Source types

References by source type

The same work looks different in every style. For each source type, see which details you need, where to find them, and how the reference looks in eight styles.

01

How to Cite a Journal Article: Elements, Where to Find Them, Style Differences

The elements of a journal article reference, where to find each one, and how APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE and Vancouver differ, with common mistakes.

02

How to Cite a Book: Title Page, Copyright Page and Style Differences

Where to find the author, title, edition, year and publisher of a book, edition vs printing, translations and e-books, and how the major styles differ.

03

How to Cite a Chapter in an Edited Book

Chapter author vs editor, where to find the chapter title, editors and page range, when to cite the chapter rather than the whole book, and style differences.

04

How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation

Where to find the author, year, title, degree and institution of a thesis, how APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE and Vancouver differ, and how to handle database copies.

05

How to Cite a Web Page: Author, Date, Site Name, URL and Access Date

Where to find a web page's author, date, title and site name, why the copyright year is not a date, and how styles handle URLs and access dates.

06

How to Cite a Report: Group Authors, Report Numbers and Publishers

How to cite government, research institute and corporate reports: group vs individual authors, report numbers, issuing agencies, URLs and style differences.

07

How to Cite a Newspaper or News Article

Where to find the reporter, date, headline, publication and URL of a news article, handling updated stories and portal links, and how major styles differ.

08

How to Cite a Conference Paper or Presentation

Proceedings papers vs presentations, where to find conference name, location, dates, pages and DOI, and how APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE and Vancouver differ.