Understanding Citation Styles: Your Pocket Guide to Citing Academic Sources
Apr 4, 2023 |
14 Mins Read
One of the most defining aspects of academic research writing is a demonstration of research-oriented findings. Referring to credible sources and data is made possible through the concept of citations. In this blog, we’ll equip you with citation knowledge across multiple different formats and aid in understanding the purpose of each one.
The purpose of citations
When you search the definition of the term ‘citation’ on google, you’re met with the following description: a quotation from or reference to a book, paper, or author, especially in a scholarly work. Citing sources has multiple purposes, the primary focus is to give credit to the original author. When writing a specialised research paper, the author will cite external sources when referencing the material in their own work to establish strength, transparency and authority within their research.
This positions their work in a specific context to depict their stance in the larger discussion. Citations also serve as an efficient way to provide references to others wanting to explore the subject or even use them within their own academic research papers. Overall, citing establishes an important roadmap in the research process.
Why are there different types of citations?
Different citation formats are utilised across different disciplines. While it might be convenient to have one universal citation format, it is not possible because different fields focus on unique information within their respective research; this requires citation formats to be tailored to the field’s primary focus.
The APA (American Psychological Association) citation format is utilised in social sciences like psychology, sociology, anthropology as well as education. Moreover, the MLA (Modern Language Association) citation format is largely used within humanities and the Chicago citation format is applied in the fields of Business, History & Fine Arts. Finally, the Harvard citation format is primarily used in education.
Citing in APA Referencing Format
APA (American Psychological Association) referencing style is a widely used referencing style in social science disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, and education. The style is characterised by the use of in-text citations, which typically include the author's last name and the year of publication of the source being cited.
The APA style requires a detailed reference list, which includes all sources referenced in the text. The reference list is arranged alphabetically by the author's last name, and each entry provides comprehensive information about the source, including the title, publisher, and publication date.
- Book: Author, A.A. (Year of Publication). The Title of work. Publisher City, State: Publisher.
- Journal Article: Last name, Initials. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Page range. DOI or URL
- Magazine: Author, A.A. (Year, a month of Publication). Article title. Magazine Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp.
- Newspaper: Author, A.A. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Article title. Magazine Title, pp. xx-xx.
- Website: Author, A.A. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Article title. Retrieved from URL
Citing in MLA Referencing Format
MLA (Modern Language Association) referencing style is a popular method of citing sources used in academic writing, particularly in the humanities. The style is characterised by the use of in-text citations, which typically include the author's last name and the page number(s) of the source being cited. The MLA style also requires a comprehensive list of Works Cited at the end of the document, which includes all sources referenced in the text. The Works Cited page is arranged alphabetically by the author's last name or, if there is no author, by the first word of the title.
- Book: Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Publisher City: Publisher Name, Year Published. Medium.
- Journal Article: Author last name, First name. “Article Title.” Journal Name, vol. Volume, no. Issue, Month Year, Page range. DOI or URL.
- Magazine: Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Magazine Name Publication Date: Page Numbers. Medium.
- Newspaper: Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name Publication Date: Page Numbers. Medium.
- Website: Last Name, First Name. “Page Title.” Website Title.Sponsoring Institution/Publisher. Publication Date: Page Numbers. Medium.
Citing in Harvard Referencing Format
Harvard style referencing, also known as author-date referencing, is a widely used referencing system that originated from Harvard University. It is a method of acknowledging sources of information in academic writing, by citing the author's last name and the year of publication in the text. Harvard referencing style also requires a detailed list of references at the end of the document, arranged alphabetically by the author's last name, which includes all the sources cited in the text. This style of referencing is used in many disciplines, including the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences.
- Journal Articles: Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), page reference. If accessed online: Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).
- Books: Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title. Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.
- Newspaper Article: Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper, Day and month, Page reference.
- Online Newspaper Article: Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper, Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
- Website: Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Citing in Chicago Referencing Format
The Chicago referencing format is commonly used in the fields of Business, History and Fine Arts. It offers two main citation styles: the notes and bibliography style and the author-date style.
The notes and bibliography style involves the use of footnotes to provide brief citations within the text and a corresponding bibliography at the end of the document. In contrast, the author-date style involves in-text citations that include the author's last name and the date of publication. A comprehensive reference list is also required at the end of the document.
- Journal Article: Author last name, First name. “Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range. DOI or URL.
- Book: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher City: Publisher Name, Year Published.
- Magazine: Last Name, First Name. Article title. Magazine Title, Month Date, Year of publication.
- Newspaper: Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name, Publication Date.
- Website: Last Name, First Name. “Page Title.” Website Title. Web Address (retrieved Date Accessed).
Citations and referencing bring attention to details within each format. While it is a time-consuming section to fulfill in an academic paper, it’s also an important skill to have as a researcher, to be able to dissect other research papers and build an authoritative and strengthened academic paper with your own research. Understanding which citation format is best suited for your discipline is equally important; this citation pocket guide covered the 4 commonly utilised citation styles which are APA, MLA, Harvard and Chicago.
