[nabs-l] bibliography and works cited information

[V Nork]

Dear Marsha and all, Citations are something I am still gaining confidence
with;   they can be daunting but I have just gone along methodically  asking
questions and seem to be more relaxed now.     Bibliographies and works
cited  can be very detail oriented. It is really almost comical how
different each of my professors are in their research documentation
requirements.   Some profs really do not care how you cite sources or where
you got a fact, as long as you document your sources you can make up your
own style.  Others are very precise.  So ask your professor to suggest a
handbook or some guidelines so you can give him the preferred format.  The
main formats are MLA, Chicago and APA.  MLA is usually for English and
humanities, Chicago is for history I think, and APA is for social sciences
and psychology.  One book I used in a library science class is worth looking
at, since you have all styles of citations and bibliography in a compact
space.  The book is only ten dollars, and in a hurry, you could have a
reader find the right format.  The book details are:

 

:  

Hacker, Diana. Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age. 4th ed. New
York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006.

 

This book also has lots of ways to cite web pages and everything you can
think of.  It is also available on CD and download from RFB and D.  However,
the reader does not always read each tiny comma and so on, and this can be
important in the world of term paper writing.  I was once marked down for
not indenting the second line of a works scited listing.  But you still may
find  the RFB and D version of the book helpful.  There also is a Mla style
handbook, the current edition I think, at Bookshare.  Finally, my hunch is
at this point, if you have an English Center, just go and ask them directly
to check your citations.  Usually a campus will have some form of free
tutorialor so called English centers, and as one staffer told me "we love
this stuff."  I think this is a process, obviously, and I do see the value
of this.  I hope this is helpful, Ginnie