Different Citation Styles

There are different styles of citing information in a literature review. The two most
commonly used citation styles are those of the American Psychological Association
(APA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA).

APA Citation Style

The APA citation style is commonly used in various disciplines because of its
simplicity. It follows the author-date system of citation. This means that the last name of
the author and the date of publication of the work must appear in the text (e.g., Avilla,
2009). Also, the complete bibliographic information should appear on the reference list
of the research paper. Note that in the APA citation style, the page number is used only
if you are directly quoting the material or making reference to an entire book, article, or
other work.

The following are the basic guidelines when using the APA style in in-text
citations/a signal phrase:

 Work by a Single Author: The last name of the author and the year of
publication are placed in the text. When the name of the author is part of the
narrative, only the date is placed in the parentheses. When both pieces of
information are in the parentheses, the year is separated from the surname with
a comma.
Examples:
Santos (2014) asserted that the education alleviates poverty. Education
alleviates poverty (Santos, 2014).

 Work by Two Authors: Name both authors in a signal phrase or in the

parentheses each time you cite their work. Use the word “and” between the
authors’ names when cited within the text and use the ampersand in
parenthetical citation.
Examples:
Santos and Reyes (2014) explained that…
…as has been shown (Santos & Reyes, 2014).

 Works by Three to Five Authors: List all the authors in a single phrase or in
parentheses the first time that you cite the source. Use the word “and” inbetween
the penultimate and final authors’ names when cited within the text and use the
ampersand in parenthetical citation.
Examples:
David, Garcia, and Isabelo (2014)
(David, Garcia, & Isabelo, 2014)

In subsequent citations, use only the first author’s last name followed by
the word “et al.” in the phrase or in parentheses.
Examples:
David et al. (2014)
(David et al., 2014)
  Six or More Authors: Use the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in the
signal phrase or in parenthetical citation.
Examples:
David et al. (2014) argued…
(David et al., 2014)

 Unknown Author: If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title
in the signal phrase or use the first word or first two words in the parenthetical
citation. Titles of books and reports are to be italicized or underlined; titles of
articles, chapters, and Web pages are enclosed in quotation marks.

Example:
The researcher would ask for permission from corporate professionals to
serve as references to potential connections, a method similar to a cascading
approach. (“Corporate elites”, 2002)

Note: In rare cases, the word “Anonymous” is treated as the author’s “name”
(Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use “Anonymous” when citing the work.

 Organization as an Author: If the author is an organization or a government

agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical
citation the first time you cite the source.
Examples:
First citation: According to the National Institute of Chemistry (2003)…
(National Institute of Chemistry, 2003)
When the same source is repeated: (NIC, 2013)

Examples of the APA style applied in a Bibliography:

Journal

D.L. Sackett, W. M. (1996). Evidence-based medicine: What is it and what isn’t it.
British
Medical Journal, 71-72.

Book

Miller, J.C. (1992). Statistics for Analytical Chemistry. Chichester: Ellis Horwood.
Technical Report

Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Police: (2000: 65:76260-
76264). Federal Policy on Research Misconduct, Federal register.

MLA Citation Style

Commonly used within the liberal arts and humanities disciplines, the MLA format
follows the author-page method of in-text citation. Instead of the author’s last name and
year of publication, this style uses the author’s last name and the page number(s) from
which the quotation or paraphrase in the citation was lifted. The complete bibliographic
information appears on the cited page of the research paper. The author’s name may
appear either in the sentence itself or in the parenthetical citation following the quotation
or paraphrase. However, the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses,
not in the text of your sentence.

Examples:

Author’s name in text:

Palomar emphasized that (20-21)

Author’s name in parentheses:

This is given an emphasis (Palomar, 20-21)

Multiple authors:

This formula (Avilla and Santos, 9) proved

…to be tested (Garcia and Reyes, 24)

Organization as author:

(National Institute of Chemistry, 40-42)

Examples of the MLA style applied in a Bibliography:

Journal

D.L. Sackett, W.M. Rosenberg, J.A. Gray, R.B. Haynes, W.S. Richardson. “Evidence-
based medicine: What is it and what isn’t it”. British Medical Journal (1996): 71-
72

Book

Miller, J.C. and J.N. Statistics for Analytical Chemistry. Chichester: Ellis Horwood, 1992.

Technical Report

Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy: “Federal Policy
Research Misconduct”. 2002: 65:76260-76264.