Statistical Data: Citations

When you research a topic you may use information from articles, books, or the Web to support your ideas. However, you must credit the original authors of these sources by citing them.  This serves two important functions.

•   It makes it clear that you are not plagarizing, or claiming work that is not your own.
•   It tells readers of your work where to to find more information on a topic.

• Email yourself a copy of any articles or websites you are using.  This ensures you will have the correct information when writing your paper.
• Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words.
• Credit original authors for not just their words, but also their ideas.
• The The Excelsior Online Writing Lab is one of the best sources for learning more about citing and formatting your papers. It features instructional videos that show you how to set up your papers in APA, MLA, and Chicago formats, interactive checklists, and visual support for both in-text documenting and referencing at the end of your paper.

NoodleTools is an online tool for creating works cited lists. Use it with MLA, APA, or Chicago styles. It helps you create your citations, and generates your bibliography. Show me how

MLA  and APA are the citation styles most commonly used by CCAC instructors.  Neither style provides specific guidance for citing statistics, but both offer general guidance for such situations.

The MLA Handbook, 7^th edition, states:

 “MLA style is flexible, and sometimes you must improvise to record features not anticipated by this handbook.  In some cases, citation formats devised to handle complex print publications may serve as a basis for improvisation; see in particular the sections on an article in a reference book (5.5.7), scholarly editions (5.5.10), translations (5.5.11) and government publications (5.5.20).”  p. 182-183.

Copies of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7^th edition, call # LB 2369 .G53 2009, can be found at all four CCAC libraries.   

The APA Style website states:

“In general, a reference should contain the author name, date of publication, title of the work, and publication data. When you cannot find the example reference you need in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, choose the example that is most like your source and follow that format. Sometimes you will need to combine elements of more than one reference format.”

Copies of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6^th edition, call # BF 76.7 .P83 2010,  can be found at all four CCAC libraries.  

MLA style, developed by the Modern Language Association, is used for English, foreign languages and general topics. MLA requires parenthetical citations within the text and a corresponding bibliography or works cited list at the end of the paper.

APA style, developed by the American Psychological Association, is used for hard sciences and social sciences, including education. APA uses parenthetical citations within the text and a corresponding bibliography or works cited list at the end of the paper.