Citation Help

Resources for citation style guides and citation software management

Copyright Resources

Academic research writing—whether undertaken by students or senior faculty—must adhere to federal guidelines outlining the nature and scope of intellectual property, copyright, and fair use. The resources below—particularly the Copyright Guide for Students prepared by the Copyright Resources Center of the Ohio State University Libraries—provide you with invaluable information about both your rights and responsibilities as a creator and user of copyrighted materials. Remember, copyright extends beyond the written page (e.g., literary or non-fiction works we read as books or articles) and can include musical and dramatic works; choreography; pictorial, graphic, and artistic works such as paintings, sculptures, and architectural designs and works; and videos, films, and audio or sound productions.

Copyright Guide for Students 

Choosing and Using Chapter on “Fair Use” 

CSTW Writing Center

The University Writing Center staff assists students, faculty, and staff with writing and research at any stage of the writing process. During sessions consultants can work with you on any project, assignment, or work-related writing you may be composing or revising. Sessions are offered both in-person and online. Drop-in, in-person sessions are offered in Thompson Library during the academic year. Please visit the Writing Center's website for more information. 

Getting Started

Welcome to the Citation Help Guide! Within this guide, you will find information and examples regarding a variety of citation styles and an introduction to several citation management software programs. When writing, we want our readers to be able to trace the conversation we are having with our audience and other writers. Clear citations signal where we found information that we refer to within our writing. If citations are not included, you send the incorrect message that all the information in your writing is yours alone, and your work will lack academic integrity

Citation Management Software helps automate the process of collecting, storing, organizing, and citing your work in your papers and publications.  Several software packages are commonly used at OSU.  Select the software package you're interested in for more information, or consult our Citation Manager Comparison Chart for help in choosing which one to use.

Citation Handbooks provide guides to different styles of citation.  Select your style under Citation Examples by Style for tips on how to cite, and for links to the style manual ebooks where available.  What style you use will depend on what discipline you are in; if you are unsure, ask your instructor or Ask Us!.

If you are still having trouble after exploring this guide, check out the Choosing and Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research’s chapter on how to cite sources or Ask Us! 

Generate a quick citation

Just need to know how to cite something quickly in-text or in your bibliography?

Try Zoterobib.  ZoteroBib is a free, online tool to let you create quick one-off bibliographies for term papers, posters, and presentations. 

 

Just search using the title, ISBN, URL, or other basic information, select your citation style, and get an accurate citation to copy into your bibliography.  Or keep adding items to your project for a full bibliography.  

Citation Management Comparison Chart

Not sure which Citation Management Software package to use?  Consult our comparison chart for a brief overview of the differences.

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