Citation Styles

There are countless citation styles used in publishing. Which is the right one for your document? The Graduate College does not require that you use a specific format, but here are the three most commonly used formats for your consideration.

The first rule of citation styles is pick a style and use it consistently. 

	Turabian/Chicago The most commonly used citation style in the humanities, and also the style tied to the standard handbook for writers of dissertations and theses. Highly recommended. Citation Examples
	MLA The Modern Language Association's citation style, this is a simple, lightweight style that's pretty user friendly. However, it's a bit trickier for less commonly cited objects, like sound recordings or scores. Recommended. Citation Examples
	APA The standard format for social sciences research. Use if a music education or music therapy student. Citation Examples

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Keeping Citations Organized

There are programs that can help you store and organize citations. The University of Iowa provides access to two versions of Endnote (web-based and client), but there's also open software, like Zotero, that can be used to manage citations. And of course, it's always possible to use a Word or Google document and simply list your citations alphabetically or group by topic. 

• Endnote
• Zotero
• Word of Google document