FAQ: Friday Citation styles -- APA, MLA and why being stylish matters

Writing a research paper entails a fair bit of work. One must decide on a topic, do the research, write the paper and cite sources appropriately. Selecting a topic and doing the research is probably the most time consuming, and the actual writing can be fraught with indecision, procrastination and spelling errors. Using the appropriate citation style should not cause grief and aggravation. In fact, learning and using appropriate citation style will help you avoid any potential plagiarism problems – once you understand how and why it is imperative to cite your sources, it will become a natural part of the research process.

Citation styles – a “little black dress” for the writing process
Citation styles -- also called style guides, style sheets, publication styles – are sets of guidelines for writing papers, a set of do’s and don’ts for the well-written paper. A style guide dictates the appropriate way to format the paper, from title page to works cited list, including citing references within the body of the paper and how to individually list sources. Each academic discipline has a preferred citation style: APA for Nursing and Psychology or MLA for English, for example. Generally, style guides are used to ensure a consistent way of presenting information across a discipline, of particular importance when preparing professional publications. Your instructor will most likely specify the style to use on the assignment, if not, be certain to ask what style is preferred. Master the basics of a particular style and you’re good to go, much like having the perfect little black dress in your closet and a working knowledge of Emily Post. Well, at least until a specialized source comes along, but we’ll get to that later.

Citing sources – match the shoes to the bag
The main differences between various styles generally comes down to the way in which references are cited within the text, and how the references are listed (foot notes, end notes, works cited page). Styles are not interchangeable, be certain that you consistently use one style guide throughout a paper. Just like Mr. Blackwell and his lists, professors are generally sticklers for consistent style. What follows are some quick and dirty examples of citation styles. These are very basic examples, designed to convey the general format for two popular styles, APA and MLA. If your questions are not answered here, consult the appropriate style manual (available in the Reference collection in the library) or visit the Marian College Writing Center, located in the basement of the library.

APA style – white tie and tails formality
APA style uses the author-date format for citations in the text. The Reference List is organized alphabetically by author’s last name.

A reference to a book by author Johnson published in 2004 would be inserted into the text of paper at the appropriate place as follows:

Neuroscience in clinical practice can be challenging (Johnson, 2004).

A journal article by authors Sue and Chang published in 2003 would be inserted into the text at the appropriate place as follows:

Psychological assessment in Asia is changing (Sue & Chang, 2003) as each year…

The entries on the Reference List would be formatted as follows:

Johnson, S. (2004). Mind wide open: your brain and the neuroscience of everyday life. New York, NY: Scribner.

Sue, S. & Chang, J. (2003). The state of psychological assessment in Asia. Psychological Assessment, 15(3), 306-310.

It is important to note slight differences between the entry for a book and the entry for a journal article. The title of the book is italicized, the journal article title is not italicized, but the title of journal is italicized. Authors’ first names are abbreviated by initial. Also, note the hanging indent style of entry for APA, the first line if the entry is not indented, but all subsequent lines are indented. Each entry is considered a separate paragraph by most word processing software, so you can easily set the indent for the whole page when you start typing up the Reference List.

For information on using direct quotations and other ways of referencing sources within the text,
Consult the manual:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5^th ed.
Call number: REF BF76.7 .A46

Additionally, an APA format template for Microsoft Word is available on computers in all campus computer labs – contact the Instructional Technology Dept. for assistance with the template.

MLA Style – black tie, but no flashy cummerbunds
MLA style uses the author-page number format for citations in the text. The Works Cited list is organized alphabetically by author’s last name.

A book about neuroscience would be cited in the text as follows:

Neuroscience in clinical practice can be challenging (Johnson 148-149).

A journal article by authors Sue and Chang published in 2003 would be inserted into the text at the appropriate place as follows:

Psychological assessment in Asia is changing (Sue & Chang 308) as each year…

The entries on the Works Cited list would be formatted in the following way:

Johnson, Steven. Mind wide open: your brain and the neuroscience of everyday life. New York: Scribner, 2004.

Sue, Stanley, and Janet Chang. “The state of psychological assessment in Asia.” Psychological Assessment 15.3 (2003): 306-310.

Note the differences between book and journal article entries on the Works Cited list. The title of the book is underlined, but the journal article title is in quotation marks and the title of journal is underlined. Authors’ full names are used instead of initials. Also, note the hanging indent style of entry for MLA, the first line if the entry is not indented, but all subsequent lines are indented. Because each entry is considered a separate paragraph by most word processing software, you can easily set the indent for the whole page when you start typing up the Works Cited list.

