Citation
A reference to a source, embedded in an intellectual work.
A citation is a reference to a source, typically an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section. It serves to acknowledge the relevance of others' works to the topic of discussion at the spot where the citation appears. The combination of the in-body citation and the corresponding bibliographic entry together constitute what is commonly understood as a citation; bibliographic entries alone are not considered citations.
Citations serve several important purposes beyond the commonly emphasized roles of upholding intellectual honesty and bolstering claims. Linguistic analysis of citation practices reveals that they are critical for orchestrating the state of knowledge on a particular topic, identifying gaps in existing knowledge that require further inquiry, and describing areas where research should be continued or replicated. Additionally, citations are a key means by which researchers establish their stance, aligning themselves with or against subgroups of fellow researchers and staking out opportunities for creating new knowledge.
Conventions of citation vary by system, such as Oxford, Harvard, MLA, NLM, ASA, and APA. Each system is associated with specific academic disciplines, and journals in those fields maintain the relevant style by adhering to the appropriate style guides. The content of a citation depends on the source type: books require authors, title, place of publication, publisher, date, and page numbers; journal articles need authors, article title, journal title, date, and page numbers; newspapers include authors, article title, newspaper name, section, page numbers, and date; web sites require authors, title, URL, and access date; plays use part, scene, and line numbers; poems use spaced slashes for line breaks and include line numbers; interviews name the interviewer and date; and datasets include authors, title, date, and publisher. Unique identifiers such as ISBNs for books, SICI or ISSN for periodicals, DOI for electronic documents, and PMID for biomedical articles may also be included.
Broadly, there are two main citation systems: the Vancouver system and parenthetical referencing (also known as Harvard referencing). The Vancouver system uses sequential numbers in the text, either bracketed or superscript, referring to footnotes or endno
- definition
- Abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in an intellectual work
- purpose
- Acknowledging relevance of others' works, upholding intellectual honesty, orchestrating knowledge
- systems
- Vancouver system, parenthetical referencing (Harvard), citation-name system
- styles
- Chicago, MLA, APA, ASA, Oxford, Harvard, Turabian, Columbia
- unique_identifiers
- ISBN, ISSN, SICI, DOI, PMID
- content_types
- Book, journal, newspaper, web site, play, poem, interview, data
Lore & Background
Citations appear as abbreviated alphanumeric expressions embedded within the body of an intellectual work, typically in parentheses, superscript numbers, or footnotes, and are paired with a full bibliographic entry in a references section. The combination of the in-text marker and the bibliographic entry constitutes what is commonly understood as a citation; bibliographic entries alone are not considered citations. The content of a citation varies by source type: books require authors, title, place of publication, publisher, date, and page numbers; journals need authors, article title, journal title, date, and page numbers; newspapers include authors, article title, newspaper name, section and page numbers, and date; websites require authors, article and publication titles, URL, and access date; plays use inline citations with part, scene, and line numbers separated by periods; poems use spaced slashes for line breaks and parenthetical line numbers; interviews include interviewer name, descriptor, and date; datasets require authors, title, date, and publisher. Unique identifiers may accompany citations: ISBN for books, SICI or ISSN for periodicals, DOI for electronic documents, and PMID for biomedical articles. Conventions—such as date placement, superscript versus footnote format, and punctuation for page numbers—differ by citation system (e.g., Oxford, Harvard, MLA, APA, ASA, NLM), each tied to specific academic disciplines and maintained by relevant style guides. Two broad systems exist: the Vancouver system, which uses sequential numbers in text referring to footnotes or endnotes, and parenthetical referencing (Harvard), which places author and date in parentheses. The Council of Science Editors adds a third, the citation-name system.
Reader's Guide
Conventions of citation vary by the citation system used, such as Oxford, Harvard, MLA, NLM, ASA, APA, etc. Each system is associated with different academic disciplines, and academic journals maintain the relevant citational style by recommending and adhering to the relevant style guides. Broadly speaking, there are two types of citation systems: the Vancouver system and parenthetical referencing, though the Council of Science Editors adds a third, the citation-name system. The Vancouver system uses sequential numbers in the text, referring to footnotes or endnotes. Parenthetical referencing, also known as Harvard referencing, has full or partial in-text citations enclosed in circular brackets. Citation styles can be broadly divided into styles common to the humanities and the sciences, with considerable overlap. Some style guides, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, are flexible and cover both parenthetical and note citation systems. Others, such as MLA and APA styles, specify formats within the context of a single citation system. The Citation Style Language is an open XML-based language to describe the formatting of citations and bibliographies.
Did You Know?
- Citations may include unique identifiers such as ISBN, ISSN, SICI, DOI, or PMID depending on the type of work.
- The Vancouver system uses sequential numbers in the text, either bracketed or superscript, referring to footnotes or endnotes.
- Parenthetical referencing, also known as Harvard referencing, has full or partial in-text citations enclosed in circular brackets.
- The Citation Style Language (CSL) is an open XML-based language to describe the formatting of citations and bibliographies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Citation in the context of literary and intellectual writing?
A citation is a brief alphanumeric marker embedded in the body of a work that directs the reader to a full bibliographic entry listed elsewhere in the document. It acts as an in-text credit, signaling that the idea being discussed at that point draws on another author's contribution.
What are the major citation systems and styles writers use?
The principal systems are the Vancouver numbered format, Harvard parenthetical referencing, and the citation-name approach. Named styles such as Chicago, MLA, APA, ASA, Oxford, Turabian, and Columbia each prescribe their own rules for how a source is formatted and presented.
Why is Citation considered important in scholarly and creative work?
Citations uphold intellectual honesty by giving proper credit and strengthen an author's claims by anchoring them in prior scholarship. They also help chart the current state of knowledge on a topic, expose gaps in existing research, and make the writer's own stance within a debate explicit.
What unique identifiers are tied to a citation?
Sources can be pinpointed through codes such as ISBN for books, ISSN for periodicals, DOI for digital objects, PMID for biomedical records, and SICI for journal articles. These identifiers guarantee that a citation resolves to exactly one source regardless of which formatting style is applied.
What kinds of content can be cited as a source?
Citations may reference books, journal articles, newspaper clippings, websites, plays, poems, recorded interviews, and raw datasets. This breadth reflects the principle that any published or recorded intellectual contribution is eligible to serve as a source within a larger work.
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