INFO 1001: CITING RESEARCH DATABASES MLA STYLE This handout will help you cite ebooks, encyclopedia articles, and newspaper, magazine, journal articles you find in the MCC library s research databases following the 8 th edition of the MLA Handbook. A. CORE ELEMENTS Each MLA citation should include the following core elements, as applicable, in this order: 1. Author, followed by a period (.) (MLA pp. 23-25) 2. Title of source, followed by a period (.) (MLA pp. 25-29) 3. Title of container, followed by a comma (,) (MLA pp. 30-36) 4. Other contributors, followed by a comma (,) (MLA pp. 37-38) 5. Version, followed by a comma (,) (MLA pp. 38-39) 6. Number, followed by a comma (,) (MLA pp. 39-40) 7. Publisher, followed by a comma (,) (MLA pp. 40-42) 8. Publication date, followed by a comma (,) (MLA pp. 42-46) 9. Location, followed by a period (.) (MLA pp. 46-50) When citing sources found in a research database you will also need to include information about the database, which functions as a second container. 10. Title of second container [database name], followed by a comma (,) 11. Location, followed by a period (.) B. CONTAINERS Some sources are part of another source (or container ). In that case, you will need to include information about the larger source, or container, in your citation. Examples of sources within a container: A magazine article (the magazine is the container) A webpage within a website (website = container) A DVD copy of an episode of a TV series (TV series = container) An encyclopedia article (encyclopedia = container) A painting in a museum (museum = container) A short story in an anthology (anthology = container) Some sources are within two containers, especially sources found online, in which case you will need to include information about both containers. 1
Examples of sources within two containers: A magazine article found in a database (the magazine is the first container and the database is the second) An episode of a TV series found on YouTube (TV series = first container & YouTube = second container) A short story in an anthology published in a database (anthology = first container & database = second container) C. HOW TO FORMAT AN AUTHOR S NAME Begin your citation with the author s last name, followed by a comma, and the rest of the name. Examples: Bush, George W. Cather, Willa. Rowling, J. K. Ignore titles, affiliations, and degrees (King, Queen, Dr., PhD, Sir). Name in source: Name in citation: Dr. John A. Smith Smith, John A. Include suffixes that are an essential part of the author s name (Jr., Sr., IV). Examples: Name in source: Stanley J. Dawson IV Bruce Jackson, Jr. Name in citation: Dawson, Stanley J., IV Jackson, Bruce, Jr. Two authors: Include them in the order in which they appear in the source. Begin the first author s name with the last name. Separate the two names with a comma and the word and. Downward, Paul, and Alistair Dawson. The Economics of Professional Sports Teams. Routledge, 2000. 2
Three or more authors: List only the first author s name and follow it with a comma and et al. (Latin for and others ). Tan, Siu-Lan, et al. Psychology of Music: From Sound to Significance. Psychology Press, 2010. Editor rather than an author. If the book has an editor but not an author, provide the editor s name followed by editor. Zlotnick, Cheryl, editor. Children Living in Transition: Helping Homeless and Foster Care Children and Families. Columbia UP, 2014. No author or editor: If there is no author or editor, begin your citation with the title. Aging in America. H. W. Wilson, 2014. D. HOW TO FORMAT A TITLE Capitalize the first and last words in the title, the first word in the subtitle, and all principal words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions). Do not capitalize the following when they fall in the middle of a title: Articles (a, an, the) Prepositions (against, as, between, in, of, to) Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, yet) The to in infinitives (as in How to Change a Tire ) Examples: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment One If By Land, Two If By Sea 3
E. HOW TO FORMAT A PUBLISHER S NAME Omit The if it is the first word. Omit business abbreviations (Co., Corp., Inc., Ltd.) Abbreviate University (U) and Press (P) F. HOW TO FORMAT A PUBLICATION DATE Write the full date provided in the source. If providing the day, month, and year use this format: Day-Month-Year. 28 June 2016. Abbreviate months longer than four letters (Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.). Examples: 2014 [source only provides a year] June 2016 Spring 2014 Mar.-Apr. 2016 28 Sept. 2014 G. CITING AN EBOOK FOUND IN A DATABASE Basic citation if providing a URL: Author s Last name, First name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year the book was published. Database name, URL. 4
Basic citation if not providing a URL: Author s Last name, First name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year the book was published. Database name. Core elements: 1. Author, followed by a period (.) Provide the name of the person(s) who wrote the ebook. Refer to C. How to Format an Author s Name for more information. 2. Title of source, followed by a period (.) Italicize the title of the ebook. The Girl on the Train. Refer to D. How to Format a Title for more information. 3. Title of container, followed by a comma (,) Because a stand-alone book is not within another source, or container, you may skip this element. NOTE: The database name belongs in 10. Title of second container. 4. Other contributors, followed by a comma (,) Include any other contributors, such as editors, translators, illustrators, etc., that may be important to your research or to identify the ebook, if applicable. 5. Version, followed by a comma (,) Include the edition, if applicable. Scott, Eugenie Carol. Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction. 2 nd ed. Greenwood, 2009. 6. Number, followed by a comma (,) 5
