingly representing the work of others as your own is plagiarism. (For details, see Cornell's Code of Academic Integrity).

 

 

TIP: When citing materials from the Rare and Manuscripts Collection, include the collection number, the box number, and the folder number, when available, in additional to the author and title description of the object. Only the collection number is included in online finding aids and collection descriptions.

 

 

Citation/style guides available online:

Citation styles in the life and physical sciences:

 

 

Citation/style guides in book form:

  • APA
    Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed.
    Olin Ready Ref BF 76.7 .P83 2010 +
  • Chicago
    The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed.
    Olin Ready Ref Z253 .U69 2010
  • MLA
    MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed.
    Olin Ready Ref LB 2369 .G53 2009
  • Turabian
    A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations..., 7th ed.
    Olin Ready Ref LB 2369 .T8 2007
  • Map formats
    Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide.
    Maps GA 108.5 .C58 1992.
  • Electronic/online formats
    The Columbia Guide to Online Style, 2nd ed.
    Olin Ready Ref PN 171 .F56 W35 2006.
  • Government documents
    The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources: A Manual for Writers & Librarians, 3rd ed.
    Olin Ready Ref Z 7164 .G7 G37x 2002 +
  • Unpublished records in the National Archives
    Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States.
    Olin Ref CD 3025 .U58 C5 1997
  • Sociology
    American Sociological Association. Style Guide, 3rd ed.
    Olin Ref HM 569 .A54 2007
  • Spanish
    The Writer's Reference Guide to Spanish
    Olin Ref PC 4410 .F68x 1999
  • Chemistry and the physical sciences
    The ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific Information, 3rd ed.
    Physical Sciences Ref QD 8.5 .A25 2006
  • Life sciences
    Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 7th ed.
    Mann Ref T 11 .S386 2006
    [Previous title: the CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers.]

 

 

RefWorks and EndNote:

You can also use RefWorks and EndNote to format citations. RefWorks is available online at http://www.refworks.cornell.edu/. EndNote is available in the Electronic Text Center in Olin Library, the Uris Library e-Classroom, and on the reference desk computers.

See also: Signups and schedules for our free RefWorks and Endnote workshops.

For more information on citation tools and citation management, see the Citation Management page on the Library Web site.

Expert help with EndNote and RefWorks is available from CiteManage-L@cornell.edu

 

 

Guide for Cornell Dissertations/Theses:

The Graduate School at Cornell has made their booklet, "Doctoral Dissertation and Master's Thesis: Formatting, Production, and Submission Requirements," available on their Web page, http://thesis.gradschool.cornell.edu/. A printed version is available at the Graduate School in the Thesis Advisor's Office, 125 Caldwell Hall.


Identifying Full Periodical Titles from Abbreviations:

Periodical Title Abbreviations. Detroit: Gale, 1969- . 2 volumes.
Volume 1: By abbreviation; volume 2: By title.
(Olin and Uris Ready Reference Z 6945 .A2 P44. Latest edition in Ready Reference.)

ITA: Internationale Titelabkürzungen von Zeitschriften, Zeitungen, wichtigen Handbüchern, Wörterbüchern, Gesetzen, Institutionen usw. = International title abbreviations of periodicals, newspapers, important handbooks, dictionaries, laws, institutions, etc. München: Saur, 2005. 10th Aufl. [edition]. 3 volumes.
(Olin Ready Reference Z 6945 .A2 L4 2005 ++.)

Jones, David J. Australian Periodical Title Abbreviations. Leura, N.S.W.: Second Back Row Press, 1985.
(Olin Reference Z 6962 .A8 J66)

If all else fails consider this guide that links to a wide variety of online lists of journal abbreviations for individual disciplines and databases:

All that JAS: Journal Abbreviation Sources. [Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University, 2000- ].
(Online at http://resolver.library.cornell.edu/misc/3873914). Last accessed 29 April 2009.
Registry of Web resources that list or provide access to the full title of journal abbreviations or other types of abbreviated publication titles (e.g., conference proceedings titles). Selected online library catalogs that offer abbreviated title searching have also been included. In addition, access to full journal title directories or lists is also provided.

 

 

Engle, Michael. Bibliographic Citations: Resources and Guides. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Library. http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/bibcitations.html (accessed 17 November 2010).

04/22/2011 - 8:19am - moe1