Copyright and Fair Use
Citing Sources

Introduction
One key element of information literacy is learning how to use information responsibly by citing sources and observing fair use. Citing is the process of giving credit to the sources used or quoted in a presentation (e.g. paper, multimedia presentation, speech, video recording). Citations may be in the body of presentation or at the end in a bibliography or works cited list. A proper citation serves the following purposes:
    
    Ø      Giving credit to the author or creator
       Ø      Enabling the reader to locate the cited source
       Ø      Demonstrating the accuracy and reliability of the information in a presentation

Using the work of another person as your own and not giving proper credit is an act of plagiarism. Plagiarism is a form of theft, which carries severe penalties and is also a federal crime.

Citation Styles
Citing sources requires using a standard bibliographic style. There are several citation styles and some are required for specific disciplines. Each style provides a standardized way of citing sources that provides an organized look to the bibliography and the critical information that the reader needs to locate the source. Citations include information such as the author or creator, title, source (e.g. publisher, periodical title) and date. The following list provides some examples of citation styles:

    Ø      AMA (American Medical Association) Style—Medicine
    Ø      APA (American Psychological Association) Style—Social sciences, business, and medicine
    Ø      CBE (Council of Biological Editors) Style—Sciences and natural resources
    Ø      Chicago Style—General
    Ø      MLA  (Modern Language Association) Style--Humanities
    Ø      Turabian Style

One of the most common citation styles used in public schools is the MLA style. However, students should check with their teachers to verify which citation style is required for an assignment. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Fifth Edition) by Joseph Gibaldi provides a comprehensive guide to citing sources in MLA format. The following web sites will assist students creating bibliographies or works cited lists.

NoodleBib
Select NoodleBib from the home page. This fee-based service allows users to create and edit bibliographies or works cited lists in MLA and APA format. Select the type of resource (e.g. magazine article, book, web site) and fill in the form on the screen. NoodleBib organizes the information in MLA format with proper punctuation and alphabetizes the list. The user may then choose to print the document, save the document on-line or import the document into a research paper in Microsoft Word. Students in middle school and high school will find this application valuable in creating works cited lists for research projects. The West Hartford Public School District subscribes to this service. Students and staff may access this service at school or at home. Please contact the library media specialist in your school for the user name and password. 

Oradell Public School Instructional Media
Research: How to Compile a Bibliography
This site provides a simplified citation style appropriate for students in elementary school. Students in grade one begin with a brief citation. Each grade level adds additional components to the citation through grade six. Examples are included at each grade level.

Other Links

APA, MLA, Turabian, Chicago and AMA Citation Styles
Select the link for any of these formats to view sample citations.

Citing Electronic and Print Resources
Babson College provides links to citing sources in several styles: APA, MLA and Turabian. There are also specific examples for articles from ProQuest, InfoTrac, CQ Researcher and others. 

EasyBib
This free service allows users to select either MLA or APA format for creating works cited lists. After selecting the type of source for the works cited list (e.g. book, magazine article, Web site) a form appears. 

Information Ethics
This site provides information about citing sources including an overview of different citation styles. At the end of the overview concerning fair use click on the hyperlink to the Quiz on Ethical Use of Information.

Interpreting Citations
This web page defines the purpose of citations and displays examples for a variety of information sources: book, magazine article, journal article, government document, chapter in a book and Internet source.

MLA Documentation of Reference Sources
View sample citations for commonly cited literature reference sources: American Writers, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Drama Criticism, Literature Criticism From 1400 to 1800, Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespeare Criticism, Short Stories for Students, Short Story Criticism and Twentieth Century Literary Criticism.

Quick Cite
This free service from NoodleTools allows users to select a type of citation (e.g. book, magazine article, professional web page) to view an example and enter the information for a single source.

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