As an engineer (whether civil, computing, electrical, mechanical, etc), you will need to work outside of your discipline in order to produce the best results. That means you need to become comfortable doing cross-disciplinary research starting now! On this page we have put together some resources that will help you get started with your work for this class, which includes conducting cross-disciplinary research.
APA uses in-text citations and a reference list at the end.
In-text citations include the author’s last name and the year of publication in parentheses, i.e.: (Tolkien, 1981).
You can also use the author’s name in your own text, in which case you only need to use the date in the parentheses, i.e.:
According to Tolkien (1981), certain aspects of truth are best received through myth, or story.
If you use a direct quotation, you must include a page number:
“I believe that legends and myths are largely made of 'truth', and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode” (Tolkien, 1981, p. 147).
Multiple authors in a parenthetical citation are connected by an ampersand (and for multiple authors with the same last name, include a first initial):
“Tolkien experienced words as a maddening liquor, a phonic ambrosia, tastes of an exquisite, rapturous, higher world” (P. Zaleski & C. Zaleski, 2015, p. 24).
Capitalization rules:
Capitalize all major words in newspaper, magazine, and journal titles.
For books, chapters, articles, or web pages, only capitalize the first letter and the first letter after a colon or a dash (i.e. the first letter of a subtitle), and any proper noun.
Printed Book:
Author, F. M. (Publication year). Title of book: Subtitle. City, State: Publisher.
Tolkien, J. R. (1955). The return of the king. London: George Allen & Unwin.
Book with editor or translator:
Author, F. M. (Publication year). Title of book: Subtitle. F. M. Editor (Ed.). City, State: Publisher.
Tolkien, J. R. (2013). The letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. H. Carpenter (Ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Note: if the books has a translator, place the translator’s name in the same spot and the same format as the editor, with (trans.) after it. If the book has no author other than the editor, use the editor’s name like an author’s name (at the start of the citation), with (Ed.) after it.
E‐Book:
Author, F. M. (Publication year). Title of book. doi:xx.xxxxx OR Retrieved from URL.
Duriez, C. (2015). Bedeviled : Lewis, Tolkien and the Shadow of Evil. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Book Chapter/Section from Anthology:
Author, A.A. (Publication year). Chapter title. In Editor, A.A. (Ed.), Title of book (pp.-pp.). City, State: Publisher.
MacDonald, G. (2003). The golden key. In Anderson, D. A. (Ed.), Tales before Tolkien: The roots of modern fantasy (pp. 44-49). New York, NY: Dey Rey Publishing.
Print Journal
Author, F. M. (Publication year). Article title. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp.
Hirsch, B. (2014). After the “end of all things”: The long return home to the Shire. Tolkien Studies, 11(11), 77-107.
Online Journal (i.e. from a database):
Author, F. M. (Publication year). Article title. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp. doi:xx.xxxxx OR Retrieved from journal URL
Munro, R. (2014). The art of the Lord of the Rings: A defense of the aesthetic. Religion & the Arts, 18(5), 636-652. doi:10.1163/15685292-01805002
Website:
Author, F. M. (Year, Month day of publication). Specific page or article title. In Title of website. Retrieved from URL
Doughan, D. (n.d.). Biography. In The Tolkien society. Retrieved from
http://www.tolkiensociety.org/author/biography/
Note: if no date information is available, use (n.d.).
Website with no evident author:
Page or article title. (Year, Month day of publication). In Title of website. Retrieved from URL
Bridge of Khazad-dûm. (n.d.). In Tolkien gateway. Retrieved from http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Bridge_of_Khazad-d%C3%BBm
Note: if no date information is available, use (n.d.).
Online Newspaper Article:
Author, F. M. (Year, Month Day of publication). Article title. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from URL
Downs, L. (2012, December 8). An Unexpected Journey: Hobbits in the Heartland. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/opinion/sunday/hobbits-in-the-heartland.html
Image:
Creator, F. M. (Relation to Work). (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of Image [format]. Retrieved from URL.
Luebbert, D. W. (Artist). (2012, April 15). Tolkien Daydreams [digital image]. Retrieved from http://lueb-art.deviantart.com/art/Tolkien-Daydreams-296027561
Tweet:
Author, F. M. (Year, Month Day of publication). Entire tweet [tweet]. Retrieved from URL
Olsen, C. (2015, August 8). I've come to the part of @JohnGarthWriter's book where Tolkien's friends are just about to die. V moving and painful. #whatimreading [tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/tolkienprof/status/630126084139393024
YouTube Video:
Author, F. M. [YouTube handle]. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from http://xxxxx
Grey, C. G. [CGP Grey]. (2014, December 17). The Lord of the Rings mythology explained (part 1) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxgsxaFWWHQ
Note: if the poster's real name is not available, use their YouTube handle instead, without brackets.
Personal Interview:
An interview is not considered a recoverable source, so it is not included in your APA reference list. You can cite it in your text, however, as follows:
(C. Tolkien, personal communication, August 14, 2015)
Cochrane Review:
A Cochrane Review is cited similarly to an electronic journal article, including DOI. The year is repeated in place of the volume number.
Author, F. M. (Publication year). Article title. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Year(Issue), pp.-pp. doi:xx.xxxxx
Arrowsmith, V.A., & Taylor R. (2014). Removal of nail polish and finger rings to prevent surgical infection. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014(8), 1-15. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003325.pub3
