Information in any form taken from other sources must be documented whether it is directly quoted or not. Documentation consists of citations in the text and a bibliography at the end of the paper. (Additional information on these standards is available in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association).
It is recommended that students use the author-date method of citation because of its ease of use by both the writer and the reader. In this method, the author's last name and year of publication are inserted in the sentence at the appropriate point. If a specific part of a source is cited, page numbers are also given. Several examples are given below.
In a book on early iron working (Clark, 1968), the operation of the furnace at Saugus is...
In his book about early iron making, Clark (1968) described the early operation of the furnace at Saugus...
In 1968, Clark described the...
If the reference source has two authors, cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text. If the source has more than two authors, cite all authors the first time it is used, and the first author and "et al" and the date for subsequent citations of the same source.
Isaac and Michael (1972) show that...
In another research text (Isaac and Michael, 1972), the...
Gieseche, Mitchell, Spencer, and Hill (1967) demonstrate that...
In a more detailed drawing text (Gieseche, Mitchell, Spencer, and Hill; 1967), the dimensioning rules...
Gieseche et al. (1967) show that...(subsequent citation)
If the reference has no listed author, the first two or three words of the bibliographical entry (usually the title) is used in the citation. If the author is a lengthy organization title, it may be abbreviated if understanding is not lost.
(DOT, 1988) (text citation) - Department of Technology (Reference List)
Multiple citations by different authors are listed in alphabetical order, separated by semicolons. Multiple citations by the same author are separated between dates by commas.
It is generally accepted that Nelson was correct (Jones, 1965; Smith,
1971; Zook,1970)
In several recent articles, Jones (1967, 1969, 1970a, 1970b) demonstrates his conviction that...
Citations of Specific Parts of Sources
Citation of particular parts of references are included in the text citation rather than in the reference list.
(Smith, 1974, p. 37)
(Fredrick, 1975, ch. 4)
(Jones, 1926, pp. 30-33)
Personal Interviews, Speeches, etc.
References for non-written sources of information are treated the same as written works when cited in the text.
Bibliography and Reference List
A reference list or bibliography at the end of the paper must contain all sources cited in the text. It includes the author's name or names, date, title, and facts of publication. Examples:
Book
Clark, M.S. (1968). Pioneer Iron Works. New York: Chilton Book Company.
Periodical
Smith, Michael, (1988, May). The History of the Integrated Circuit. Industrial Education. 77. 11- 15.
Unpublished Manuscript
Zaner, J.A. (1972). Analysis and Reproduction of Pre-Columbian Ceramic Vessels. Unpublished Master'sThesis. Millersville State College, Millersville, PA.
Issac, S. & Michael, W.B. (1972). Handbook in Research and Evaluation. San Diego, California: Roberts R. Knapps.
Gieseche, F.E., Mitchell, A., Spencer, H.C. & Hill, I.C. (1967). Technical Drawing. New York: The Macmillan Co.
Department of Technology. (1975, June 20). [Faculty meeting minutes]. University of Southern Maine.
For multiple citations, the author's name is listed only for the first reference.
Personal Interviews, Speeches, etc.
Mitchell, John. (1976, January). [Personal interview].
Smith, J.O. (1976, January). [Address to the Rakera Association]. Gorham, Maine.
Zaner, J.A. (1976, January). Leadtime Control [Class lecture]. University of Southern Maine. Gorham, Maine.
Zook, J.Q. (1987, July). [Personal communication].
More and more information is becoming available in the form of electronic media such as CD-ROM and computer files, and it is being used in reports. As with information found in any other source, it must be documented. The following is a basic form for that documentation as found in Electronic Style: A Guide to Citing Electronic Information by Xia Li and Nancy B. Crane, 1996; and the 1994 edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Also included are examples from several sources. For a more detailed discussion of the format and more examples refer to the sources listed above.
In making citations, care must be taken to exactly copy the address or file path including case, punctuation, and spacing to allow the file to be retrieved electronically.
The basic form for use in reference lists is: Author. (date). Title. Publication (edition). [Type of medium]. Available: Electronic address or file path (URL in many cases) and date retrieved.
Examples of HTTP
Jones, J.A. (1997). The History of Sounds. [Online].
Available:http://Noise.com/onit/Sounds.html [1998, May 6].
Radcliffe, Mark F. (1995, May). Old Vintage, New Vessels. Intellectual Property [Online]. Available: http://www.portal.com/"recorder/ radcliffe.html [1998, Feb 27].
Examples of Gopher
Ollis, Chrystal D. (1995). Computing With Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches. [Online] Available: gopher://ericir.syr.edu:70/00/Lesson /Tech-Lessons/PeanutButter [1997, June 6].
University of Utah. (1994). Acetamide. Material Safety Data Sheets. [Online]. Available: gopher://gopher.chem.utah.edu:70/00/MSDS/A /ACETAMIDE [1998, January 7].
Example of CD-ROM
Grolier (1995). Polyester. The 1995 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia [CD-ROM]. Available: Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. Danbury, CT [1997, March 14]
Example of FTP
Muuss, Mike. (1994, January 31). Cray 2 Computer [photograph]. [FTP]. Available: http://ftp.arl.mil/ftp/historic-computers/small/cray2.gif [1998, May 1].
Example of Archived E-Mail
Zaner, John A. (1998, May 7). Documenting Electronic Media [Online]. Available E-mail: Dotech@usm.maine.edu [1998, March 23].
Example of Personal E-Mail
Zaner, John A. (Zaner@usm.maine.edu). (1998, Febuary 6). Reveiw of information on documenting electronic media. E-mail to Howard, Jason (Jhoward@usm.maine.edu).
Example of Computer Program
Claris Corporation. (1994). ClarisWorks (Macintosh version 2.1), [Computer program]. Available Distributor: Claris Corporation, 5210 Patrick Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95052
In some cases, it may be difficult to locate the electronic address or file path of information. The method used to obtain that information differs depending on the system and software used. If a web browser is used, there is usually an option for displaying the URL (Universal Resource Locator) in a data field on the screen. If a program such as Turbogopher is used, a menu command such as "Get Attribute Info" can be used to obtain file information. If a Unix based gopher is used, typing "=" will normally reveal the URL.
Another problem encountered is the lack of author or date information for some documents. In some cases that information may be available in the document itself, but in other cases it may not be available at all. In those cases, the reference citation should be as complete as possible. Remember, the goal is to give credit to the owner of the intellectual property and to allow the reader to access the document if possible.