The quality of a research paper is generally determined on the basis of the research work done for the task. The more relevant data you put in the paper, the better your chances are of scoring a higher grade. However, gathering relevant data is not always enough to fetch you the desired marks. You need to prove the authenticity of the presented data with proper citations.

Citing sources in a research paper is not exactly a cakewalk. In fact, most students seek professional assistance for their tasks as they struggle to follow the formatting and citation guidelines. If you have a research paper to write and don't know how to cite sources in a research paper, this blog will provide you with the much-needed information.

APA Research Paper Format

APA style of citation was developed by American Psychological Associated in 1929. The guidelines of the APA style of citation are found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The 7^th and latest edition of the manual was published in 2020, and if you want to cite sources in a research paper in APA style, you should refer to that manual.

The research paper should be formatted in double-spacing with 1” margins on all sides. Ideally, you should use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. There should be a page header at the top of every page, with the page numbers flush right. The title of the paper in the header will be flush left in all caps. The page header is a shorter version of the paper title and should not exceed 50 characters.

How to Cite  a Research Paper in APA?

Like most of the citation styles, the APA style of citation also has two different parts. One is the citation within the text of the research paper, and the other is the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation:

The APA citation style follows an “author-date” system. It means the citation in the text will have the author’s name and the year of publication. Here’s an example – (Anderson, 2003). The citation should be mentioned within the parentheses (as shown in the example) within the text.

Citations in the reference:

While citing the sources in the references at the end of the paper, you need to follow these templates mentioned below:

• Books: Author, A.A.. (The publication year). Title of work. Location of publisher: Name of the Publisher.

E.g., Anderson, J. (2003). XYZ of Time. Sydney: ABC Publisher

• Magazine: Author, A.A.. (Year and month of Publication). Article title. Magazine Title, Volume (Issue), pp.-pp.

E.g., Jordan, K. (2002, May). In the time of storm. XYZ, 320(17), 7-15.

• Newspaper: Author, A.A.. (Year and Month Date of Publication). Article title. Magazine Title, pp. xx-xx.

E.g., Rossum, E. (1992, November 21). An Increase in the number of victims is expected. The XYZ Times, p. E4.

• Website: Author, A.A.. (Year and Month Date of Publication). Article title. Retrieved from URL

E.g., Symonds, I. (2005, March 10). How to write a blog. Retrieved from www. Abc-xyz.com

MLA Research Paper Format

MLA citation format is developed by the Modern Language Association. It is commonly used for citing sources in the field of liberal arts and humanities. The MLA Handbook, which consists all the guidelines for MLA style of formatting and citations, is in its 8^th edition. The latest edition was published in 2016.

While formatting a paper in MLA style, you should ideally use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. The whole paper should be in double spacing with 1” margin on all sides. Your last name and a page number need to be inserted on the top right-hand corner of the first page.

How to Cite a Research Paper in MLA Format?

The citations in MLA format also have two parts. The in-text citations and the works cited at the end of the paper.

In-text MLA citations

The MLA citation style follows an author-page system. It means that when you cite the sources within the text, you need to mention the author’s last name and the page number of the source material. Here is an example – (Williams 170). The citation details should always be mentioned within the parentheses in the text.

Works cited in MLA format

While citing the sources of references in the works cited section, you need to follow these templates mentioned below:

• Book: Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Publisher City: Publisher Name, Year Published. Medium.

E.g., Michael, Jaime. The XYZ of Writing. Washington: ABC, 2018. Print.

• Magazine: Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Magazine Name Publication Date: Page Numbers. Medium.

E.g., Jones, Ryan. “The Time of XYZ.” ABC 13 June. 2010: 20-25. Print.

• Newspaper: Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name Publication Date: Page Numbers. Medium.

E.g., James, Sam. “April to get a lot warmer.” Texas Times 22 March. 2016: 4-6. Print.

