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What is Citation?

Citation is the process of recognizing the work of others and is an essential part of the research process. It involves acknowledging authors, the publications in which their work appears, and giving credit for their ideas. Citations provide evidence of your research and help other researchers contextualize, find, and evaluate the sources you used. Most disciplines, such as psychology, economics, business, education, and social sciences, use the two main citation styles, APA and MLA.

Citations are an important part of the research process, as it ensures that other researchers have access to the same information and can evaluate the credibility of that information. Therefore, when models, ideas, or theories are included in a paper, they should always be properly cited regardless of the citation style.

Nowadays citation is also used in informational videos on YouTube and other media, marketing promotion, online and offline newspapers, and so on.

APA Formatting Style

APA Citation is the formatting style from the American Psychological Association used to cite sources in essays in the social and behavioral sciences in academic writing. APA style requires specific guidelines for formatting documents and citing references. This includes information about authors, dates, titles, and page numbers.

It is used by students, professionals, and educators for research papers andother published works. The purpose of APA formatting style is to ensure that the work you produce is organized in a standardized format, as well as to provide guidance on citing sources and properly citing and referencing each part of the paper.

The main components of APA formatting style are margins, the title page, the abstract, body text, citations, and references. All of these must be formatted in a way that conforms to the guidelines set by APA. Margins are typically one inch all around, and the title page should include the title of the paper, author, and publication date. The abstract is a brief summary of the paper, providing a concise description of the work and its main points. The body of the paper includes the main content of the paper, including research findings and analysis. This is why, citations and references are very important components of APA formatting style, as they help to ensure that sources are credited appropriately and that the work is properly attributed.

In APA formatting style, all sources should be cited in-text in the text of the paper, and all sources used must appear in the reference list. It is important to follow the APA guidelines for citing both direct and indirect sources. Direct sources are those that you have directly quoted, and indirect sources are those that are paraphrased or summarized, and not directly quoted. For both types of sources, the in-text citations should include the author’s name, year of publication (if available), and page numbers (if the source is a book or article). The reference list should include the full details of the sources, including author, year of publication, title, publisher, and other details. It is also important to use different citation formats for different types of sources, such as APA, MLA, and Chicago.

Overall, APA formatting style is a critical component of academic writing, as it ensures that all work is properly attributed, cited correctly, and organized in a standardized way. Following the guidelines set by APA will help to ensure that your paper is of the highest standard and that it will be accepted by publishers.

MLA Formatting Style

MLA formatting is a key element of any professional document. By consistently following these guidelines, one can present their sources in an organized and clear manner. Properly citing sources is an essential part of any ethical academic and professional practice and can be important for determining the validity of a source or author.

MLA Citation stands for the Modern Language Association. It is the formatting standard used by many English language arts and humanities journals. MLA style includes specific rules for formatting research papers and other publications, including citations. It requires the author’s last name as well as the page number in parenthesis when quoting a source or providing evidence of an argument.

This style is used when citing sources in papers and other projects. MLA stands for Modern Language Association and offers rules and guidelines for citing bothfor Modern Language Association and offers rules and guidelines for citing both print and digital sources in-text or in bibliographies. The main goal of MLA formatting is to provide a consistent set of rules to accurately document sources and allow readers to locate them easily.

Citing sources in an MLA style document involves two steps. First, all sources need to be listed on the Works Cited page of the document. Entries on the Works Cited page must include the author’s name, the title, publication information, and the medium of the work. When writing a paper, in-text citations should include author’s name and page number or the title of the website if one is citing online sources.

A few key elements of MLA formatting that often cause confusion for authors include heading and title formatting, in-text citations, and block quotes. Headings should be typed double spaced 12-point font, with the first line of each new paragraph indented. Titles should appear in the same font as the paper and have the same one-inch margins.

In terms of in-text citations, the author should include the last name and page number of the source, in parentheses, at the end of the sentence. The only exception to this rule is when summarizing the source’s main points or providing a paraphrase. Finally, longer quotes of four or more lines should be placed in a block quote.

Chicago Formatting Style

Margins: Margins should be set to one inch on all four sides of the page.

The Chicago formatting style is widely used for academic writing in the social sciences, business, and other fields. It is the preferred style for citing sources within the humanities and is the official style of the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association APA). It follows a specific layout including in-text citations, footnotes or endnotes, margins, typeface, and page numbers.

When citing a source in Chicago (or Turabian) format, authors must include the following pieces of information:

Citations: Citations should include the name of the author/s, title of the source, publication date, and where the source was published.

APA: The American Psychological Association (APA) style for in-text citations includes the author/s name, the year of publication, and page numbers or other location information.

MLA: The Modern Language Association (MLA) style for in-text citations includes the author/s name and page numbers.

Footnotes or Endnotes: These notes appear at the bottom of the page (footnotes) or end of the document (endnotes). They should provide additional informatin about the source (i.e. publisher, place of publication, date).

Page Numbers: The document should include page numbers that begin with the title page and are added consecutively from there. They should appear in the header or footer of the page, flush with the right or left margin.

Typeface: The Chicago formatting style suggests using a standard typeface size and font such as Times New Roman or Arial set to 12 point.

IEEE Formatting Style

IEEE formatting, often referred to as IEEE referencing, is a style of formatting and referencing used by engineers and scientists in a variety of technical fields. Developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), it is commonly used in academic publications for professional journals, books, proceedings conferences, and other publications in engineering fields. The IEEE style of formatting involves using a variety of citations to give credit to the sources where the information used in the publication was found.

When using a citation in an IEEE format, it will need to be placed within either the running text or within parenthesis. If it is in the running text, the author’s name and the year of the publication should be included, e.g., (Jones, 2021). If the citation is in parenthesis, the author’s name, year of publication, and page number must be included: (Jones, 2021, p. 40).

It is also important to keep in mind that the IEEE referencing style requires that the entire list of sources used in references at the end of the publication be listed in alphabetical order, regardless of the format they were used in. Another important note about the IEEE formatting style is that dates should be formatted using the day, month, and year format, ie, 24 April 2021.

IEEE has recently modified its formatting style to include additional citations such as Harvard and APA. When citing using these new styles, the rules remainlargely the same however the date formatting changes to use the month, day, and year format (April 24, 2021). Additionally, some variations of these citation styles require the full name of the publication and page numbers, so these should be included when relevant.

In conclusion, the IEEE formatting style is commonly used for a variety of technical publications and must be followed when referencing sources in any IEEE publication. It is important to note that the sources must be listed in alphabetical order at the end of the publication and the format of the dates must be 24 April 2021 for the traditional referencing style or April 24, 2021 for the modified referencing styles. When including additional citations such as APA and Harvard it is essential to ensure that the proper formats are used and the full names of the publications are included.