A citation is simply the information you need to find an item, whether a book, an article or other material. The particular format (APA or MLA) determines the order of the citation elements as well as the style of font and punctuation.
Citing using library databases:
Many of the databases have a "Cite This" option to format your citations for you. When emailing an article to yourself, choose the proper citation format to save yourself some work. Copy and paste this citation into your Works Cited or References page.
MLA (Modern Language Association) Style, APA (American Psychological Association) Style and CMS (Chicago Manual Style) each have their own requirements for formatting your paper, including how to cite.
Traditionally, for disciplines in the social sciences and humanites (i.e. English, Sociology), MLA Style is required. For disciplines in the sciences (i.e. Nursing, Chemistry), use APA Style. Chicago Manual Style (CMS) has two documentation styles: notes and bibliography and author-date (Turabian) reference. The notes and bibliographic documentation style is often used in history, literature, and the arts. The author-date reference documentation style is often used by the sciences and social sciences.
Check with your instructor before committing to a particular format!
Many Library Databases will format your citations for you, saving you a step in the writing process.
Or, try a Citation Generator to make creating a bibliography easier:
Citation Builder | NC State University Libraries - The Citation Builder is based on the following citation manuals: American Psychological Association 6th edition; Modern Language Association 7th edition; Modern Language Association 8th edition; Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition.
Microsoft Word 2007 and later contain a built-in function through the References tab to help you manage your sources, cite correctly, and generate a bibliography (also known as a Works Cited page or References). This is a simple way to keep all of your citation information in one place.