For information on using direct quotations and other ways of referencing sources within the text,
Consult the manual:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6^th ed.
Call number: REF LB2369 .G42

Citing electronic and unique sources – haute couture is high maintenance
The waters are a little murky when it comes to citing electronic sources, such as websites, electronic journals, or other items accessed in electronic format. Style guides all have sections on citing electronic resources, it’s best to consult the manual for the specific style when you need to cite electronic sources. Unique sources, such as audio recordings, oral histories and other non-standard publication formats also require specific citation styles. When in doubt, consult the manual!

Other styles – I’m okay, you’re okay. Just don’t wear flip flops to the White House
APA and MLA style are just two examples of various citation and publishing styles, probably the most common but by no means the “be all-end all” of writing style. Plenty of room out there for those with a maverick approach to style. After all, some Isaac Mizrahi really helps balance all that Ralph Lauren. In most cases, your instructor will indicate the style required for a particular class or assignment. If not, it’s always in your best interests to ask which style you are expected to use. You don’t want to turn up for a State Dinner looking like you didn’t see the “no shirt-no shoes-no service” sign at the 7-11.

Guides to other major styles are available in the library Reference collection:

The Chicago Manual of Style
Call number: REF LB2369 .C44

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations (Turabian)
Call number: REF LB2369 .T87

The information here is intended to provide readers with a quick introduction to the intricacies of style. It is by no means a complete tutorial on any style, just something start the party and point to helpful resources. In the end, it is up to the writer to use the style best suited to the occasion.

DVD format conversion under way

As part of the overall collection space consolidation project underway in the library, the library audiovisual (video) collection will be converted to DVD format whenever possible. Not only will this save shelf space, but DVD format has proven to be a more durable format for items that circulate frequently. This conversion applies to academic titles as well as popular films, and all new audiovisual acquisitions are in DVD format as well.

The conversion process has already begun. In the short term you may see gaps in the holdings on the shelves – we pull the VHS copies as the DVD replacements are ordered. Materials that are not currently available on DVD will be retained until DVD is available or the tape wears out. If you don’t see something you need, please contact me and I will provide a status report on the replacement copy. Also, bear in mind that something you used last semester on VHS may have already been replaced with the DVD version, so you may need to make adjustments in the way you present the material in the classroom.

Please bear with us during this transition period – our goal is to make the audiovisual collection easier to use and easier to maintain over time. If you have specific questions about the DVD format conversion, please feel free to contact Elizabeth Pearson-Coan, Acquisitions/Periodicals Librarian, at 955-6223.

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FAQ: Friday Using the library catalog - - no card tricks, plenty of magic

Bet ya haven’t seen a real card catalog in years, possibly decades. Do you miss it? Maybe, maybe not. Some might not even know what a card catalog is, let alone how to use it to full potential. But FAQ is here to tell you that there is no need to fear the electronic library catalog, it’s just a new face for the same information. Fewer papercuts are an added bonus.

Long ago and far away, libraries kept the information about all the books in the library on little cards, which were kept in long drawers and organized in ways that sometimes made little sense to the library patrons. It’s all very archaic – one card for title, another for author, still more cards for subject headings and series.

Sounds tedious, doesn’t it? With the dawn of the computer age and the development of complex database systems, libraries went electronic and never looked back. Oh sure, some libraries held on to their card catalogs for years, “just in case” the system went down, or the data was lost, or some other nebulous potential disaster. But once the information was “in the system”, libraries found that it was faster and easier to use a computer to do the searching.

Using the library catalog to locate resources

The Hackelmeier Memorial Library online catalog is the place start when you are looking for materials in the library collection. The catalog will tell you if we have a particular resource, the collection and call number, and whether the item is on the shelf or checked out. All with a few key strokes and mouse clicks. Access the catalog from the library’s web page. A quick link to the catalog is available on the button bar on the left hand side of the page.

What you will (and won’t) find in the library catalog

The library catalog provides information on all the items in the library collection that are located in the library building, plus links to e-books. So, the catalog provides access to books, journals on subscription in hard copy, and CD and DVD collections. Course reserves are also accessible within the library catalog -- use the e-Reserves catalog search page to access course reserve materials

Electronic access to journals (such as Academic Search Premier, JSTOR and Project Muse) are not currently accessible via the library catalog, use the Electronic Resources Database page to access those resources. Also, you will not find individual journal articles referenced in the catalog, journals are in the catalog by title only, not individual issues. You will be able to determine if the library subscribes to a particular journal (or has back issues available), but to see the individual articles you will need to consult the journal issue itself or use an index or database to locate specific articles (see a previous FAQ: Friday, Finding Journal Articles).

Searching -- keep it simple, scholars!

The best way to start searching for library resources is to stick to keyword searching. Pick out word or phrase that best describes your subject and use that as your initial search terms. Things like “global warming”, “social justice” or “nursing”. Note that you can limit your search to options like title, author or subject using the drop-down menu to the left of the search box.

Adding terms to a search reduces the number of hits in the results. So, “pediatric nursing” will have fewer items in the results than a search for “nursing”. Conversely, taking away terms will increase the number of hits in the results. Keep this in mind if you are getting too many or too few hits.

Understanding search results

A keyword search for “social justice” will return a number of hits. The example below illustrates what you can learn from search results.

Title: Environmental sociology : from analysis to action /

Author: King, Leslie, 1959-

Year/Format: 2005 / Book

Check for Copies: Marian College Library / Circulating Stacks: GE195 .E68

This record gives you the basic information: title, author, year of publication, format, library collection and call number. So, you know that you can find this book in the circulating collection on the second floor, on the shelves containing the GE range of call numbers.

Click on the “Check for Copies” link and you will get more information.
Much of this information is available on the previous page, but the all-important Item Status and Due Date information will be listed on this page. The Due Date column reports that the book is "On Shelf", which means that the book is not checked out. If the book were checked out, there would be a notation to that effect in the Due Date column.

Description	Item status	Due date	Due hour	Location	Collection	Call Number	Barcode	OPAC Note
c.1	Regular Loan	On Shelf		Marian College Library	Circulating Stacks	GE195 .E68	39316010400021

Now you know the basics of using the online catalog to search for library resources. The best way to better understand how to use the catalog is to play around with it a little bit -- look at some item records and be sure you understand what you are looking at and where you will find different resources. If you are interested in some tips on search strategies and using Boolean operators, check out the library catalog tips page.

FAQ: Friday Circulation policies, karma and you

FAQ: Friday

It’s not about the fines, it’s about good karma.

Circulating books, DVDs, CDs and other library materials is an honor system. The library honors your affiliation with Marian College and lets you check stuff out free of charge, and in turn the library expects you to honor the time limits on using those materials. All in all, it’s a very civilized situation. Until someone breaks the rules, that is.

Think about it – in general, libraries have one copy of a book, but there are thousands of people eligible to check out that book. We all have to share, that’s just how it is. But what happens when someone decides to be selfish? For instance, you need a book for a paper in your sociology class, but the book was checked out by someone else. That person keeps it longer than the stated circulation policy, and you are left hanging, waiting for the book to return. You are denied timely access to a resource that you are eligible to use, only because someone else has decided to hoard the resource. THEY MUST BE PUNISHED.

Okay, that’s a little harsh. But a system of fines is one way to reinforce the point that we all need to share. Sure, some may be willing to pay the fines, but many others understand that it’s not just one less latte that week. There is a larger picture – it’s free until you abuse the service, and if you abuse the service, you will be fined. It’s not warm and fuzzy, but it drives the point home.

Let’s talk circulation policies, so you know what rules you might be breaking.

Who may check out materials?

Marian College students, faculty and staff are all eligible to check out materials, provided they have a valid Marian College ID. A valid ID must be presented each time you check out materials.

Others affiliated with the college are also able to check out materials on a limited basis. These groups include Marian College alumni, members of the Indianapolis archdiocese, and students/faculty of PALNI member institutions. Please contact the library directly for information on borrowing privileges for these groups.

What items may be checked out?
Books in the circulating collection, compact discs, video and DVD recordings, and certain Course Reserves items.

Materials from the Reference collection, Archives, Special Collections, maps/atlases, microfiche/microfilm and Periodicals (current and bound) are not available for check out.

When/Where may items be checked out?
All check outs must be performed at the Circulation Desk, which is open when the library is open. If no one is at the desk, ring the service bell for assistance.

How long may items be checked out?

Books 21 days

CD, video and DVD recordings 7 days

Reserve items varies by item:

from 2 hours (readings) to one week (certain videos)

Note: As a courtesy, faculty and staff are permitted to check items out for an entire academic year. However, we encourage faculty and staff to return highly requested materials such as CD and DVD recordings as promptly as possible.

Renewals
You may renew an item once, after that the item must be returned to the library or fees will be assessed.

Fine schedule
For all the rebels in the crowd, this is what it’s going to cost you if you return library materials after the due date:

Books 10 cents per item, per day

CD/video/DVD 25 cents per item, per day

Course Reserves 25 cents per item, per hour or day (depends on loan period)

The library operates based on the assumption that library materials will be available to all eligible patrons, at one time or another. For that to happen, borrowers need to play by the rules, or pay the piper (so to speak – no one on the library staff is actually a piper). Buying replacement copies means we can’t buy new resources, so that is why we have replacement fees for lost library materials.

What goes around, comes around -- If you wish good library resources to come your way when you need them, do not hoard library resources. It’s good karma, plain and simple.