Taking Notes for Citations

Save time! Careful notetaking helps students document material used in their research and help keep track of your research results. A proper citation should include the following information when relevant:

For books, write down the information as listed on the title page or print the complete catalog record:

• Title
• Author
• Edition
• Publisher
• Place of Publication
• Copyright date
• Page number where the information was found
• Collection and call number of the item if it is located on a library shelf
• Chapter title, author and page numbers, if needed
• Information you used from this source

For magazines, journals and newspapers, in print or online: (make sure you have printed or saved a copy of the citation as part of the full-text article)

• Title of the article
• Author of the article
• Title of the magazine, journal or newspaper
• Volume number, issue number, page numbers
• Date of article
• Information youused from this source
• For electronic source, the date you found information
• Title of database (such as Academic Search Premier)
• URL of database

For web sites, record information found on the computer: (or print a copy of the web page with the URL)

• Title of the site or web page (usually found in the blue toolbar at the top of the web page)
• Author or creator of the site if found (an author can be either an individual, organization, or agency)
• Date the page was created and/or last updated, if available
• Date you used the site
• Complete URL of the site