How Do I Cite a Scientific Journal Article in the Body Text of a Paper?

Information used in a paper from a scientific journal must be cited.

Citing your academic sources when writing a paper is crucial if you have directly quoted or drawn from the work and original ideas of other scholars. While it is essential to list the entire source information in a bibliography at the end of a paper, it is also necessary to site a work after a sentence or paragraph that contains the referenced idea or quotation. This is known as citing within the body text of a paper.

Instructions

1. Place a set of parentheses at the end of a sentence you wish to cite. Place them before the period that ends the sentence.

2. List the author's last name in the parentheses first. Capitalize the name. List both authors' names if there are two, and separate them with the word "and." List the prior author's name followed by "et al." if the journal article has several contributing authors. Place a comma after the authors' names.

3. List the year of publication of the article using numerical digits.

4. Place another comma after the publication year if citing your sources using APA (American Psychological Association) style. Write the letter "p." in lowercase following the comma, and after it write the page number of the artice within its original published magazine or book. A finished APA stye citation may read: (Johnson, 2012, p.1). Write no page number if you are citing in MLA (Modern Language Association), CSE (Council of Science Editors) or ACS (American Chemical Society) style. A finished citation in these styles may read: (Johnson, 2012).

References

• Bates College: How to Cite Other Sources in Your Paper
• Ohio State University: APA Citation Guide
• Ohio State University: CSE (CBE) Citation Guide
• The University of Texas at Arlington: ACS Style Guide