Discover an array of academic resources now on Zendy where you can read through research worry-free because we offer automatic citations across all our books, journal articles, proceedings and more.
Research Integrity, Partnership, and Societal Impact
Research integrity extends beyond publication to include how scholarship is discovered, accessed, and used, and its societal impact depends on more than editorial practice alone. In practice, integrity and impact are shaped by a web of platforms and partnerships that determine how research actually travels beyond the press. University press scholarship is generally produced with a clear public purpose, speaking to issues such as education, public health, social policy, culture, and environmental change, and often with the explicit aim of informing practice, policy, and public debate. Whether that aim is realised increasingly depends on what happens to research once it leaves the publishing workflow. Discovery platforms, aggregators, library consortia, and technology providers all influence this journey. Choices about metadata, licensing terms, ranking criteria, or the use of AI-driven summarisation affect which research is surfaced, how it is presented, and who encounters it in the first place. These choices can look technical or commercial on the surface, but they have real intellectual and social consequences. They shape how scholarship is understood and whether it can be trusted beyond core academic audiences. For university presses, this changes where responsibility sits. Editorial quality remains critical, but it is no longer the only consideration. Presses also have a stake in how their content is discovered, contextualised, and applied in wider knowledge ecosystems. Long-form and specialist research is particularly exposed here. When material is compressed or broken apart for speed and scale, nuance can easily be lost, even when the intentions behind the system are positive. This is where partnerships start to matter in a very practical way. The conditions under which presses work with discovery services directly affect whether their scholarship remains identifiable, properly attributed, and anchored in its original context. For readers using research in teaching, healthcare, policy, or development settings, these signals are not decorative. They are essential to responsible use. Zendy offers one example of how these partnerships can function differently. As a discovery and access platform serving researchers, clinicians, and policymakers in emerging and underserved markets, Zendy is built around extending reach without undermining trust. University press content is surfaced with clear attribution, structured metadata, and rights-respecting access models that preserve the integrity of the scholarly record. Zendy works directly with publishers to agree how content is indexed, discovered, and, where appropriate, summarised. This gives presses visibility into and control over how their work appears in AI-supported discovery environments, while helping readers approach research with a clearer sense of scope, limitations, and authority. From a societal impact perspective, this matters. Zendy’s strongest usage is concentrated in regions where access to trusted scholarship has long been uneven, including parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. In these contexts, university press research is not being read simply for academic interest. It is used in classrooms, clinical settings, policy development, and capacity-building efforts, areas closely connected to the Sustainable Development Goals. Governance really sits at the heart of this kind of model. Clear and shared expectations around metadata quality, content provenance, licensing boundaries, and the use of AI are what make the difference between systems that encourage genuine engagement and those that simply amplify visibility without depth. Metadata is not just a technical layer: it gives readers the cues they need to understand what they are reading, where it comes from, and how it should be interpreted. AI-driven discovery and new access models create real opportunities to broaden the reach of university press publishing and to connect trusted scholarship with communities that would otherwise struggle to access it. But reach on its own does not equate to impact. When context and attribution are lost, the value of the research is diminished. Societal impact depends on whether work is understood and used with care, not simply on how widely it circulates. For presses with a public-interest mission, active participation in partnerships like these is a way to carry their values into a more complex and fast-moving environment. As scholarship is increasingly routed through global, AI-powered discovery systems, questions of integrity, access, and societal relevance converge. Making progress on shared global challenges requires collaboration, shared responsibility, and deliberate choices about the infrastructures that connect research to the wider world. For university presses, this is not a departure from their mission, but a continuation of it, with partnerships playing an essential role. FAQ How do platforms and partnerships affect research integrity?Discovery platforms, aggregators, and technology partners influence which research is surfaced, how it’s presented, and who can access it. Choices around metadata, licensing, and AI summarization directly impact understanding and trust. Why are university press partnerships important?Partnerships allow presses to maintain attribution, context, and control over their content in discovery systems, ensuring that research remains trustworthy and properly interpreted. How does Zendy support presses and researchers?Zendy works with publishers to surface research with clear attribution, structured metadata, and rights-respecting access, preserving integrity while extending reach to underserved regions. For partnership inquiries, please contact: Sara Crowley Vigneau Partnership Relations Manager Email: s.crowleyvigneau@zendy.io .wp-block-image img { max-width: 65% !important; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; }
Beyond Publication. Access as a Research Integrity Issue
