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Nursing: Citing

Cite, you must...

    To give credit to authors and acknowledge their ideas (whether you quote them or not).

    To avoid plagiarism.

    To allow others to track  the sources you consulted, so scholars can have conversations about your topic.

 

"Paw Print Cat Free Photo" by George Hodan is licensed under CC0 Public Domain

APA Citing -- 7th edition

A citation or reference is the information given in a bibliography or a database about a particular title, which often includes:

  • article title or chapter title
  • periodical title or book title
  • author(s) or editor(s)
  • date of publication
  • publisher name
  • volume/issue (articles) or edition (books)
  • page range
  • electronic access (URL or DOI)

There are many ways to format citations. The style you choose depends on your field and the requirements set by your Instructor.

Template

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of Publication). Title of article: no capital after colon. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page Range. URL or DOI

Examples

Print Article

Ellery, K. (2008). Undergraduate plagiarism: a pedagogical perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(5), 507-516.

Online Article

Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.225

Adapted from UWM Libraries

You can often find all the information you need for a journal article citation on the first page of that article.

**click on image to enlarge it**

Adapted from UWM Libraries

Paragraph alignment APA style

Instructions from the APA blog.

Example:

Reference List

Williams, J., & Nieuwsma, J. (2020). Screening for depression in

adults. UpToDate. Retrieved August 30, 2021, from 

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/screening-for-depression-in-adults
In-text (Williams & Nieuwsma, 2016)

Components of the reference:

  • Use the authors of the article as the authors in the reference.
  • For the year in the reference, use the year listed after “this topic last updated.”
  • For the title, use the title of the article.
  • Use the name of the deputy editor(s) for the article as the editor(s) of the reference work. Section editors do not need to be listed in the reference.
  • Write UpToDate in italics as the name of the reference work.
  • Provide a retrieval date because the content will change over time.
  • Provide a URL for retrieval of the article.

A Generic template:

Author, A., & Author, B. (2020). Title of article. UpToDate. Retrieved

Month numeric day, numeric year, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/title-of-article

Style the reference as follows (examples from Auburn University):

  • Sommers, M. S. & Fannin, E. F. (2015). Pancreatitis. In Diseases and disorders: A nursing therapeutics manual (5th ed.). In Nursing Central for Apple iOS (Version 1.31) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral
  • Vallerand, A. H., Sanoski, C. A., & Deglin, J. H. (2017). Acai berry. In Davis’s drug guide for nurses (15th ed.) In Nursing Central for Apple iOS (Version 1.31) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral

In text:   (Sommers & Fannin, 2015)

More from APA on citing mobile apps.

1. Database Citation Tools

Many library databases have built-in citations tools that auto-create a citation. The major citation styles are available choices in the databases citation tools.

These citations tools should only be considered a starting point, as they may contain formatting errors - always review auto-created citations to ensure they are correct.

 

2. Citation managers are tools that can help with your research process, including:

Organize and save citations/articles.

Create in-text citations.

Share citations/articles with colleagues.

Generate Reference Lists in a wide range of styles.

with thanks to MCPHS University

Plagiarism

Citation Managers

  • It's free, so you'll be able to use it forever, even after you leave BCIT.
  • It saves your digital files to your computer and backs them up in the cloud.
  • It works seamlessly with Microsoft Word.
  • It can also be used with Google Docs, LibreOffice, LaTeX, and other text editors.
  • It automates a lot of processes, like attaching PDFs, that require extra steps in RefWorks.

Adapted from University of Florida Library

This guide provides an overview of Mendeley along with training options, support and access information for Mendeley.

Some tips from Royal Roads University guide on Mendeley.

ZoteroBib quickly generates a citation and then converts it to APA, MLA, etc.

A comprehensive overview on How To Use Zotero.

This guide provides an overview of Zotero along with training options, support and access information for Zotero.

Some tips: from Royal Roads University guide on Zotero and from University of Wisconsin.