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United States History

Citing Sources

Why is citing important?

It's important to cite sources you used in your research for several reasons:

  • To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas
  • To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them accurately in your paper by way of footnotes, a bibliography or reference list
  • To uphold BU's Academic Conduct Code, which establishes an environment of professionalism that helps to assure each individual receives appropriate recognition for their work
What is plagiarism?
  • Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas or words without giving them proper credit. Plagiarism can range from unintentional (forgetting to include a source in a bibliography) to intentional (buying a paper online, using another writer’s ideas as your own to make your work sound smarter)
  • Beginning writers and expert writers alike can all plagiarize
  • The best way to avoid plagiarism is to properly cite every source used in your work
What is academic integrity?
  • The International Center for Academic Integrity defines academic integrity “as a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to six fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals to action"
  • For more information about plagiarism and academic integrity, see the Boston University Academic Conduct Code

Footnote style-Chicago Manual of Style

Book.  The first time you cite a book, give the author's full name, the full title of the  book as it appears on the title page, the place of publication, the publisher's name, the date of publication, and page from which your material has been drawn.  Note that the publication data is enclosed in parentheses.  For example:

  • 1.  Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Robert Kennedy and His Times (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978), 231.

Multivolume Works.  When all the volumes in a multivolume work have the same title, a reference to pages within a single volume is given in the following manner.  (Note that the volume number is given in Arabic numerals and that the volume and page numbers are separated by a colon.)  For example:

  • 2.  James Schouler, History of the United States of America, under the Constitution (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1904), 4:121.

When each volume in a multivolume work has a different title, a reference to pages within a single volume is given as follows:

  • 3.  Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall, vol. 4, Statesman, 1945-1959 (New York: Viking, 1987), 31.

Article in a Scholarly Journal.  For the first citation of an article, give the author's full name, the full title, and the name, volume number, month and year, and page number of the journal or quarterly.  For example:

  • 4.  Edwin S. Gaustad, “The Theological Effects of the Great Awakening in New England,” Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 40 (March 1954), 690.

Subsequent Citation.   Subsequent citations of the same book or article should give only the author's last name and an abbreviated (short) title.  For example:

  • 5.  Schlesinger, Robert Kennedy, 295.
  • 6.  Gaustad, “Theological Effects of the Great Awakening,” 693-695.

Use of the Abbreviation “Ibid.”  If a footnote refers to the same source that was cited in the immediately preceding footnote, the abbreviation ibid. (for ibidem, which means “in the same place") may take the place of the author’s name, title of the work, and as much of the succeeding material as is identical.  For example:

  • 7.  Ibid., 699.

Collected Works.  In citing printed collected works such as diaries or letters, the author’s name may be omitted if it is included in the title.  The name of the editor follows the title, preceded by a comma and the abbreviation “ed.,” which stands for “edited by.” For example:

  • 8.  An Englishman in America, 1785, Being the Diary of Joseph Hudfield, ed. Douglas S. Robertson (Toronto: Hunter-Rose, 1933), 23.

Books and journal articles: Bibliography

Examples

  • Campbell, Mildred, The English Yeoman under Elizabeth and the Early Stuarts. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1942.
  • Gaustad, Edwin S. "The Theological Effects of the Great Awakening in New England," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 40 (March 1954), 681-706.
  • Schouler, James. History of the United States of America, under the Constitution. 6 vols. Rev. ed. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1904.
  • Hudfield, Joseph. An Englishman in America, 1785, Being the Diary of Joseph Hudfield. Edited by Douglas S. Robertson. Toronto: Hunter-Rose, 1933.
  • Rigby, David Joseph. “The Combined Chiefs of Staff and Anglo-American Strategic Coordination in World War II.” Ph.D. dissertation, Brandeis University, 1996.

APA Style

APA stands for the American Psychological Association and is the format designed for use within the field of psychology. However, other disciplines use APA as well, so always use the format your professor chooses.

Chicago Style

Turabian Style

Harvard Style

MLA Style

MLA stands for the Modern Language Association, and its style guidelines have been assisting authors since 1951. MLA style is most commonly used to cite sources within the language arts, cultural studies, and other humanities disciplines. For more information, please consult the official MLA Handbook (9th ed.).

Please note that MLA guidelines do change over time, so it’s important to be aware of the most current information. As always, follow the requirements of your teacher or professor; their requirements take precedence.

NLM (National Library of Medicine Style)

Citing Medicine: the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers

The official style manual for the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and suggested when citing documents from the associated databases MedLine and PubMed. The online edition supercedes the print edition as the most up to date.

General Citation Guides

Librarian

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Donald Altschiller
Contact:
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Subjects: History, Religion

Acknowledgement

This footnote and bibliography citation section were adapted from the Princeton University Library history research guide with their kind permission.