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What do citations look like?

There are two kinds of citations in a literature review. Each time you make a statement or include a quotation, you will need to "cite the source" - that is, indicate where the information came from. Also, at the end of your paper or thesis, there will be a list of references (also known as a bibliography). These can also be called citations.

There are many styles of citations, but one will be specified for you. In education, we use the APA (American Psychological Association) format. It is one of the simplest, with short citations in the text and no footnotes. If you are in another area of study, check with your instructor or thesis advisor for the appropriate style. You should also be aware of any requirements for the version of the style that you are using. For example, APA Version 3 is different from APA Version 4. There are printed style manuals available, and there are often websites which provide assistance (see list below). Anne Garrett, the Thesis Coordinator, has prepared a Word document to assist you (http://www.csudh.edu/fisher/APAStyle.doc).

In-text citations include the author(s) and the year of publication in parentheses. If there is a quote, the page number is included as well. Note: Sometimes an author is not listed (e.g., a research report). In this case the title of the document may be listed instead of the author. Here are some examples:
  • (Smith, 2003)
  • (Jones & Garson, 2000)
  • (Harrison et al, 2001)  use when there are many authors
  • (Smith, 2003; Jones & Garson, 2000)  use when several articles support the statement
  • (Johnson, 2005, p. 34)  use  page number for quotes
  • (Department of Education Research Report No. 3, 2005)  no author listed
The citation will generally follow the statement that it supports, and the period will be placed after the citation. For example:
Children who have been raised with technology enter school with greater computer skills than those in the past (Smith, 2003; Jones & Garson, 2000).

There are several types of formats for the References section, depending on the type of document. You will notice that only the initial of the author's first name is used (sometimes middle initial as well). Note: Factors such as the capitalization of words within a title and indentations may change with APA versions, so check the latest manual. Some fictitious examples (APA):
  • Book:   Johnson, G. and Harrison, K  (2001). Educational Psychology. New York: John Wiley, & Sons.
  • Article:  Garson, J.R. (2005). Where's the beef? The real effect of after-school programs. Journal of Educational Research, 53(6), 58-69.
  • ERIC Document:  Hardy, H., Keris, K. and Desonga, L. (2000). The impact of computer use with special needs students. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in New Orleans, LA. (ERIC Document No. ED 467981).
Electronic references (e.g., websites) also have specific citation formats (for APA format, see http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html).

More APA style references:

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This page was created by F. Fisher for students in the College of Education at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Last update 8/06. Button created at http://www.buttongenerator.com/