Is it a Journal Article, a Book, or a Chapter in a Book? Identifying Citations: Introduction

How can you tell if an item is a journal article, a book, or a chapter in an edited book just by looking at a citation or reference?  No matter which style manual you are using (APA, Chicago, MLA), you will need to be able to recognize what kind of resource you are citing.  This guide will make it easier for you.  For each of these three items, it identifies the individual elements that make up the citations, then goes on to give you real life examples of their appearance in database searches.  You also will see where to find all the citation elements in printed books.

The APA, MLA, & Chicago Side-by-Side pages will show you all three citation styles for the same item.  The citation elements are the same; it is the arrangement of them that varies from style to style.

Citations can also be for other kinds of items such as interviews, movies, tweets, etc., but journal articles, books, and chapters in books are the most common.