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Writing Citations for Health Materials

MLA (Modern Language Association) Bibliography Quick Guide

The instructions and examples given here will get you started. For more detail and more examples, see the links at the end of the section. Please note: These guidelines are based on the Seventh edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, and are significantly different from earlier editions.

For a web page show:

The author of the web page, if given
The title of the web page (in "quotation marks")
The title of the larger website of which this is a part (in italics), if applicable
The organization or company which sponsors this page, if applicable
The date when this page was last updated or modified. If not available, use n.d.
Web. (the medium of publication)
The date you looked at the page on the web: day month year
The entire URL (<in angle brackets>) The MLA Handbook 7th ed. denotes this as 'optional', but adds "You should include a URL ... when your instructor requires it." CCSF instructors do require a URL.

You may not be able to identify all of this information for every web page. Include all the information you can find. If some type of information is missing, just leave that part out. However, even if a page has little or no identifying information, you should at least be able to give: title; Web; date retrieved. Look at the following examples for MLA punctuation, indentation, and spacing:

"Frequently Asked Questions: Basics About Diabetes." Diabetes Public Health Resource. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 27 June 2006. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. <http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/faq/basics.htm>.

Sanders, Ken. "Ken's Story - How Exercise Helped My Diabetes." Check Your Health. Utah Department of Health, n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2009. <http://www.checkyourhealth.org/Archive/kens.htm>.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Women with Diabetes: Quality of Health Care, 2004-2005. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Aug. 2009. <http://www.ahrq.gov/populations/womendiab/womendiab.pdf>.

For a periodical article show:

The author(s) of the article
The title of the article (in "quotation marks")
The title of the journal or magazine in which the article was published (in italics)
The volume, issue and year when it was published
The page numbers for the article (if given)
The database in which you found the article (in italics)
Web. (the medium of publication)
The date you found or printed the article: day month year

Here are examples of a journal and a magazine article cited in MLA format:

"Insufficient Sleep May Be Linked to Increased Diabetes Risk." NewsRx Health & Science 30 Aug. 2009: 245. Health Reference Center Academic. Web. 2 Sept. 2009.

Khan, Laura Kettel, et al. "Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States." MMWR Recommendations & Reports 58.7 (2009): 1-29. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Sept. 2009.

For a book show:

The author(s) or editor(s) of the book
The title of the book (in italics)
The edition, if there is one (like 2nd ed.)
The city and state where the book was published. (You can leave out the state for really big cities like New York or Los Angeles)
The name of the publishing company
The year that it was published
Print. (the medium of publication)

Here are examples of books cited in MLA format:

Hunt, Roberta. Introduction to Community-Based Nursing. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009.Print.

Smolak, Linda and J. Kevin Thompson, eds. Body Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in Youth: Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2009.Print.

Here's an example of how to refer to your sources within the text of your paper:

Text of research paper using MLA format

Some people think there is nothing we can do to avoid getting diabetes, but in fact, many of our actions can increase or decrease our risk. One study even suggests that not getting enough sleep may make us more vulnerable to diabetes (Trenell). The National Institute of Health tested methods for decreasing diabetes risk and found that "lifestyle change - a program of healthy eating and physical activity" can reduce the risk of developing diabetes (type 2) by 58 percent! ("Am I at Risk")

Bibliography at end of paper using MLA format

"Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes? Taking Steps to Lower Your Risk of Getting Diabetes." National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Nov. 2008. Web. 2 Sept. 2009. <http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/riskfortype2/index.htm>.

Trenell, Michael I., Nathaniel Marshall, and Naomi L. Rogers. "Sleep and Metabolic Control: Waking to a Problem?" Clinical & Experimental Pharmacology & Physiology 34.1/2 (2007): 1-2. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Sept. 2009.

For more information and examples of MLA citations:

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009. Print. LB2369.G53 2009

Delaney, Robert. "MLA Citation Style." Citation Style for Research Papers. B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library, Long Island University, 15 Nov. 2007. Web. 27 Aug. 2009 <http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm>. Based on 6th ed. of MLA

"Evaluating and Citing Sources." Library and Learning Resources. City College of San Francisco, n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2009 <http://www.ccsf.edu/Library/eval.html>.

Hacker, Diana. The Bedford handbook. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. Print. PE1408.H277 2006 Based on 6th ed. of MLA

Johnson, Carolyn. "MLA Citation Style Examples." Citing Sources. Owens Library. Northwest Missouri State University, 19 Aug. 2009. Web. 27 Aug. 2009. <http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/citing/mla.htm>.

Purdue OWL. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 27 Aug. 2009.<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1>.

