Citations are a crucial part of the research process, as citing a source is a way of giving credit to other ideas that you used to develop your research.
A citation is a short way to identify a published work and it includes the information that your reader would need to find the source. Typically that consists of the author’s name, title of the work, publication date, publishing company, among other format-specific information. Citations can include primary and secondary sources.
There are many citation styles, each has slightly different structures for how the source information is ordered and formatted. JSTOR provides auto-generated pre-formatted citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles. Citation style varies by academic discipline and within some disciplines, more than one style is common. However, make sure you are consistent with a single style through your research project.
Check with your instructor to determine what style to use for your specific course. Example styles and associated disciplines include:
- Chicago: History, Art History, Fine Arts, Business
- APA: Social Sciences (Psychology, Education)
- MLA: English, Literature, Religion
You can create citations for items on JSTOR on individual item pages or from the search results. From the search results page, you can export citations in bulk.
Export options include direct export to RefWorks, EasyBib, NoodleTools, RIS format, and text format.
Quick Tips
- Always review the auto-generated references and make any necessary corrections before using.
- Pay attention to names, capitalization, and dates.
- Choose the citation style expected by your faculty.
- Maintain the same style in all citations.
- Adopt footnote or endnote style/system that aligns with the appropriate citation style.
