Citing Sources

Tips and Tricks to Make Life Easier

Creating citations is easier than ever before, since many databases include options for citing. This presentation will show you 3 easy ways to cite: directly out of the catalog, out of many databases, and through a citation generator.

ECU Libraries Catalog

To cite a book from the catalog, first locate the book in the catalog.

Click the option on the lower left to Cite this Item. A new window opens with options for citing in APA, MLA, and more. The citation is ready to copy in to your paper.

Citing from a DatabaseECU Libraries subscribe to over 400 databases, and not all databases work the same. However, many of them have the option to create a citation.

You can do this in one of two ways. If you find the article and wish to simply see the citation, many databases have a button that simply says “Cite.”

The other way of doing this is to use a Folder. First, find articles that you will use for your paper. As you locate the articles, click Add to Folder, which will add your chosen articles to a temporary holding place—kind of like a shopping cart on a web store. Look for something like this:Note: OneSearch on the library homepage also functions in this way.

Send to EmailAfter you are done with your research in the database, click in to the folder and choose the option to Email. You will be able to specify a citation style at this time. The citation will come with the article in an email.

But Wait!

What if I did not do this during my research? Is there anything I can do?

Citation GeneratorsCitation Generators are online forms that allow you to fill in information about an article and get a citation in the correct style.

LinksSome citation generators include NCSU’s Citation Generator and Knight Cite. Click these links to be taken to a citation generator.

If you have questions, Ask a Librarian!