While preparing a research paper, you will gather information that supports your ideas, which you have found in works created by others. A citation gives your reader the information needed to locate these works.
Although it is acceptable to discuss and build on the ideas of others, those authors must be given credit for their work. If you don’t give credit to other authors by including accurate citations in your paper, you are committing plagiarism, which is not acceptable at Northampton Community College.
For help with understanding and avoiding plagiarism, go to the Library's "Citing Sources" page, or contact a writing tutor at the NCC Learning Center. It is better to ask questions about citations before you hand in your paper, rather than risk making a mistake and earning a lower grade.
The APA citation format was developed by the American Psychological Association, and is often used by students taking courses in the sciences and social sciences. If your instructor has asked that you use APA format, and you need help constructing citations, go to the Library's "Citing Sources" web page for assistance.
The NCC Librarians and Learning Center staff have collaborated to bring you a concise guide to using APA format, which contains examples based on the databases you will find at the NCC Libraries. To view this guide as a PDF file or to print it, click the link below.
1) The APA's Publication Manual has its own website, which includes video tutorials, samples of formatted pages, guidelines for APA-style punctuation and grammar, and a user's blog.
2) Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) has lots of helpful information about using APA style, including sample citations, video tutorials, and a tool that will automatically convert publication information into the correct format.
3) This YouTube video by the library at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh explains how to cite an article from an online scholarly journal using APA format.
The MLA citation format was developed by the Modern Language Association, and is often used by students taking courses in the humanities. If your instructor has asked that you use MLA format, and you need help constructing citations, go to the Library's "Citing Sources" page for assistance.
The NCC Librarians and Learning Center staff have collaborated to bring you a concise guide to using MLA format, which contains examples based on the databases you will find at the NCC Libraries.
To view this guide as a PDF file, click the link below.