Citing the sources you find is a necessary part of the research process and can be intimidating depending on your familiarity with whichever citation style your professor requires. Some questions you may have might be:
How do I know which citation style to use?
The best way to know for sure is to ask your professor which citation style they would prefer you use on assignments if it is not stated in the syllabus or in the assignment description.
I need help citing. Where can I get help?
For specific help resources for each citation style, see the tab for the appropriate style you are using. We also have a research guide with a more comprehensive list of sources:
Reference Librarians can help with questions. The Writing Center can also help:
The authoritative source for APA style is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (currently in its 7th edition). APA is commonly used in the social sciences to cite sources.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by There are a number of online sources to help provide examples of how to cite sources in APA style that are especially helpful when citing uncommon sources:
If you're citing business sources, you'll definitely want to check out our research guide!
MLA style is currently in its 9th edition as of Summer 2021. A print edition of the style guide is available at the Bentley Library Reference Desk.
MLA Handbook, 9th Ed. by There are also a number of online resources to help with citing sources and formatting papers in MLA format:
The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.) is the most recent edition of Chicago Style. Within the Chicago style, there are two versions with slight differences - one that uses notes ("Notes and Bibliography") and one that uses in-text parenthetical references ("Author-Date";). Be sure to follow the guidelines for the particular in-text citation style you are using.
The Chicago Manual of Style by Turabian
Turabian Style is primarily based on Chicago Manual of Style, though meant for class or unpublished academic work rather than published work. Here are some resources to assist if you are using Turabian:
A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition by If you will be doing a lot of research and collecting a number of resources, you will need to keep track of the information you are finding. There are various tools that you can work with to manage the citations and other information you will be collecting.
EndNote is a citation management tool provided by the library where you can store the citations to resources you collect during your research. EndNote software must be downloaded to your computer. Contact the Reference Desk for details.
The EndNote Research Guide provides some basic guidance in using EndNote as well as links to various tutorials.
If you will be doing a lot of research and collecting a number of resources, you will need to keep track of the information you are finding. There are various tools that you can work with to manage the citations and other information you will be collecting.
Zotero is an open-source, free citation management tool that you can use to collect, organize, and cite your resources. Zotero software runs on your computer and browser plugins will enable you to save sources to your Zotero library with a click.
For more information about Zotero, see our research guide:
Note: The Bentley Library does not offer institutional access to Zotero/Zotero storage. If you are working on a large research project or require more cloud-based storage, consider using EndNote provided by the Bentley Library.
Don't want to download the software or just need a quick citation generator? Try ZoteroBib!