Do citations look like this to you:
and somehow you are expected to find that article and read it before your next class? So you just copy and paste the whole thing into the library website and come up with nothing. Then, you start to wonder why your professor lied to you and said it was available at the library? You begin to question this whole college thing and reconsider running away with the circus.
STOP THERE!
Watch this video to learn where to go to break the citation code and how to find an article from a citation using the Oviatt’s electronic databases:
Putting a whole citation into OneSearch makes it sad. All it wants is the title of the article, which in many citation styles, comes before the title of the journal. You can use the rest of the citation as a reference to make sure the article you are accessing is exactly the article you were looking for in the first place, and not a similarly titled one.
Be sure to bookmark some of these online resources for citation help:
Cite Your Sources: detailed guides for APA and MLA style citations along with help for other styles.
Research Therapy: Citing Your Sources: an explanation on why, when & how you should cite. Includes help on citing unusual resources, such as Twitter, blogs, maps and more.
Citation Managers: Comparison of Features: this guide from UW- Madison Libraries explains your options for citation managers that will help you organize and keep track of your sources as well as help you decipher the components.
Like always, librarians are here for you. Just ask.
– Anna Fidgeon
