What citing style should I use?

• What styles are available?

There are several different styles for citing resources in a research paper. Some of the most common include American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), Turabian, and Chicago. See the VAIL citation tutorial overview for more information on these styles and a more complete list of other possible styles.

In general, APA is most used in the sciences and social sciences such as psychology, business and management, while MLA is more frequently employed in the humanities. In addition to the more common styles, you may also encounter styles specific to a discipline. For example, medical professionals may use the American Medical Association Manual of Style.

• Which style is best?

Is one style necessarily better than the others? Not really. Indeed, some relatively expensive commercial software products (ProCite, EndNote) allow you to convert from one style to another with a few keystrokes. We'll be talking more about these software products in Module 4. 

The important point is that, once you or your faculty member chooses a style, you need to consistently use that style. Just as you can't start measuring in inches and then switch to centimeters midway through a project without producing a strange construction, changing citation styles may produce a hybrid that is missing information and hard to understand. Is "Joining" the name of the article or the journal? Is "93" the volume number or the year of publication? With a consistent citation style, you make that information clear.

•  Does this tutorial focus on a particular style?

This tutorial will use American Psychological Association (APA) style, although VAIL provides a list of examples in both APA and MLA styles is available for your use. APA is the style required by UMUC's Graduate School and is widely used in the School of Undergraduate Studies. Examples of APA style formatting, including electronic and print resources, are provided at the end of this tutorial. 

• Do I need to buy a style manual?

If you don't already have a print copy of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition, you should consider purchasing one because you will be referring to it throughout your studies at UMUC.  Each resource you cite is different, and you may well need to refer to the print manual to find an example similar to the format you need. Print copies of the manual can also be found in most academic and many public libraries. Unfortunately, a full edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition, is not available in electronic form. 

Please be aware that, because of the increased use of electronic resources in research, there are considerable differences between the 4th and 5th editions of the APA Manual. Therefore, it would not be helpful for you to purchase or use an older edition.