If research integrity now extends beyond publication to include how scholarship is discovered and used, then access is not a secondary concern. It is foundational. In practice, this broader understanding of integrity quickly runs into a hard constraint: access. A significant percentage of academic publishing is still behind paywalls, and traditional library sales models fail to serve institutions with limited budgetsor uneven digital infrastructure. Even where university libraries exist, access is often delayed or restricted to narrow segments of the scholarly record. The consequences are structural rather than incidental. When researchers and practitioners cannot access the peer-reviewed scholarship they need, it drops out of local research agendas, teaching materials as well as policy conversations. Decisions are then shaped by whatever information is most easily available, not necessarily by what is most rigorous or relevant. Over time, this weakens citation pathways, limits regional participation in scholarly debate, and reinforces global inequity in how knowledge is visible, trusted, and amplified. The ongoing success of shadow libraries highlights this misalignment: Sci-Hub reportedly served over 14 million monthly users in 2025, indicating sustained and widespread demand for academic research that existing access models continue to leave unmet. This is less about individual behaviour than about a system that consistently fails to deliver essential knowledge where it is needed most. The picture looks different when access barriers are reduced: usage data from open and reduced-barrier initiatives consistently show strong engagement across Asia and Africa, particularly in fields linked to health, education, social policy, and development. These patterns highlight how emerging economies rely on high-quality publishing in contexts where it directly impacts professional practice and public decision-making. From a research integrity perspective, this is important. When authoritative sources are inaccessible, alternative materials step in to fill the gap. The risk is not only exclusion, but distortion. Inconsistent, outdated, or unverified sources become more influential precisely because they are easier to obtain. Misinformation takes hold most easily where trusted knowledge is hardest to reach. Addressing access is about more than widening readership or improving visibility, it is about ensuring that high-quality scholarship can continue to shape understanding and decisions in the contexts it seeks to serve. For university presses committed to the public good, this challenge sits across discovery systems, licensing structures, technology platforms, and the partnerships that increasingly determine how research is distributed, interpreted, and reused. If research integrity now extends across the full lifecycle of scholarship, then sustaining it requires collective responsibility and shared frameworks. How presses engage with partners, infrastructures, and governance mechanisms becomes central to protecting both trust and impact. FAQ: What challenges exist in current access models?Many academic works remain behind paywalls, libraries face budget and infrastructure constraints, and access delays or restrictions can prevent researchers from using peer-reviewed scholarship effectively. What happens when research is inaccessible?When trusted sources are hard to reach, alternative, inconsistent, or outdated materials often fill the gap, increasing the risk of misinformation and weakening citation pathways. How does Zendy help address access challenges?Zendy provides affordable and streamlined access to high-quality research, helping scholars, practitioners, and institutions discover and use knowledge without traditional barriers. For partnership inquiries, please contact:Sara Crowley VigneauPartnership Relations ManagerEmail:s.crowleyvigneau@zendy.io .wp-block-image img { max-width: 65% !important; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; }
Beyond Peer Review. Research Integrity in University Press Publishing
University presses play a distinctive role in advancing research integrity and societal impact. Their publishing programmes are closely aligned with public-interest research in the humanities, social sciences, global health, education, and environmental studies, disciplines that directly inform policy and progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This work typically prioritises depth, context, and long-term understanding, often drawing on regional expertise and interdisciplinary approaches rather than metrics-driven outputs. Research integrity is traditionally discussed in terms of editorial rigour, peer review, and ethical standards in the production of scholarship. These remain essential. But in an era shaped by digital platforms and AI-led discovery, they are no longer sufficient on their own. Integrity now also depends on what happens after publication: how research is surfaced, interpreted, reduced, and reused. For university presses, this shift is particularly significant. Long-form scholarship, a core strength of press programmes, is increasingly encountered through abstracts, summaries, extracts, and automated recommendations rather than sustained reading. As AI tools mediate more first encounters with research, meaning can be subtly altered through selection, compression, or loss of context. These processes are rarely neutral. They encode assumptions about relevance, authority, and value. This raises new integrity questions. Who decides which parts of a work are highlighted or omitted? How are disciplinary nuance and authorial intent preserved when scholarship is summarised? What signals remain to help readers understand scope, limitations, or evidentiary weight? This isn’t to say that AI-driven discovery is inherently harmful, but it does require careful oversight. If university press scholarship is to continue informing research, policy, and public debate in meaningful ways, it needs to remain identifiable, properly attributed, and grounded in its original framing as it moves through increasingly automated discovery systems. In this context, research integrity extends beyond how scholarship is produced to include how it is processed, surfaced and understood. For presses with a public-interest mission, research integrity now extends across the full journey of a work, from how it is published to how it is discovered, interpreted and used. FAQ Can Zendy help with AI-mediated research discovery?Yes. Zendy’s tools help surface, summarise, and interpret research accurately, preserving context and authorial intent even when AI recommendations are used. Does AI discovery harm research, or can it be beneficial?AI discovery isn’t inherently harmful—it can increase visibility and accessibility. However, responsible use is essential to prevent misinterpretation or loss of nuance, ensuring research continues to inform policy and public debate accurately. How does Zendy make research more accessible?Researchers can explore work from multiple disciplines, including humanities, social sciences, global health, and environmental studies, all in one platform with easy search and AI-powered insights. For partnership inquiries, please contact:Sara Crowley Vigneau Partnership Relations Manager Email: s.crowleyvigneau@zendy.io .wp-block-image img { max-width: 65% !important; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; }
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