Q. I have a citation but I don't know what type it is

A bibliographic citation contains basic information needed to locate an item. There are different formats for citing books, journal articles, chapters in books, dissertations, pamphlets, audiovisual materials, and many other formats. The most common citations are to books, journal articles, electronic journal articles and book chapters.

BOOKS

A book citation in APA style:

Davidson, M. B. (1996). Diabetes: Type II: a guide for patients. San Ramon, CA: HIN.

In the example above:

• M.B. Davidson is the author;
• Diabetes: Type II: a guide for patients is the book title; 
• 1996 is the date the book was published; 
• San Ramon, CA is the place of publication;
• HIN is the publisher.

PERIODICAL ARTICLES (articles from journals)

A journal article in APA style:

Humphrey, J., Jameson, L.M., & Beckhan, S. (1997). Overcoming social and cultural barriers to care for patients with diabetes. Western Journal of Medicine, 16 (3), 138-144.

In the example above: 

• J. Humphrey, L.M. Jameson and S. Beckhan are the authors;
• Overcoming social and cultural barriers to care for patients with diabetes is the article title; 
• 1997 is the date the article was published;  
• Western Journal of Medicine is the name of the journal the article was published in;
• 16 (3) means that the article was published in volume 16, issue number 3 of the journal;
• 138-144 are the pages that the article appears on in volume 16 issue 3

An electronic journal article in Chicago style with a digital object identifier number:

Keng, Shao-Hsun, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem. “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality.”  Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 1–34. https://doi-org.proxy.library.emory.edu/10.1086/690235

In the example above: 

• Shao-Hsun Keng, Chun-Hung Lin and Peter F. Orazem are the authors;
• Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality is the article title; 
• 2017 is the date the article was published;  
• Journal of Human Capital is the name of the journal the article was published in;
• 11 no. 1 Spring 2017 means that the article was published in volume 11, issue number 1 of the journal and that was the spring issue;
• 1-34 are the pages that the article appears on in volume 11 issue 1
• https://doi-org.proxy.library.emory.edu/10.1086/690235 is the DOI (digital object identifier), a kind of permalink

An electronic journal article in Chicago style with a database name:

LaSalle, Peter. “Conundrum: A Story about Reading.” New England Review 38, no. 1 (2017): 95–109. Project MUSE.

In the example above: 

• Peter LaSalle is the author;
• Conundrum: A Story about Reading is the article title; 
• 2017 is the date the article was published;  
• New England Review is the name of the journal the article was published in;
• 38 no. 1 means that the article was published in volume 38, issue number 1 of the journal;
• 95-109 are the pages that the article appears on in volume 38 issue 1
• Project MUSE is the database that provided access to the article

BOOK CHAPTER

Chapters of books can be identified by the presence of two titles, the title of the chapter and the title of the book. 

A book chapter in APA style:

Frey, M.A. (1995). Toward a theory of families, children and chronic illness. In M.A. Frey and C.L. Sieoff (Eds.), Advancing King's system framework and theory of nursing (pp. 109-25). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

In the example above:

• M.A. Frey is the chapter author; 
• Toward a theory of families, children and chronic illness is the chapter title; 
• 1995 is the date the book was published; 
• M.A. Frey and C.L. Sieoff are the editors of the book
• Advancing King's system framework and theory of nursing is the title of the book the chapter is in
• 109-25 are the chapter pages
• Thousand Oaks, CA is the place of publication; 
• Sage Publications is the publisher.