Library:How to Cite/Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
My citation doesn't match anything in the guide
If you can’t find an example that matches your source exactly, base your citation on the closest example you can find.
- Be consistent with formatting and punctuation.
- Make sure you include enough information so that someone else reading your reference list could find the sources you’ve listed.
- Librarians can help you locate citation rules and examples; however, they cannot format or proof-read your citations for you.
I'm supposed to include an element but I can't find it in my source
Some elements, such as authors for websites, DOIs and permanent URLs can be tricky to track down. Don't assume that because some elements are not easy to find that the information doesn't exist. Frequently the information is available if you look for it - though DOIs in particular are not created for every journal article that you will find.
- If you don't immediately see an author associated with a website, online article, blog entry etc. look for "about us," "help," "more information," and/or "contact us" type links to see if these sections contain information about the authorship/ownership of the site and its various content areas.
- A DOI, also known as a "digital object identifier," is a permanent identifying number assigned to an article. Many journals and databases assign a DOI to each article they own/provide access to. As mentioned above, DOIs are not assigned to every single journal article. That said, most will have a DOI so look very carefully on the article's title page and/or the detailed description of the article which appeared in your results list before deciding that there isn't a DOI for the article.
- Sometimes the URL which appears in your web-browser is not "permanent." It is only valid for your current session and will expire as soon as you navigate away from the webpage or shut down your computer. Do not use a temporary, or "session-based" URL in your citations:
- if the browser URL contains the phrase "sessionid," "SID," or "session" it's mostly likely a temporary URL
- if the browser URL is very long with a lot of symbols it's likely a temporary URL
- if the article description contains a link to a "permanent URL," "PURL," "Permalink," "Stable URL" or some similar phrase then the browser URL is most likely temporary.
Look carefully on the article's title page and/or the detailed description of the article which appeared in your results list to see if there are any links to a permanent URL for the article.
I let the computer generate my citation but it doesn't look right
Some databases, such as Academic Search Complete, ABI/Inform and the Library's Summon search have tools which can automatically generate a citation for you. However, citations generated with these tools may not be perfectly formatted.
- You will always need to carefully review and edit auto-generated citations for accuracy.
- Ultimately, it is your responsibility to make sure that your citations are accurate, consistently formatted and contain all the required elements.
| The content in this section of the guide has been adapted from David Lam Library's Business Citation Examples PDF |