If the ebook you are citing is part of a multi-volume set, provide the book s volume number. Example (volume 2 of a 3-volume set): Basics of Addiction Counseling: Desk reference and Study Guide. 10 th ed., vol. 2, NAADAC, 2009. 7. Publisher, followed by a comma (,) Provide the name of the organization or company responsible for publishing the ebook. Refer to E. How to Format a Publisher s Name for more details. 8. Publication date, followed by a comma (,) Provide the date the ebook was published. Refer to F. How to Format a Publication Date for more details. 9. Location, followed by a period (.) Because this core element doesn t apply when citing an entire book, you may skip this. 10. Title of second container, followed by a comma (,) Provide the name of the database name in italics. Gale Virtual Reference Library, NOTE: Because you aren t providing the next core element (Location) for this assignment, you should follow the database name with a period rather than a comma. 6
11. Location, followed by a period (.) Optional: Provide the URL or record number for the ebook. Because this core element is left at the discretion of your instructor, you will not provide it for this assignment. H. CITING AN ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE FOUND IN A DATABASE NOTE: These rules apply when citing an encyclopedia that is only available online, such as Britannica Academic. The rules for citing an online encyclopedia that is also available in print are slightly different. Basic citation if providing a URL: Author s Last name, First name. Article Title. Title of the Encyclopedia. Publisher, Date the article was published/updated. URL. Basic citation if not providing a URL: Author s Last name, First name. Article Title. Title of the Encyclopedia. Publisher, Date the article was published/updated. Core elements: 1. Author, followed by a period (.) Provide the name of the person(s) who wrote the encyclopedia article. If the author s name doesn t appear after the article title, you may need to scroll to the end of the article to find it. Refer to C. How to Format an Author s Name for more information. 2. Title of source, followed by a period (.) Enclose the article title in quotation marks. September 11 Attacks. Refer to D. How to Format a Title for more information. 7
3. Title of container, followed by a comma (,) Italicize the name of the encyclopedia. World Book Encyclopedia, 4. Other contributors, followed by a comma (,) You may include the name of the encyclopedia s editor, if stated. 5. Version, followed by a comma (,) This core element doesn t apply to encyclopedias that are only available online. 6. Number, followed by a comma (,) This core element doesn t apply to encyclopedias that are only available online. 7. Publisher, followed by a comma (,) Provide the name of the organization or company responsible for publishing the encyclopedia. You may not to look for a copyright statement to find it. Refer to E. How to Format a Publisher s Name for more details. 8. Publication date, followed by a comma (,) Provide the date the article was last updated. If not stated in the article itself, look for a link labeled Article Updates, Article History, etc. Use the most recent date. Refer to F. How to Format a Publication Date for more details. NOTE: Because you aren t providing the next core element (Location) for this assignment, you should follow the publication date with a period rather than a comma. 9. Location, followed by a period (.) 8
Optional: Provide the URL for the article. Because this core element is left at the discretion of your instructor, you will not provide it for this assignment. I. CITING A MAGAZINE, NEWSPAPER, OR JOURNAL ARTICLE FOUND IN A DATABASE Basic citation if providing a DOI, URL, or record number: Author s Last name, First name. Article Title. Title of the Magazine/Newspaper/Journal, volume/issue number, Date, page numbers. Database name, DOI/URL/record number. Basic citation if not providing a DOI, URL, or record number: Author s Last name, First name. Article Title. Title of the Magazine/Newspaper/Journal, volume/issue number, Date, page numbers. Database name. Core elements: 1. Author, followed by a period (.) Provide the name of the person(s) who wrote the article. Refer to C. How to Format an Author s Name for more information. 2. Title of source, followed by a period (.) Enclose the article title in quotation marks. Omaha's Prioritization of Road Repairs Leaves Residents Fuming. Refer to D. How to Format a Title for more information. 3. Title of container, followed by a comma (,) Italicize the name of the magazine, newspaper, or journal the article appeared it.z Wall Street Journal, 9
Refer to D. How to Format a Title for more information. 4. Other contributors, followed by a comma (,) Because this core element isn t usually applicable when citing articles, you may skip it. 5. Version, followed by a comma (,) If citing a newspaper: Provide the edition, if stated. weekend ed., 6. Number, followed by a comma (,) Provide the volume and issue numbers, if stated. vol. 131, issue 2/3, 7. Publisher, followed by a comma (,) Not applicable for magazine, newspaper, or journal articles. 8. Publication date, followed by a comma (,) Provide the date the article was published. Refer to E. How to Format a Publication Date for more details. 9. Location, followed by a period (.) Provide the page numbers the article appeared in. Examples: p. 5 pp. 5-6 pp. 5+ (the article begins on page 5 but the consecutive page numbers aren t provided) 10
If citing a newspaper: Include the section, if provided. News sec., pp. 5-6. 10. Title of second container, followed by a comma (,) Provide the database name in italics. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, NOTE: Because you aren t providing the next core element (Location) for this assignment, you should follow the database name with a period rather than a comma. 11. Location, followed by a period (.) Optional: Provide the DOI, URL, or record number for the article. Because this core element is left at the discretion of your instructor, you will not provide it for this assignment. 11