Citing Works
For assistance with formatting and style, check out the following resources:
The Academic Research page of this guide discusses research conduct and academic integrity with resources about intellectual property and ethical and legal expectations. We also encourage you to check out the interactive Citation Treeing tutorial in OU Libraries' Citations & Academic Integrity tutorials.
Don't forget you can also reach out to an OU librarian! Email the STEM Services team at libstem@ou.edu.
Keeping Track of Your Citations
- Citing Sources from OU Libraries Databases
The library provides this guide demonstrating how to generate a pre-made citation from the catalog and our databases. This feature allows citations to be downloaded and used in a Bibliographic Management Software, as well. - PowerNotes
PowerNotes is a tool brought to you by OU Libraries. PowerNotes works with Google Chrome or Firefox as a browser extension that allows you to annotate and organize PDFs and webpages – very useful when working with a lot of literature across multiple databases!
With PowerNotes:
- Highlight a PDF or webpage in-browser
- Write notes and annotations, then save your annotated highlights (or bookmark an entire PDF/webpage) as a link you can return to later
- Generate a citation for the linked resource
- Create a template to organize your annotations and resources
The installation process for PowerNotes is simple: go to PowerNotes.com and download the extension to your browser. You can also follow these instructions about creating an account.
- Zotero
Bibliographic Management Software, also called a Citation Manager, can be a useful tool for organization. Zotero is a citation management tool that you can use to organize and cite your sources. Visit OU Libraries' Zotero guide on installation and use.
Zotero is free! Plus it's open source "and developed by an independent, nonprofit organization that has no financial interest in your private information. With Zotero, you always stay in control of your own data." Further resources for getting started with Zotero:
Citation Style References
If you are writing for a class, your instructor should provide a preferred citation style for papers that you will write. If they have not, you can ask them for their preferred citation style. To find specific journal citation styles, search for the name of the journal plus "citation style" or "author guidelines" (most publications have a website where you can read their policies). If you need assistance finding a style guide, email libstem@ou.edu.
Below is a list of reference books and websites that cover common citation styles in all subject areas, including the sciences.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by Call Number: BF76.7 .P83 2020 TEXTBOOKSISBN: 9781433832154Publication Date: 2019
APA Style Simplified : writing in psychology, education, nursing, and sociology by Call Number: BF 76.7 .B447 2012ISBN: 9780470672327Publication Date: 2012- American Sociological Association Style Guide byCall Number: HM 569 .A54 2014ISBN: 9780912764214Publication Date: 2014
Chicago Manual of Style OnlinePublication Date: 2017 - 17th ed.
- MLA handbook for writers of research papers / Joseph Gibaldi, Walter S. Achtert.Revised edition of MLA handbook for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations. Includes index.
- Council of Science Editors Citation Quick GuideOnline quick guide to the material covered in Scientific Style and Format book listed above. Some formats, such as those for government documents, legislation, and statutes, are only in the print edition.
- Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index (CASSI)CASSI can help identify and confirm journal titles and abbreviations to ensure bibliographic information is correct.
- ScitationLike CASSI, a good resource for checking citations. Indexes journals published by the American Institute of Physics, covering astronomy and astrophysics, biomedical physics, chemical physics, civil engineering, computational physics, environmental physics, fluids and plasmas, and geophysics.
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Citation Reference"Describes ACM in-text citation style and provides examples of various references."
- IEEE Citation TutorialsVideo guide detailing IEEE (previously Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) citation style for citing sources. There are many videos available – including a video for citing data and code.
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Eighth Edition by Call Number: LB 2369 .T8 2013ISBN: 9780226816371Publication Date: 2013
- Basic Legal CitationInformation on legal citation formats which may be of use to STEM researchers working on regulatory or policy issues. CSE also has legal formats included in the full print edition.