12 Placing Your Citations
Where do I place citations in my writing?
Placing the citations
It is very important that you clearly distinguish your own ideas from those of others by putting your citations in the appropriate places. The two most common ways to format your citation are:
- Following immediately after the information learned from your research
- APA uses in-text citations and the author/date information in parentheses:
Example:
There is also the argument that … [information goes here] (Mitchell, 1996).
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- MLA uses in-text citations and the author/page information in parentheses:
Example:
There is also the argument that … [information goes here] (Mitchell 225).
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- Chicago uses footnotes indicated by a superscript number like this1. The footnote contains the full citation information.
Example:
There is also the argument that ... [information goes here].1
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- The Nutrition citation style i.e. the Citation Style of the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) uses endnotes indicated by a number in square brackets like this [1].. The endnote contains the full citation information.
Example:
There is also the argument that … [information goes here] [1].
- using the author information in an introductory phrase
- APA
Example: Mitchell (1996) states …
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- MLA
Example: Mitchell states …….. (225).
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- Chicago
Example: Mitchell states ……..1
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- The Citation Style of the ICMJE
Example: Mitchell states ……..[1]
Can you show me an example?
Li is writing a research paper on multiculturalism. During their library research, they found a journal article, a book, and a chapter in a book with information that multicultural policies can increase cultural tensions rather than promote diversity. Li pays attention to the details of each source to use in their citation and list of references.
Journal article:
Author: Day, R. F., & Sadick, T.
Publication year: 2002.
Article Title: The BC land question, liberal multiculturalism, and the spectre of aboriginal nationhood.
Journal name: BC Studies,
Volume number: 134,
page range: 5-34.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14288/bcs.v0i134.1626
Li learned on page 30 that multicultural policies have been criticized for promoting the interests of the English-Canadian majority.
B
ook:
Author: Barry, B.
Publication year: 2001.
Book title: Culture and equity: An egalitarian critique of multiculturalism.
Publisher: Harvard University Press.
Li learned on page 118 that people who disagree with the policy of multiculturalism argue that the state should not enshrine differences into policy, but should rather aim to treat everyone the same, or more accurately, provide the conditions such that all members of society can have access to equal opportunities.
Book chapter:
Author: Mitchell, K.
Publication year: 1996.
Chapter title: In whose interest? Transnational capital and the production of multiculturalism in Canada.
Editors: R. Wilson, & W. Dissanayake (Eds.),
Book title: Global/local: Cultural production and the transnational imaginary
Page range: 219-254
Publishers: Duke University Press.
Li read on page 225, a provocative idea that multiculturalism is a policy designed to further the capitalist interests of the “elites”.
Note: These are not direct quotes. They are based on Li’s notes and summaries of the information presented in the three sources.
How can Li provide credit for the information they found while demonstrating to the professor that they have learned about the topic? That is, how can Li separate their thoughts and observations from the sources that shaped their learning?
Have a look at the following paragraphs in the four different citation styles. Li’s own ideas are shown in regular text, the ideas from the journal article, book and book chapter are bolded. The citations are highlighted in yellow.
