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How to Read a Citation in a Bibliography

Bibliographies (aka "Sources," "List of References," "Further Reading") in books and journal articles are great places to find useful sources and expand your research. Here are some tips to help you decipher citations so that you understand the type of information source being cited. While many types of sources may be found in a "Bibliography", books, book chapters, and journal articles are the most common.

Book

Tigay, Jeffrey H. The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982.

Title The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic
Author(s)/Editor(s) Jeffrey H. Tigay
Place of publication Philadelphia
Publisher University of Pennsylvania Press
Copyright/Publication date 1982

Clues that this is a book:

  • Contains only one title: Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic (book title is usually in italics or underlined)
  • Includes a place of publication: Philadelphia
  • Includes the name of a publishing company: University of Pennsylvania Press
  • Includes the year of publication : 1982

To find a specific book, search the Library Catalog by author or title.

 

Book Chapter

Tigay, Jeffrey H.  "The Integrated Epic in the Old Babylonian Period." In  Tigay, Jeffrey H.  The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982. pp. 39-54.

Chapter Title The Integrated Epic in the Old Babylonian Period
Chapter Author Jeffrey H. Tigay
Source Title The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic
Author(s)/Editor(s) Jeffrey H. Tigay
Place of publication Philadelphia
Publisher University of Pennsylvania Press
Copyright/Publication date 1982
Page numbers for the chapter 39-54

Clues that this is a book chapter:

  • The book chapter title is usually enclosed in quotation marks:  "The Integrated Epic in the Old ..."
  • The author of the chapter title is present (in addition to the author/editor of the source book): Jeffrey H. Tigay
  • The source book is usually in italics or underlined:  The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic
  • The source book is sometimes prefaced by  In  (sometimes in italics): In Tigay, Jeffrey H. The Evolution of the....
  • Page numbers (for the chapter) are included in the citation: 39-54 
  • Includes a place of publication: Philadelphia
  • Includes the name of a publishing company: University of Pennsylvania Press
  • Includes the year of publication: 1982

To find the source book the chapter is in, search the Library Catalog by author or title. Important! Search by the title of the source book - not the chapter title. Or, search by author of the source book - not the author of the chapter title.

 

Journal Article

"A Sun Myth in the Babylonian Deluge Story."  Poplicha, Joseph  Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol 47(1), 1927. pp. 289-301. 
 
Article Title A Sun Myth in the Babylonian Deluge Story
Author(s) Poplicha, Joseph
Journal Title (title of the journal or magazine in which the article appears) Journal of the American Oriental Society
Journal volume and issue Volume 47 Issue 1
Date of the Article 1927
Page numbers for the article 289-301

Clues that this is an article:

  • Contains the title of the article, sometimes in quotation marks: "A Sun Myth in the Babylonian Deluge Story"
  • Contains another title, the title of the journal or magazine in which the article appears, often underlined or in italics: Journal of the American Oriental Society
  • Contains a volume and, sometimes, an issue number: 47.1, or sometimes 47(1)
  • The date is sometimes a year, sometimes month and year, sometimes season (example: Spring) and year
  • Page numbers are included in the citation: 289-301

If you have a citation to a specific article that you are interested in finding, search the   Journal Titles  finder for the title of the journal.

[Adapted from the Georgia Tech Library "Research/Writing/Citing Sources" url: http://libguides.gatech.edu/research]