Posts tagged citations

Go to the library homepage at http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu (if you click the link now, it'll open in a new window).

Choose Databases from the Quicklinks.

This trick will work with any database that we get from the company, EBSCOhost.  (If you're not sure which one to use, Academic Search Premier is a good starting point).

If you're off-campus, or using a wireless connection, you might get asked to log in with your ONID when you click on the database.  Once you do that, you should be good to go for your whole research session.

Do some searches and find some articles that you might want to use for your project.  Once you have some articles, there are two ways that you can use the database to get a head start on your works cited list.

FIRST WAY -

Email the articles that you want to keep to yourself.  This is a good way to go if you are not ready to start writing yet.

Let's say that we want to keep the third article on this list - click on the title of the article, Factors Influencing the Scope and Quality of Science and Management Decisions.  You'll get a screen like this --

At the top right, there are a row of icons.  The email one is pretty obvious - the little envelope.  When you click that icon, you get this screen --

Pull down the dropdown menu under Citation Format.  Choose the style you need to use for your paper or project.  When you get the article in your email, the citation information will be formatted for you and you can cut and paste it into your works cited list.

SECOND WAY

You don't have to email articles to get the citation information formatted for you.  This method works if you are in the process of writing your paper and you just want to grab something for your works cited list or bibliography.

Let's go back to that article record -

This time, choose the fourth icon from the left, that looks like a little page (the one without the arrow).  When you mouse over it, it will say Cite this Article.  Click that icon, and the database will create a page with lots of citation options:

Choose the style you want, and cut and paste the citation into your paper.

A WORD OF CAUTION - Sometimes, the citation you get will not be perfect.  Tweak any mistakes (like a title or author in all-caps) before you hand in your paper.

ALSO, if you are using the MLA format, you need to add some information yourself:

Where the labels Library Name, City and State Abbreviation are listed in brackets (the pink area in the image above) - write in information about Oregon State University Libraries and remove the brackets.

Good luck!  Questions?  Email me (anne-marie.deitering AT oregonstate DOT edu).