When researching, a writer must keep track of where they get their information. After all,
There's a lot of crap out there,
And readers want flowers, not fertilizer.
Readers don't go to a work of research hoping what is written is true--they expect it to be true. By citing a credible source, writers show that they know what they are talking about and didn't pull their ideas out of thin air. Some readers will want to know more, and citations give these readers a place to start their own research journey. Conversely, a critic may disagree with the conclusions of the research, and the source citations allow them to fact-check the work. For readers to obtain and review these sources on their own, they need to know three things, regardless of citation style:
WHO MADE THE SOURCE? WHAT IS IT CALLED? WHERE CAN I FIND IT?
Once a writer finds this information, they add a source citation for their readers near each fact they pulled from their sources, either by using an in-text citation (where a parenthetical in the text indicates the source) or by using a note-bibliography citation (where footnotes or endnotes connect facts to sources). But how do they decide? It depends on whichever style guide their class, discipline, or publisher uses. There are thousands of citation styles tailored to specific countries and studies, but here are the six most used styles in the United States:
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Modern Language Association (MLA) style: This style is used by the humanities and is intended for research and analysis based from an objective point of view. Researchers in MLA disciplines should focus on the precise language of evidence. MLA uses in-text citation of evidence. Disciplines that use MLA include literature, film, theatre, communications, and language studies. Since these are the disciplines addressed by this website, almost everything on CoonWriting is based on MLA style. Current version: Ninth Edition.
American Psychological Association (APA) style: This style is used by most of the social sciences and is intended for research and analysis based on personal observations and data collection. Researchers in APA disciplines should focus on how recent or timely the evidence is. APA also uses in-text citation of evidence. Disciplines that use APA include education, psychology, economics, political science, geography, business, and linguistics as well as some history courses. Current version: Seventh Edition. American Sociological Association (ASA) style: This style is only used in sociology, the only social science that does not use APA. Researchers in ASA disciplines focus on both how recent or timely the evidence is and where that evidence or study originated. ASA source citations are very close to APA style but their in-text citation more closely resemble MLA style. Current version: Seventh Edition. Associated Press (AP) style: This style is used by journalists reporting news in all media, including video and audio. Researchers in AP disciplines rarely use in-text citations and instead use embedded citations focused on the work of other journalists. AP Style diverges greatly from the other styles when it comes to its rules of grammar and usage in its writing. Current version: Fifty-Sixth Edition. American Medical Association (AMA) style: Researchers in AMA disciplines focus more on study titles and sources and less on the authors or dates of the study. AMA uses endnote citation of evidence. Disciplines that use a version of AMA style include medicine, dentistry, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, pediatrics, gerontology, and mortuary science. These disciplines occasionally use a nearly identical style that puts more emphasis on authorship that was created by the National Institute of Health--this style is sometimes called Vancouver Style, CSE (for the Council of Science Editors), or NLM (for the National Library of Medicine). Current version: Tenth Edition. Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS): This style is essentially MLA style, but requires full citation on the footnotes on every page instead of in-text citation. CMOS (sometimes called Turbanian) is usually used for non-academic writing and large bodies of research that cannot be read easily in a single sitting. Earth sciences, art, music, business, mathematics, engineering, theology, and history disciplines almost always use CMOS and often use specific variations: for example, anthropology uses a style nearly identical to CMOS called AAA (for American Anthropological Association), and physics uses a similar style called AIP (American Institute of Physics). Almost every discipline requires Chicago at the Master's thesis and PhD levels, but some schools introduce it earlier. Current version: Seventeenth Edition. |