Skip to Main Content

Citation Styles: Citation Generators

Citation Features in Databases

Several of our databases come with citation tools that format article citations in several different styles. Look for the CITE or EXPORT function next to the article record to create a citation for your reference list. Use these shortcuts with caution as they rarely give perfect citations. It is up to YOU to review your results for accuracy. Refer to our handouts, our Citation Style Subject Guides, or to the appropriate style manual to determine if your citations are correct.

Citation Feature in Google Scholar

Google Scholar now has a CITE feature that formats article citations in several different styles.  Use this feature with caution as it does not necessarily produce a perfect citation. It is up to YOU to review the citation for accuracy. Refer to our handouts, our Citation Style Subject Guides, or to the appropriate style manual to determine if your citations are correct. Here is a sample article found in Google Scholar:

Improved Academic performance and student perceptions of learning through use of a cell phone‐based personal response system
S Ma, DG Steger, PE Doolittle… - Journal of Food Science …, 2018 - Wiley Online Library … We have been using cell phones as clickers in this course this semester. We would like to collect some data on your perceptions of the use of cell phones as clicker as part of a research study … How do students use cell phones as 'clickers' during class … Cited by 12 Related articles All 7 versions

 

The Google Scholar Cite feature created these citations:

 

MLA

Ma, Sihui, et al. "Improved Academic performance and student perceptions of learning through use of a cell phone‐based personal response system." Journal of Food Science Education 17.1 (2018): 27-32.

Issues: capitalization incorrect; vol/no/pp missing; doi missing. 

 

APA

Ma, S., Steger, D. G., Doolittle, P. E., & Stewart, A. C. (2018). Improved Academic performance and student perceptions of learning through use of a cell phone‐based personal response system. Journal of Food Science Education, 17(1), 27-32.

Issues: capitalization incorrect; doi missing

 

Chicago

Ma, Sihui, Daniel G. Steger, Peter E. Doolittle, and Amanda C. Stewart. "Improved Academic performance and student perceptions of learning through use of a cell phone‐based personal response system." Journal of Food Science Education 17, no. 1 (2018): 27-32.

Issues: capitalization incorrect; doi missing

Citation Generators

Citation generators can be helpful to create entries for your reference list (also called works cited list or bibliography).

However, no matter which citation generator you use, none of them is perfect, and it is up to YOU to review your results for accuracy. Refer to our handouts, our Citation Style Subject Guides, or to the appropriate style manual to determine if your citations are correct.

Free Citation Generators - basic

  • BibMe
    Supports APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian citation styles. It allows searching for your item and will autofill the information if it finds it. You will need to register to use the service.
  • KnightCite
    Supports APA, MLA, and Chicago style citations. You will need to input the information manually to generate the citation. You may register to access addtional features, such as saving citations for later use and exporting citations to a Word document.
  • NoodleTools Express
    Supports APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian styles. You will need to input the information manually to generate the citation. Citations cannot be saved.
  • Citation Machine
    Supports APA, MLA, Turabian or Chicago style citations. You will need to input the information manually to generate the citation.

Free Citation Generators - more complex

  • Mendeley
    Mendeley is a free reference manager and social network that allows you to organize your research, generate citations and bibliographies, and collaborate with others online. In addition, you may search its catalogue of more than 30M papers, import references from other databases and reference management tools, and you can sync your papers between multiple computers and mobile devices. You need to download Mendeley and its MS Word plugin.
  • Zotero
    Zotero is a free reference manager that helps you collect, organize, cite and share your research. It works best as a Firefox add-on (Zotero Standalone is available for other browser, but with limited capabilities). You need to download and install Zotero. To learn more about using Zotero, check out this online book: Mastering Zotero. 

 

Citation Generators (small yearly fee)

  • NoodleTools
    Offers "integrated tools for note-taking, outlining, citation, document archiving/annotation, and collaborative research and writing".Supports APA, MLA and Chicago/Turabian styles.
  • EasyBib
    Supports APA, MLA, and Chicago/Turabian style.