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Crossref
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All your citations are validated against Crossref’s extensive publication repository trusted by publishers and organizations worldwide.
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Free citation formatting
Generate citation analysis score for free and only pay for the report when needed. Now students do not have to fret about looking for professional assistance to format their manuscripts perfectly.
All popular citation styles
We have all the updated and latest versions of the most popular citation styles. So, if you need to use the APA style, we have the latest 7th edition, and the 9th edition for MLA. We keep track of any changes made to each citation style so you need not purchase those expensive manuals.
Save time
and energy
Research writing takes a lot of time, effort, and energy. Why increase post-research writing stress by manually formatting your references? Use the citation generator tool to ensure complete adherence to all reference formatting requirements, just at the click of a button.
Your corrections
with tracks
In research writing, being able to track the edits made to the manuscript are crucial for review and also to preserve the different versions of the same text. Keeping that in mind, the tool lets you choose a tracked version of the revised and edited bibliography so that you are aware of the EXACT changes made.
What are citations?
A citation acknowledges and gives credit to the original source of work used in your reported research. In scholarly research, it is termed as an abbreviated alphanumeric expression inserted in the body of your research work, also known as “in-text citation” which denotes a source citation in the bibliographic references section. While a citation gives credit to authors for their intellectual works that you utilize to support your research, a citation style is a typical format to display the necessary information for citing the original resource.
Why should you cite?
The purpose of citations is primarily to acknowledge the relevance of other researchers’ works to the topic of discussion where the citation appears in your manuscript. It assures readers that the research paper is formulated based on comprehensive literature review. Furthermore, a properly cited manuscript demonstrates a researcher’s work credibility. Most importantly, due credits given to original authors help researchers to avoid plagiarism of any form.
Types of citations-3 most used citation styles- APA, Chicago, and MLA
There are several ways of citing resources. Ideally, a suitable citation style is selected on the basis of academic discipline. For example:
What is APA style citation?
The APA style citation is the official citing style of the American Psychological Association (APA) and is commonly used by scholars and researchers from the psychology, behavioral, social sciences, and sciences fields. Considered as most popular in the fields of science, the APA style citation follows a standard format for citations allowing readers to understand the types of sources utilized in a research paper and their relevance to the topic of discussion.
APA format example
As per the 7th edition of APA citation (published in 2020), the last name and first/middle initials for all authors (up to first 20 authors) are mentioned in the bibliography. If there are 21 or more authors, an ellipsis (but no ampersand) is used after the 19th author, and then the final author’s name is added.
Generic format:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume # (issue number), Pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Example:
Ebner-Priemer, U. W., & Trull, T. J. (2009). Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation. Psychological Assessment, 21, 463-475. doi:10.1037/a0017075
What is MLA style citation?
The MLA (Modern Language Association) style citation is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources in academic research associated with the liberal arts and humanities. The latest ninth edition of the MLA handbook was published in the spring of 2021. This edition builds on the MLA's approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements—facts common to most sources, like author, title, and publication date to allow writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, social media posts, dissertations, etc.
MLA style consists of two types of citations: A brief “In-text Citation” throughout the text of the paper and a detailed “Works Cited” at the end of the paper.
MLA style format
In-text citation format: (Author’s Last Name Page Number)
In-text citation example: (Ebner-Priemer and Trull 463)
Works cited format: Author’s Last Name. Title of Article. Title of Periodical, Volume #, Page Number, Publisher, Publication Date, Location.
Works cited example: Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich, and Trull Timothy. Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation. Psychological Assessment, 21, 463-475, American Psychological Association, 12/01, doi:10.1037/a0017075.
What is Chicago style citation?
First published by the University of Chicago Press in 1906, the Chicago style, also known as Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is a method of formatting and citation in the fields of business, history, and the fine arts. It establishes written standards of communication concerning formatting and page layout, footnotes, quotations, citing sources, and preparing academic manuscripts for publication.
The Chicago style footnote allows listing up to three authors. In cases where there are more than three authors, only the first author’s name, followed by “et al.” is mentioned. The Chicago style bibliography allows listing up to 10 authors. For more than 10 authors, list the first seven followed by “et al.”
There are two CMOS documentation styles:
Notes-Bibliography system:
The Chicago Notes-Bibliography (NB) system is preferred in the field of literature, history, and art. It requires the use of an endnote or footnote every time a source is referenced, whether as a direct quote, a paraphrased passage, or a summary.
Author-Date system
The Chicago Author-Date (AD) System is used in the science and social science disciplines. Unlike NB, rather than using footnote or endnote citations indicated by superscript numbers, the AD system uses text citations in brackets after the source reference (Author, title, date) with specific rules on punctuation. Additionally, the use of references in AD is different from that in a bibliography. However, the purpose is the same—a comprehensive list of sources used in the text—but the order and punctuation rules for a reference list are different.
Chicago format example
Notes-Bibliography system:
Generic Format for Footnote and Bibliography with DOI number
Footnote format: 1. First name Last name, “Title of Article,” Title of Journal Volume # (Publication Year): Page Number, doi: number.
Footnote example: Ulrich, Ebner-Priemer, and Timothy Trull, “Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation.” Psychological Assessment 21 (2009): 463-475. doi:10.1037/a0017075
Bibliography format: Last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume # (Publication Year): Page Number. doi: number
Bibliography example: Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich, and Trull Timothy. “Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation.” Psychological Assessment 21, 463-475. doi:10.1037/a0017075
Generic Format for Footnote and Bibliography without a DOI number
Footnote format: First Name Last Name, “Title of Article,” Title of Journal Volume # (Publication Year): Page Number.
Footnote example: Ulrich, Ebner-Priemer, and Timothy Trull, “Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation,” Psychological Assessment, 21, 463-475.
Bibliography format: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume # (Publication Year): Page Number.
Bibliography example: Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich, and Trull Timothy. “Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation.” Psychological Assessment, 21, 463-475.
Author-Date system
In-text citation format: (Last Name Year of Publication)
In-text citation example: (Ebner-Priemer 2009)
Citing specific part of the text, especially while quoting or paraphrasing
Format: (Last Name Year of Publication, Page Range)
Example: (Ebner-Priemer 2009, 21-22)
Reference citation format: Last Name, First Name. Year of Publication. “Article Title.” Journal Name, Volume # (Publication date): Page Range. DOI or URL.
Reference citation example: Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich, and Trull Timothy. 2009. “Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation.” Psychological Assessment, 21 (12/01): 463-475. doi:10.1037/a0017075.
Comparison of reference styles with examples
APA
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Examples
MLA
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages.
Examples
CMS
SurnameAuthor, First Name, SurnameAuthor, First Name, and SurnameAuthor, First Name. “Article Title in Title Case.” Journal Name vol, no. ^# (year): page number– page number. https://doi.org/xxxxxxx.
Examples
https://doi.org/10.1086/690235 .
References
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html