• Website: Last Name, First Name. “Page Title.” Website Title.Sponsoring Institution/Publisher. Publication Date: Page Numbers. Medium.
• g., Jones, Derek. “April to get a lot warmer.” ABC.com. Alex Broadcasting Channel, 22 March. 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2017.

Research Paper in Chicago Style

The Chicago Citation style is mostly used for citing sources in humanities papers. You also need to cite sources in endnotes or footnotes. If you are writing the content in Chicago formatting style, you should use 12 pt. Times New Roman font. The text should be in double spacing with 1” margin on all sides.

How to Cite a Research Paper in Chicago Style?

In-text citations in Chicago style

While writing the in-text citations in your research paper, you need to use the superscript number after the quote or data. And the citation details are then mentioned in the footnote. The citation numbers should appear in sequential order, and each of those numbers then corresponds to a citation.

• Book: Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Publisher City: Publisher Name, Year Published.

E.g., Michael, Jaime. The XYZ of Writing. Washington: ABC, 2018.

• Magazine: Last Name, First Name. Article Title. Magazine Name, Publication Month, Year.

E.g., Jones, Ryan. The Time of XYZ. ABC, 13 June. 2010.

• Newspaper: Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Name Publication Date.

E.g., James, Sam. “April to get a lot warmer.” Texas Times, March 22, 2016.

• Website: Last Name, First Name. “Page Title.” Website Title.Sponsoring Institution/Publisher. Publication Date: Page Numbers. Medium.

E.g., Jones, Derek. “April to get a lot warmer.” ABC.com. (accessed February 1, 2017).

ASA Research Paper Format

ASA style of citation was created by the American Sociological Association. As you can guess, this form of citation is most commonly used by sociology students. While writing the content in ASA style format, use 12 pt. Times New Roman or Arial font. Also, keep 1" margin on all sides. The page numbers should appear in the upper right corner of every page.

How to Cite a Research Paper in ASA Format?

ASA In-text Citation

Similar to the APA style of citation, the ASA format also follows an author-date format. The citation includes the author’s last name and the year of publication of the work being cited within the parentheses. Here’s an example – (Anderson, 2003).

ASA style references

Use the following templates while citing sources in ASA style in the references section:

• Books: Author’s Last and First Name. The publication year. Title of work. Location of publisher: Name of the Publisher.

E.g., Anderson, Jaime. (2003). XYZ of Time. Sydney: ABC Publisher

• Magazine: Author’s Last and First Name. Year of Publication. “Article title.” Magazine Title, Month Year, pp. Inclusive page numbers.

E.g., Jordan, Kevin. 2002. “In the time of storm.” XYZ, May 2012, 7-15.

• Website: Author’s Last and First Name. Date of Publication. Title. Publisher. Retrieved Month Day, Year URL

E.g., Symonds, Isaac. 10.03.2005. How to write a blog. Retrieved 12.13.2019. www. Abc-xyz.com

AMA Research Paper Format

AMA is a documentary-note style of the citation which is developed by the American Medical Association. It is commonly used in the field of medical studies to cite sources in a paper. If you are writing a paper in AMA format, you should ideally use 12 point Times New Roman. The main text should be in double spacing, while the abstract, notes, titles and headings should be single-spaced.

How to Cite a Research Paper in AMA Format?

In-text citation in AMA format

Within the text in the AMA citation style, the references should be numbered, and the numbers are shown in superscript. The citation details are then mentioned in the reference list with the numbers.

The AMA reference list:

• Printed articles:

Author AA. Title of the article. Abbreviated Title of Journal. Year of publication;vol(issue):pages.

• Printed books:

Author AA. Title of Book. Edition number (if applicable). City, state of publication: publisher name; year of publication.

• Websites:

Author(s) (if applicable). Title of the specific item cited (if no such title is given, use the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of the Web site. URL. Published [date]. Updated [date]. Accessed [date]. (If a published or updated date is not given, either write "published/updated date not given" or omit this field).

Hopefully, this blog was insightful enough for you. Now, you can use these major citation styles for your research paper. However, if you need more assistance, you can simply ask for it.

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