Welcome!
- Find citation examples for information formats in a variety of citation styles
- Learn how to document information in your field of research
- Read about copyright, intellectual property, and how to use information
Comparing Disciplines
Humanities scholars interpret and explain the cultural, social, historical, and ideological foundations of human thought, action, and spirit. Their work represents a conversation with both their objects of study and with earlier interpretations by other scholars.
References act as an index to the dialogue and analysis undertaken by the person or group responsible for a piece of writing. Bibliographical references help humanities scholars to understand how an author forms ideas. The list illuminates the intellectual traditions in which the author is working, and provides future scholars with some valuable research pointers.
Reference lists help to evaluate the authority and credibility of an author’s writing. Readers can use the references to establish the reliability of an author’s argument or to outline its limitations or shortcomings.
Bibliographic citations follow standard rules to identify and describe information sources. Researchers in the Humanities use the style manual published by the Modern Language Association (MLA) in The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. It is essential to use the most recent edition of the style manual.
Depending upon their area of study, scholars may also use the style manual published by the University of Chicago Press in The Chicago Manual of Style. Always check with your professor for the preferred citation format.
Researchers in natural and applied sciences describe and explain natural phenomena through the formal procedures of observation, description, hypothesis, prediction, and experiment (scientific method).
The basis of scientific examination is the experiment, which provides for the measurement, classification, and explanation of observed phenomena.
To establish their research methodologies, scientists must review existing scientific literature both to determine the pre-existence of data that could impact proposed research and to justify their research methodologies.
Reference lists help to evaluate the authority and credibility of an scientific research. Researchers can use references to confirm a scientist's methodology and findings.
Bibliographic citations use standard rules to identify and describe information sources. Researchers in the sciences use The ACS Style Guide, the style manual published by the American Chemical Society. It is essential to use the most recent edition of the style manual.
Common style manuals in the natural and applied sciences also include the American Medical Association Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors, the style manual published by the American Medical Association (AMA), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Scientific Style and Format, published by the Council of Biology Editors (CBE). Always check with your professor for the preferred citation format.
Most performances are collective efforts that involve the work and creativity of more than one person.
Images, texts, objects, and sounds produced by artists oblige the creators and performers to negotiate rights and permissions for their use.
Although no style manual prescribes a proper format for doing so, creative and performing arts professionals must list credits for those who contributed to their work.
Film credits are extensive because the medium not only requires the acknowledgement of the many personnel involved in the production of a film, but also because making a film calls for the negotiation of numerous rights and permissions. The elements of a film or other performance —cinematography, script, music, performance, special effects, location, set, make-up, costume, editors, props, scores and so on—all need the proper recognition. In theater, these credits are recorded in the production’s program.
In addition to film, Web sites represent an example of a production that demands an elaborate negotiation of rights and permissions. Web sites consist of programming languages and scripts, images, text, fonts, graphics, and other multimedia, all of which stipulate that the user negotiate the proper rights and permissions for their use.
For more information about how rights and permissions are negotiated by creative and performing arts professionals, try Copyright Website.
Here are some examples of some ways that you can list credits or incorporate rights and permissions into your work:
- Contact the creator or copyright owner of the image, video, sound, or text you would like to use in your creative work to request permission to do so
- Credit the creator or copyright owner of images, videos, sound, and text when you use their work
- List all members of your creative team in promotional materials
- Comply with the conditions for use set by the creator or copyright owner
If you are a performing or visual artist, the Rights and Licenses page may help you to determine the proper way to cite the contributions of others to your work.
Bibliographic citations follow standard rules to identify and describe information sources. Researchers in Art History use the style manual published by the University of Chicago Press in The Chicago Manual of Style. It is essential to use the most recent edition of the style manual.
Depending upon their area of study, scholars may also use the style manual published by the Modern Language Association (MLA) in The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Always check with your professor for the preferred citation format.
Social scientists concentrate on humanity, articulating insights about human behavior in all of its cultural and social processes, contexts, and structural conditions.
Social science research combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
To describe human behavior, some social scientists favor the more formal quantitative methods typically associated with the natural sciences. Quantitative research accomplishes what the word quantitative suggests -- it measures, classifies, and employs statistical models to represent data about human behavior. Qualitative research collects data less easily obtained by quantitative research. The tools of qualitative research are texts and documents, observation, participation, interview, and case study.
Social science research contributes to a collective body of data. Bibliographical references alert social scientists to the pre-existence of data that they can use or add to.
Reference lists help to evaluate the authority and credibility of an author's writing. Readers can use the references to establish the reliability of an author's argument or to outline its limitations and shortcomings.
Bibliographic citations use standard rules to identify and describe information sources. Researchers in the social sciences use the style manual published by the American Psychological Association (APA) in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. It is essential to use the most recent edition of the style manual.
Depending upon their area of study, scholars may also use The Chicago Manual of Style, the APSA Style Manual for Political Science, or the ASA Style Guide, published by the American Sociological Association. Always check with your professor for the preferred citation format.