Research Handbook:
Bibliographies
What is a bibliography?
A bibliography is a list of sources used or consulted in preparing a research paper. It can also be considered a list of sources on a particular topic. It is generally a list attached at the end of your paper.
Citing Your Sources
How do works cited differ from a bibliography?
Works cited are resources actually used within the research paper and not a general list of materials consulted or on a topic as in a bibliography. Works cited will be the primary citation format for your papers. To make it less confusing for your reader, you should cite your source immediately after your quote or paraphrase. Place the author's last name (or authors' last names) and a page number (without a comma between) in parentheses at the point where you have finished quoting or paraphrasing. Generally, place your period after the reference, not at the end of the sentence. This is called parenthetical referencing.
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Example: (Densmore 58-59).
Do not use footnotes or endnotes since these formats are being used less often in academic and professional writing today.
How do I cite my sources used?
On a separate sheet of paper at the end of your research paper, your sources should be listed in alphabetical order by the initial word cited for each material.
Book with single author:
Author's last name, first name. Title of book (underlined or italicized). City of publication: publisher, copyright date.
Example: Levin, Phyllis Lee. Abigail Adams. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.
Book with Multiple Authors:
Primary author's last name, first name, comma, secondary author's first name and last name (no comma between). Title of book (underlined or italicized) City of publication: publisher, copyright date.
Example: Noble, Judith, and Jaime LaCasa. The Hispanic Way: Aspects of Behavior, Attitudes, and Customs in the Spanish-Speaking World. Lincolnwood, IL: Passport Books, 1991.
Periodical (or Magazine article):
Author's last name (if known), first name. Title of article (in quotation marks). Name of periodical (underlined or italicized) (no comma) date of issue: page number(s).
Example: Alter, Jonathan. "What Presidents are for." Newsweek. Oct. 2000: 22-25. "The Best Hotels." Consumer Reports July 1994: 432-436.
Encyclopedia or Reference Book:
Last name of author of article (if known), first name. Title of article (in quotations). Title of encyclopedia or reference book (underlined or italicized). Edition year. (no page numbers.)
Example: Ferrell, Robert H. "Wilmot Proviso." Academic American Encyclopedia. 1988 ed. (encyclopedia article with author)"Umbrella Plant." Encyclopedia Americana. 1979 ed. (encyclopedia article without author)
Visual Materials:
Title of the video, etc. (underlined). Dir.(Director) First and Last name (if applicable). Format (Videocassette, DVD, etc.). Distributor, year.
Example:Much Ado About Nothing. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Videocassette. Columbia Tristar, 1993.
Personal Interview:
Last name of the person interviewed, first name. (Personal or telephone) interview. Date.
Example: Doe, John. Personal interview. 10 Sept. 2000.
CD-ROM:
Last name of the author of article (if known), first name. Title of the article (in quotations). Title of CD-ROM (underlined or italicized). Edition, if given. CD-ROM. City of publication: Publisher, year of publication.
Example: Campbell, Malcolm. "Scotland." The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 3.20. CD-ROM. New York: Grolier, Inc., 1993.
Internet materials:
Last name of author (if known), first name. Title of page or document (in quotations). Title of site or larger work (if applicable, and underlined or italicized). Date of document. Online. Available http://address/filename Date of access.
Example: Cassutto, George. "Social Studies and the World Wide Web." 8 June 1996. Online. Available http://www.fred.net/nhhs/html3/article3.htm 25 Sept. 1996.
Electronic Databases:
Last name of author (if known), first name. Title of article (in quotations). Periodical title (underlined or italicized) Date of print publication Edition (if any): pages. Database name (underlined or italicized, if any). Online. Name of computer service. Date of access.
The basic rule is to make sure you include as much information as possible so that someone else will be able to locate your source. If you can't find some of the information, cite as much information as you have. Here are some examples from databases available to the Quincy Public Schools:
Boston Globe Online: Cheever, Daniel. "On Education Reform: Don't Give in to the Quick Fix." Boston Globe 2 July 2000: E6. Boston GlobeOnline. Online. Dialog@Carl. 3 Oct. 2000.
InfoTrac: Schreibman, Jane. "The Simple Stage - Reviving India's Street Theater." World and I July 2000: 170+. InfoTrac. Online. Gale Group. 20 Oct. 2000.
Dialog@Carl: Pearlstein, Steven. "Clinton Presses Japan to Halt Whale Hunts." Washington Post 14 Sept. 2000: A31. Washington Post. Online. Dialog@Carl. 10 Oct. 2000.
Electric Library: Schneider, William. "Suddenly, the Stakes are Higher." National Journal 14 Oct. 2000. Electric Library. Online. Electric Library. 23 Oct. 2000.
In addition to the above examples, you can get further help in creating citations at: