Citation System

1
Citation System

• Prof. Marc Cooper
• Project Director, American History Education
  Enhancement Project

2
Why do we use citations?

• To show that our ideas are built upon the ideas
  of others
• To allow readers to know the source of our ideas
• To allow readers to check our facts
• To avoid plagiarism

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Note Placement

• Foot of page ? Footnote
• End of chapter ? Endnote
• Choice belongs to author
• Most faculty prefer footnotes

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What must be cited

• Ideas of other authors secondary sources
• Always cite the ideas used in a paper even if the
  ideas are not specifically mentioned
• Giving credit to other authors shows that your
  paper is part of a discipline
• Words of other authors
• Paraphrases of authorities require a citation
• Quotations require a citation
• Failure to cite either paraphrases or direct
  quotations constitutes plagiarism
• Primary sources

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What need not be cited

• General knowledge
• China is bigger than Italy.
• Abraham Lincoln was president during most of the
  Civil War.
• Common knowledge of the discipline
• The US elected Washington in 1789.
• The Protestant Reformation broke up the unity of
  the Church.
• Your own ideas

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Citation systems

• Provide consistency
• Clarify the nature of sources
• Guide authors and readers
• Historians prefer the Chicago Style associated
  with Kate Turabians A Manual for Writers of Term
  Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.

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Elements of citations

• Author or Authors
• Editor or editors
• Title of work
• Title of series for journal or serial publication
• Year of publication
• Place of publication
• Publisher
• Page number or numbers

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General principles

• Cite as many elements as required to find a
  source in the library, in an archive, or online.
• Give the following information
• Author
• Title
• Publication information
• Page number
• Bibliographies and parenthetical references
  differ in form.

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More general principles

• If citation elements are missing, then check
  Turabian for the appropriate form.
• Titles of published works
• italic font
• In a typescript italic is replaced by
  underlining.
• Set titles of works published as part of a
  compilation between quotation marks.

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Formatting periods

• When using a proportional font (Times Roman,
  Arial, Verdana etc.) add one space after a
  period.
• When using a monospaced font (courier) add two
  spaces after a period.
• Important note not every professor seems to know
  this.

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Formatting

• Alphabetizing is not always trivial. Check
  Turabian
• Indents
• Five (5) spaces in a monospaced font
• One-half inch in a proportional font

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Types of sources for documentation

• Books
• Periodicals
• Public Documents
• Special forms
• Electronic sources
• Turabian weak in this area
• Check Diana Hackers site for up-to-date forms

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Archival documentation

• Gen. Joseph C. Castner, "Report to the War
  Department, 17 January 1927," Modern Military
  Records Division, Record Group 94, National
  Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Stanley K. Hornbeck, Memorandum on Clarence
  Gauss, 8 May 1942, Hornbeck Papers, File "Gauss,"
  Hoover Library, Stanford, California.

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Notes vs. BibliographyWhat are the differences?

• Note
• Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, 4th ed.
  (Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 2004), 154.

• Bibliography
• Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual, 4th ed.
  Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 2004.

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Final words

• When you look at a source in an archive,
  immediately write down all appropriate
  bibliographic information.
• Always write down extra information, you may not
  easily find this item again.
• Sometimes research will produce missing
  information.