Research Paper Reference Guide
The Basics
 Paper should be 12 point font, double spaced.
 Finding Reliable Sources – Do not use Wikipedia!
 Plagiarism – Plagiarism is using other people’s words and ideas without giving them credit. DON’T DO IT!!!
 Bibliography – a list of sources used in preparing a research paper. The sources are listed alphabetically and
found at the end of the paper.
 Include page numbers in either the header or footer.
 Page Header – The page header is the title of your paper and should appear in all caps at the top left of each
page.
 Title Page – The title page contains the title of your project, your name, and the name of the school.
When do you cite your sources in your paper?
 When you are referring to an idea or concept you drew from something you read.
 When you quote from something you read or heard.
 When you want to give the reader some places to look for additional information.
Parenthetical Citations: In-text citations typically appear at the end of a sentence, between the last word and the
period.
Citing while Quoting: You need to put the author last name(s) and date, while paraphrasing, but also the PAGE
NUMBERS or PARAGRAPH NUMBERS (for online sources).
 Examples:
 “the research findings clearly indicate support for the hypotheses” (Douglass, 1986, p. 55)
 Scott (1992) identified …
 Several researchers (Anthony, 1990; Gregory & Jacobs, 1985; Polk et al., 1990) reported …
 Or at the end of a sentence paraphrased from another work (Scott, 1992).
Bibliography:
 Alphabetical list by author name
 APA format
 Placed at the end of the research paper
Creating the Bibliography – APA Format for Various Types of Sources
1. Book with an author:
Author Last Name, First Name. (Year Published). Title. City, State: Publisher.
Jones, Ann. (2005). The Roman World. New York, New York: McGraw Publishing Company
2. Book (no author)
Title. (Year Published). City, State: Publisher.
Atlas of Ancient Rome. (1999). New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Publishing.
3. Article from an encyclopedia (book):
Title of article. (Year Published). Title of Encyclopedia. (Vol.#, p. #).
Caesar, Julius. (2009). World Book Encyclopedia. (Vol.3, p.234)
4. Article from an online encyclopedia:
Author Last Name, First Name. (Year Published). Title of article. Title of encyclopedia. Retrieved Month
Date, Year, from URL address.
James, Brian. (2001). Pompeii. World Book Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 25, 2014, from
http://www.worldbookonline.com
5. Newspaper or magazine article (Internet access):
Author Last Name, First Name. (Year, Month Date Published). Title of Article. Title of magazine.
Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL address.
Alvarez, Allison. (2008, September 13), New Discoveries at Troy. Time. Retrieved May 31, 2014, from
http://www.time.com.
6. Information from the internet:
Author Last Name, First Name. (Year Published). Title of document. Retrieved Month Date, Year from
URL address.
Wagner, John. (2010, May 5). General Format of Research Papers. Retrieved May 29, 2014 from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu.
General Information:
1. If a source does not have an author, put the title of the article first, followed by the date, and then the
other needed information.
2. If no date is given used (n.d.).
3. The date is always the second item listed in the APA format.
*Citation Machine can assist with using APA format … go to www.citationmachine.net and plug in information.