COM 231: Beck: Citing Sources

What is a Citation?
A citation is a reference to a source of information such as a scholarly article, video, book, website or other mediums of information. This guide is designed to help you with all of your citation needs. The tabs above (which correspond to the descriptions below) provide the most current information about the various citation styles. Select the tab based on the style required for your research writing.  

The Social Sciences (Psychology, Sociology, and Health Sciences.) use the APA style.

History instructors will sometimes request the use of the Chicago style.

The Natural Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, etc.) use the CSE style.

The Humanities (English, History, Fine Arts, etc.) use the MLA style.

If you need further assistance feel free to make an appointment with a Coastal librarian or you can  use the 24/7 chat service provided in the lower right corner of the screen. This service is managed by librarians in the state of North Carolina.

The following websites have been designed to provide assistance with properly citing information and formatting papers using APA guidelines. Please consult these for help developing citations.

• Purdue Online Writing Lab-APA

  One of the best resources for citation help, Purdue University's English department maintains this website and keeps it up to date with the latest changes in citation. In addition to comprehensive guides on the APA style, Purdue OWL also provides suggestions to help you conduct research and incorporate that research into your academic paper.

• Valencia College Citation Guides

  This site has citation examples in APA style that incorporate color-coding to highlight each section of the citation. They also have sample papers to help with formatting.