DEAF 497: Deaf Studies Capstone

Get detailed help on citing your sources in APA style from the CSUN University Library Research Strategies Guide.

Use ALL citation generators/managers with caution!

• These tools can help to get you started in making your list of references.
• But all the citations are computer-generated, not human-generated. Because of that they are usually wrong in some way at first, and you need to do some edits in order to fix the citation. 
• In all cases, to double-check that your citations are correct, use the appropriate style manual for your style. You can also check against an example on the CSUN library's APA7 list of model citations.

 Common errors found in citations from these generators include:

• Miscapitalization of information
  • Can be either over or under capitalizing
• Citing a source as the wrong type of source
  • Many sources get cited as webpages when they are not. For example, newspapers may be found through the internet, but they are still newspapers not webpages
• Leaving out information 
• Inclusion of information that is unnecessary
  • For example,
    • Including newspaper date ranges from library databases as part of the newspaper title, ex: New York Times (1851-2012) 
    • When both a publisher and name for a website are required, putting the same name twice, ex: WebMD, WebMD.com
    • If no named author, creating a name, ex: Reporters, Telegraph

• Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting (Video) Genessee Library
• How to Write a Summary (pdf) from the University of Washington
• 5 Sample Summaries (Prezi) from Excelsior College
• Avoiding Plagiarism: Paraphrasing from MIT
• How to Paraphrase (video) from Queensland University of Technology

"In-text citation" means that you refer to (or cite) the ideas or words of another as soon as you write about them in your paper. There are several ways to do this: using quotation marks for exact words, summarizing or condensing without changing the meaning, and paraphrasing or using your own words.

Here are specific examples of ways to handle in-text citation in both APA and MLA format.

APA In-Text Citation Basics (Purdue OWL)

APA In-Text Citations Specific Examples (Purdue OWL)

MLA In-Text Citation Basics and Examples (Purdue OWL)

Brief Examples of Quoting, Summarizing and Paraphrasing Using MLA (UCLA Library)

• Research Therapy: Citing Your Sources (CSUN Library)
• Bruin Success with Less Stress (UCLA Libraries' guide to avoiding plagiarism)