The research process involves familiarizing yourself with the ideas of others in order to form your own perspectives or arguments, perform experiments, and create new work. In doing research you will often read books and articles that present different ideas and arguments from many authors. From these ideas you will create your own and incorporate them into your writing. As a responsible researcher, it is essential to give credit to the ideas and work of other researchers.

One of the best ways to avoid plagiarism is to carefully cite the information sources you use, whether they come from the Web or from print materials. The Citation Builder illustrates how to cite some common resources in the APA, MLA, CBE/CSE, and Chicago citation styles.

Some sources you use may not fit neatly into these formats. You should always verify the citation you create with the Citation Builder with a style manual before submitting your final work to an instructor.

UNC-Chapel Hill wishes to acknowledge LOBO (© 2003 North Carolina State University) as source material for Citation Builder.

• Book
• Scholarly Journal Article
• Chapter or Essay from a Book
• Web Site
• Magazine
• Newspaper

The Citation Builder is based on the following citation manuals:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th Ed.
Call numbers and locations
Online guide to MLA

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Ed.
Call numbers and locations
Online guide to APA

Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 7th Ed.
Call numbers and locations
Online guide to CBE

The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Ed.
Call numbers and locations
Online guide to Chicago style

St. Martin's Handbook, 5th Ed.
Call numbers and locations