What is an Academic Citation Style?

An academic citation style is a set of rules on how to format documents and cite sources in academic writing. The majority of academic writing builds upon other academic writing, and whenever you use information from someone else’s written work, a citation is required to avoid plagiarism.

Citation style guidelines are often published in an official handbook containing explanations, examples, and instructions. Some common citation styles are MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and IEEE. Each academic discipline - like Mathematics, Sociology, or English - uses a specific academic style, and this style is used by writers throughout the discipline. Thus, English students at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, West Valley Community College in Saratoga, California, and Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois, will all use MLA style to format their papers and to cite sources, and computer science students at those universities will use IEEE style to format their papers.

Citation Style Basics

Each citation style has rules for reference list entries, in-text citations, and (usually) the formatting of your paper. The differences can be very subtle, so it’s important to carefully check the rules of the style you are using.

Reference List (Full Citations)

At the end of a paper, you include a list of all the sources you cited. Each entry on the list will be referred to with an in-text citation and gives the reader full publication information to enable location of the source.

Citation styles differ in the way the reference list is titled: in IEEE the page is titled 'References.'

Note that in an IEEE references list, the reference numbers and the citations appear in separate columns. The easiest way to format this is to insert a two-columned table into your document, enter your citations and then hide the cell borders.

There are differences in the order of information and how you format a citations, depending on of source you are citing (e.g. book, website, or journal article). The easiest way to create reference entries is to use a citation generator; in CS200W, you can use Zotero, RefWorks, or Paperpile to format your citations. The key is to be consistent - all journal article citations in your References list should be formatted in the exact same way, and the same goes for citations to books, conference papers, and online articles. Thus - don't use Zotero for some references and RefWorks for others!

In-Text Citations

When you refer to a source in the text (for example, by quoting or paraphrasing), you have to add a brief citation to note that the information is not your own. There are three main types of in-text citation:

Parenthetical citation: You put the source reference in parentheses directly in your text. This usually includes the author’s last name along with the publication date and/or the page number.
Note citation: You put the source reference in a footnote or endnote.
Numeric citation: You number each of your sources in the reference list and use the correct number when you want to cite a source.

In the papers you’ll write in CS200W, you’ll use numeric citation in the text.

Formatting

Some citation styles, like IEEE, also have rules about the formatting of your paper as a whole. This might include guidelines for what should go on the cover page; margins, spacing and font size; titles and headings; or even how to write numbers and abbreviations.

However, these rules are generally more flexible and less important than the citation rules, and most often the way you format a paper will depend on your instructor’s preferences. It’s a good idea to know your citation style’s formatting guidelines, but if you cannot find them, aim for a clear, consistent, and easily readable format.

In CS200W, the best guide to formatting is found in the sample documents you will be provided for each assignment.

IEEE

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is a citation style often used in technical studies, such as IT and electrical engineering. IEEE style has guidelines for specific types of sources. For source types that are not covered in IEEE, Chicago style is used. IEEE uses a numeric system for in-text citations.

IEEE full citation example (for a book)

[1] R. E. Ziemer and W. H. Tranter, Principles of Communications, 7th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2015, pp. 13–17.

Sample IEEE in-text citation

The book uses success stories from the authors’ own lived experiences to make the case for a creative revolution in the business world [1].

Sample IEEE reference list


	REFERENCES
[1]	R. E. Ziemer and W. H. Tranter, Principles of Communications, 7th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2015, pp. 13–17.
[2]	D. Stewart and M. Simmons, The Business Playground: Where Creativity and Commerce Collide. Berkeley, USA: New Riders Press, 2010.

Text adapted from: B. Swaen. "Citation styles guide: Choosing a style and citing correctly." Scribber.com. Accessed Aug. 11, 2020. [Online] Retrieved from: https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/citation-styles/