Library DIY

For shorter research assignments you might simply use a Word document that includes all of your citations and notes. For major assignments, a citation management program may be better. This page has information on:

• tools for quickly creating citations
• tools for managing citations for larger projects
• Microsoft Word's citation features

Note: Citations generated through these tools can contain errors. Be sure the citation follows the citation style you are using. 

The best way to write a correct citation is to be familiar with the style you are using, practice using it, and check the manual. If you are being graded on having correctly-formatted citations, you want to make sure you know how to write one regardless of the tool you are using.

Citation generators allow you to enter your source's bibliographic information (such as title and author for a journal article, web page, or book) in order to produce a citation in your selected format. 

Below is a selected list of quick citation generators:

Library databases: Many library databases have built-in citation generators. Click on a "Cite" button. Some databases have titles, journals, or author names in all capital letters and then reproduce this in the citation and you'll need to correct that. Always double-check the citations created by the databases to make sure they don't have capitalization errors.

BibME

• Generate citations and bibliographic references for MLA, APA, Turabian, and Chicago styles.
• Look up your reference by URL, title, or ISBN. 
• Create a free account and save your references for future use.

Citation Machine

• Create citations and bibliographic references for MLA, APA, Turabian, and Chicago styles.

EasyBib

• Create citations and bibliographic references for MLA, APA, Turabian, and Chicago styles.
• Look up sources by URL, title, and ISBN.

KniteCite

• Create citations and bibliographic references for MLA, APA, Turabian, and Chicago styles.
• Create citations for multiple source formats (e.g. multimedia, radio program, film).

When you have a lot of references for a project (or a lot of projects with references), citation management software can make your life easier. Sometimes known as "citation tools" or "reference management software," these applications make keeping track of your PDFs, citations, and bibliographies a breeze.

Citation management software programs allow you to: 

• download citations from many websites and databases
• electronically store and organize the citations and insert them into your paper
• cite sources while writing

The following citation management tools may help you:

• Zotero: a free, desktop citation manager.
   
• Mendeley: a free citation manager and academic social network.

Cite sources

Avoid plagiarism

Quote or paraphrase