Citation FAQ

When is a citation necessary?

• Any time you:
  • paraphrase (or summarize) ideas and/or information from a source
  • quote (verbatim) from a source
  • use facts found in a source
  • introduce information that is not considered "common knowledge"
• Additional information is available through Yale University's Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning

What do I call the page(s) with all of my resources listed in alphabetical order?

• APA - References
• CSE - References
• MLA - Works Cited
• Turabian - Bibliography (for notes-bibliography style); References (for author-date style)

Should my citations be single or double spaced?

• APA - double spaced
• CSE - single spaced with double space in between each citation
• MLA - double spaced
• Turabian - single spaced with double space in between each citation

How should I indent resources in my works cited/bibliography/references? (highlight resource citation + Ctrl T for easy hanging indent)

• APA - Hanging indent, double spaced
• CSE - Hanging indent, single spaced
• MLA - Hanging indent, double spaced
• Turabian - Hanging indent, single spaced

What is a DOI and when should I use it?

DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier, which is a series of letters and numbers that leads to an item's location. Articles in online journals are frequently assigned a DOI, which makes it easy to locate the article even if the URL changes. If an article includes a DOI, use that instead of the URL.

Should I include titles like Dr. or PhD to an author's name?

• APA - No
• CSE - No
• MLA - No
• Turabian - No

How do I format names with particles like de, le, von, etc. in my works cited/references/bibliography?

• APA - retain author's original capitalization and alphabetize by particle
• CSE - treat particles as part of the surname and retain author's original capitalization
• MLA - retain author's original capitalization and alphabetize by particle
• Turabian - retain author's original capitalization and alphabetize by particle (if considered part of the surname by original language)