Lesson #9 | The Citizen’s Guide to Research
Citation station
Do you remember the Schoolhouse Rock song that goes, “Conjunction junction, what’s your function?” I used to sing a similar version to my English 101 students; mine went, “Citation station, if it’s not your creation!” It embarrassed them (I have no shame) but it was a silly way to make light of a topic that can be tedious.
This week, we’ll discuss what citation is, how citations style differ, and why it’s important to cite. You may remember some of this information from high school or college. But it’s helpful to remember that citations aren’t just nitpicky preferences of your English teachers; citation is a necessary part of how the research world works and progresses.
What does it mean to cite something?
To cite is to attribute an idea, concept, or quote to its original author or creator. Contrary to popular belief, citation isn’t solely about “credit” (although that’s a big part of it). All research is part of a larger conversation, and citing helps distinguish between existing and new ideas.
Citation styles
From school, you may remember hearing about “MLA style” or “APA style.” When I was teaching, many of my students weren’t sure about what this all meant, and what the differences were. Here’s a quick primer of some of the more popular citation styles used in major colleges and universities:
American Psychological Association (APA): Used in social sciences and education. According to Mercer University, this style is “well-suited to qualitative studies and analysis.”
American Anthropological Association (AAA): Used in anthropological research.
Modern Language Association (MLA): Used in humanities and literature research. According to Mercer University, this style is “well-suited to literature and archival sources.”
Chicago/Turabian Style: Used in business, history, and some art research.
National Library of Medicine (NLM): Used in medical research. (Some medical research may use APA style.)
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers): Used in engineering science and research.
Why are there so many different styles?
Mercer University’s excellent resource on citations says it best:
It might seem like academic authors can’t agree, but really, authors write for different purposes and different audiences, and so the citation styles reflect that.
We continue to use different citation styles for two main reasons: disciplinary differences and tradition. Researchers in different disciplines cite different types of resources, and different disciplines place higher value on different criteria. For example, most researchers in the social sciences are more likely to cite a scholarly article than any other type of source, while a researcher in the humanities might need to cite a variety of source types, including archived personal letters or first-edition works. Over time, organizations like the American Psychological Association created style guides that were meant to help standardize the format of citations within their discipline, focused on the types of works most often used in their field.
What citations look like
Within a study, you’ll see citations in two different ways: in-text citations, and a reference (or works cited) page. The formatting of each of these will vary, depending on the style of the research article. An in-text citation is an attribution that appears directly within the body of the article. A reference page is a list, usually alphabetical, of all of the works mentioned within the article.
An in-text citation may look like an author’s name, or a title, in parenthesis at the end of a sentence. On a reference page, a citation usually includes the author, the name of their work, the date of publishing, and additional information, such as the publisher. Here’s an example of an MLA style citation:
Tools to help with citations
Many people, researchers and students alike, struggle with writing accurate citations; there’s a lot to remember about formatting, down to where to place commas or periods.
To help with this, there are tools that can “generate” a reference to add to a reference page. Plug in information, and it will generate a citation. While these tools should be used in conjunction with style guides, they can help you with the basics. Here are a few of the more popular citation tools:
Why does citation matter to citizen researchers?
It may seem like citation is just another aspect of published research that seems stuffy and finicky, but it serves an important purpose — not just for researchers, but for those who read research and seek to apply it to real-world questions. Remember when we discussed credibility, and identifying the source? Citation is the system that helps us do that.
We may not use structured citations when we share research and discuss it outside of academia, but the concept is the same. Citation provides some semblance of credibility, as it shows that the researcher has included topical information and ideas from others, and is acknowledging that in their new research. It’s also a way for researchers to gauge the impact of their studies, by seeing where their work is cited and how it’s been applied to different questions.
Part 1:
Apply everything you’ve learned so far in this series, and find an article on a topic you like. Go to the reference page or works cited page. Can you identify what citation style is in use? (Tip: Think about the topic of the article.)
Part 2:
Identify something on the reference page that seems interesting to you. Use the citation to try to find the original article. Does it provide all of the information you need to find it?
