Citation Training: Why and How

Properly citing material in footnote or bibliography formats is an art and/or skill. It requires a thorough knowledge of (1) publication types (books, periodicals, symposia, research reports, dissertations, government documents, etc.), (2) formats in which the publications appear (paper, microfiche, microfilm, computer data file, floppy disk, etc.), and (3) an understanding of what information in a citation permits these materials to be retrieved (author, title, report number, accession number, publisher, date, etc.). Unfortunately, rules for citing publications are developed by publishers whose interests are oriented more toward economy of printing than in the direction of scholarship or research.