Have a citation question?
Sherri Farber
she/her/hers
Contact:
Alexander Library
Rutgers-New Brunswick
Information Literacy Instruction Librarian
SC&I Liaison
Rutgers-New Brunswick
Information Literacy Instruction Librarian
SC&I Liaison
848-932-6135
Citing your sources serves three purposes:
- Citations give proper credit to the authors of the words or ideas that you incorporated into your paper.
- Citations allow readers of your work to locate your sources to learn more about the ideas that you include in your paper.
- Citing your sources consistently and accurately helps you avoid plagiarism in your writing
Citation Generators
There are many online tools that make citations easier to manage. However, remember that automatic citation tools are never perfect. You still need to understand the rules for your citation style in order to spot mistakes.
Here are some good ones:
- Rutgers Libraries Website
Look for the citation icon button on any Rutgers Libraries resource pages. You can also download a citation directly into Endnote or RefWorks. - RefWorksRefWorks is available for all Rutgers affiliated students, faculty, and staff. This is a licensed (subscription) product, so you need to download it from the library in order to gain full access to the software.
- Citation BuilderGenerates bibliographic citations in MLA or APA. From the North Carolina State University Libraries.
- CitationGeneratorA free online tool for generating citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago style. Covers a wide range of different source types. Useful for one-off references.
- Citation MachineGenerates bibliographic citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, or Turabian format based on information you enter into a web form.
- zoterobibThis online tool helps you build a bibliography instantly without creating an account or installing any software.
RefWorks is a research management tool that makes it easy to save references to books, articles, and web pages and organize them into your own personal research library.
Using a citation manager like RefWorks can save you time and keep your research organized!
How do I create a RefWorks account?
To create an account:
- Go to https://refworks.proquest.com/signup/
- Enter your Rutgers email address and create a password
- Click the activation link in the confirmation email to complete your account setup
