Citing Sources: Citation

• To help others find the information you used
• To build your own credibility as a well-informed creator
• To give credit to those who created the information you used
• It’s part of being an Aggie (see the USU Student Code)

The information you provide in your citations should answer the following three questions for your readers:

• Who created this information?
• Where was this information published?
• When was this information published?

Elements of Information

To fully answer these three questions there are nine general elements of information that you should collect about each of your sources. While you should try to find as much of this information as you can, not all elements will be available or relevant to every single source.

1. Author(s)
2. Title of Source
3. Title of Container (ex. The American Journal of Psychology, The Washington Post)
4. Other Contributors (ex. edited by John Doe)
5. Version (ex. 6th edition)
6. Number (ex. volume or issue)
7. Publisher (ex. MIT Press)
8. Publication Date
9. Location (ex. DOI)

Many databases and article collections, plus many e-books, will automatically create citations for whichever article or chapter you are viewing. Always proofread and double check database created citations. 

Look for a Cite, CiteNow, or Cite This Item button on the database record for the specific article or chapter. (Not all databases have this feature.)

Creating Citations in Proquest Central

1. Search using keywords for a peer-reviewed article in ProQuest Central.

2. When you find an article you want to use, you can view the various citation formats by clicking the quote button.

3. Search for the specific citation format you need by choosing from the drop-down menu. You can then copy this citation, or export it using one of the listed citation organizers.

Different areas of study use different citation styles. Check out this USU Libraries Citations Research Guide for information about other citation styles.