VTCC

As you’ve probably figured out by this point, erring on the side of caution and citing your sources is usually the best path to follow, especially when you’re quoting directly, paraphrasing someone else’s ideas, or aren’t sure if the information that you’re using should be considered “common knowledge.”  Just as a quick refresher, watch this brief (1:05 minutes) video about what should be cited.

In your research, you may have noticed in one bibliography a journal title may be italicized and in another bibliography, the journal title isn't italicized. Additionally in-text citations may appear differently in the text, sometimes there are numbers and sometimes there are names. Why is this?  The answer is complicated but it boils down to how each discipline communicates within itself.  Think of it like tickets, you can't use a sports ticket to board an airplane but they are both types of tickets, having some of the same information - time, date, seat, and price.  So each citation style is like a different type of ticket but you need to use the right one to join the conversation.  This is why your English professor will require MLA and one of your science classes may require APA. 

While these citation styles look different, they contain the same key pieces of information that will direct you to find the original source.

You can find information about other citation styles in this guide.  Purdue Owl and Citation Fox provide good example of citation formats. While some databases will provide ready made citations, it would be wise to double check these formats with the official citation guide.