A research project of any size becomes much easier when you use software that keeps track of your sources. And typically these programs do much more than just that: many enable you to inject properly formatted citations into your paper, to take notes on sources as you find them, and more. Happily, such bibliographic management tools continue to become more powerful and accessible.
The EBSCO platform (which includes the Communication Source database) includes a personal account feature that stores articles in designated folders; your article collections are saved on EBSCO servers and are thus available to you on any computer when you log in to your MyEBSCO account. Any Rohrbach librarian can help you master the superpowerful MyEBSCO tool.
Standalone bibliographic managers such as Zotero, Mendeley, and NoodleTools help you by saving and organizing citations from any database, book, interview, website—indeed, every kind of source. They have facilities for tasks such as grabbing citations directly from the web and synching your bibliographies across multiple computers through cloud storage. For details about some of these tools, see this guide.
Our library gives you full online access to the Chicago Manual of Style plus valuable add-ons like the Chicago Manual Quick Guide, the Chicago Q&A, and more.
The Citing sources page on Rohrbach Library’s site (linked beneath the Find Information header on the home page) points toward many tools to help with several citation styles as well as labor-saving bibliographic managers.
Get in the habit of collecting information about your sources as you use them. The library's article databases will invariably supply what you need for your citations, and many of the databases have facilities for formatting and saving citations as well.
Citing your sources is an essential part of your work as a member of a scholarly community. Whenever you're unsure about the protocol and can't find a satisfactory answer on your own, ask!
This excellent online guide to MLA style covers most of the situations you're likely to encounter. Note that its table of contents is at the bottom of each page, not on the side.
Rohrbach Library keeps several copies of the most recent MLA style manual in the Reference section. We also have the 6th edition of the MLA handbook, as well as the new 7th edition which is reflected in this guide.