APA (American Psychological Association) Bibliography Quick Guide
The instructions and examples given here will get you started. For more detail and more examples, see the links at the end of the section. Please note: These guidelines are based on the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association which made some changes to the format from earlier editions.

For a web page show:

The author of the web page, if given

The date when this page was last updated or modified (in parentheses) If no author, put date after title.

The title of the web page in italics

The organization or company which sponsors this page, if applicable

The entire URL ((with Retrieved from... and no period at the end)

You may not be able to identify all of this information for every web page. Include all the information you can find. If no date is given, use (n.d.). Look at the following examples for APA punctuation, indentation, and spacing:

Frequently asked questions: Basics about diabetes. (2006, July). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/faq/basics.htm

Sanders, Ken. (n.d.). Ken's story - How exercise helped my diabetes. Utah Department of Health. Retrieved from http://www.checkyourhealth.org/Archive/kens.htm

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008, November). Women with diabetes: Quality of health care, 2004-2005. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/populations/womendiab/womendiab.pdf

For a periodical article show:

The author(s) of the article

The year when it was published (in parentheses) If no author, put year after the title of the article.

The title of the article

The title of the journal or magazine in which the article was published in italics

The volume number of the periodical in italics where it was originally published. (If there is no volume/issue, include month/day with date)

The issue and page number where it was originally published

The database in which you found the article (with Retrieved from...)

Here are examples of journal articles cited in APA format:

Insufficient sleep may be linked to increased diabetes risk. (2009, August 30). NewsRx Health & Science, p. 245. Retrieved from Health Reference Center Academic database.

Khan, L. K., Sobush, K., Keener, D., Goodman, K., Lowry, A., Kakietek, J., et al. (2009). Recommended community strategies and measurements to prevent obesity in the United States. MMWR Recommendations & Reports, 58(7), 1-29. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

For a book show:

The author(s) or editor(s) of the book

The year that it was published. If no author, put year after title.

The title of the book in italics

The edition, if there is one (like 2nd ed.)

The city and state where the book was published. (You can leave out the state for really big cities like New York or Los Angeles)

The name of the publishing company

Here are examples of books cited in APA format:

Hunt, R. (2009). Introduction to community-based nursing. (4th ed.) Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Smolak, L. & Thompson, J. (Eds.) Body image, eating disorders, and obesity in youth: Assessment, prevention, and treatment. (2nd ed.) Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Here's an example of how the refer to your sources within the text of your paper:
Text of research paper using APA format
Some people think there is nothing we can do to avoid getting diabetes, but in fact, many of our actions can increase or decrease our risk. One study even suggests that not getting enough sleep may make us more vulnerable to diabetes (Trenell, 2007). The National Institute of Health tested methods for decreasing diabetes risk and found that "lifestyle change - a program of healthy eating and physical activity" can reduce the risk of developing diabetes (type 2) by 58 percent! (Am I at Risk, 2008)

Bibliography at end of paper using APA format

Am I at risk for type 2 diabetes? Taking steps to lower your risk of getting diabetes. (2008, November). National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/riskfortype2/index.htm

Trenell, Michael I., Marshall, N. & Rogers, N.L. (2007). Sleep and metabolic control: Waking to a problem? Clinical & Experimental Pharmacology & Physiology, 34(1/2), 1-2. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

For more information and examples of APA citations:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. BF76.7.P83 2010

American Psychological Association. (2009). The Basics of APA Style. Retrieved from http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx

APA citation style. (2007). Cornell University Library. Retrieved from http://www.library.cornell.edu/newhelp/res_strategy/citing/apa.html

APA documentation. (2009). The Writing Center @ the Univeristy of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved from http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/DocAPA.html

Coppola, L. (2003). APA citation format. RIT Libraries. Rochester Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://wally.rit.edu/pubs/guides/apa2.html

Delaney, R. (2007). APA citation style. B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library, Long Island University. Retrieved from http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm

Evaluating and citing sources. City College of San Francisco. Library and Learning Resources. Retrieved from http://www.ccsf.edu/Library/eval.html

revised by Karen Saginor 18 February 2010

Research Guide

Finding articles

Finding web pages

Finding books

Citations

MLA Web page

MLA Periodical article

MLA Book

MLA Links

APA Web page

APA Periodical article

APA Book

APA Links

Writing Citations for Health Materials

MLA (Modern Language Association) Bibliography Quick Guide

Here's an example of how to refer to your sources within the text of your paper:

For more information and examples of MLA citations:

APA (American Psychological Association) Bibliography Quick Guide

Here's an example of how the refer to your sources within the text of your paper:

For more information and examples of APA citations: