CMR 361: Marketing for the Small Business (Curtis): How to Cite Sources and How to Make Sure You Have Good Information

There is a great collection of guides compiled by the University of St. Thomas Libraries that will help you cite information from a variety of business databases and other sources.

Here's an MLA citation for the Wal-Mart entry in Mergent Online (linked from Susan Hurst's Marketing Research guide).  The final date is the date that you viewed the information in the database:

Mergent, Inc. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2015). Mergent Online database. Gardner-Harvey Library, Miami University Middletown, OH. 29 April, 2015. 

Here's the same citation in APA format: 

Mergent, Inc. (2015). Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Retrieved Apr. 29, 2015, from Mergent Online database. 

You may also see the Citing Sources  page of the library site for a number of useful links and tips for information on how cite your sources and also some tools that will help you do so. And whatever you do, don't forget the ability to email yourself an APA, MLA, or Chicago citation from Articles & More and other databases. If you don't know how to do this, just ask me!

MLA

Watch Video: MLA Citation Style for a quick introduction to MLA citations.

See the MLA Citation Style Guide for an excellent list of sample citations and guidance on doing in-text citations.

Consult the Purdue OWL Writing Lab MLA Formatting and Style Guide for an overview of how the MLA style works, both in writing your paper and in creating citations.

If you are interested in using a citation manager to gather your research source citations and format them as needed, see our Citation Managers guide.

APA

Watch Video: APA Citation Style for a quick introduction to APA citations.

See the APA Citation Style Guide for an excellent list of sample citations and guidance on doing in-text citations.

Consult the Purdue OWL Writing Lab APA Formatting and Style Guide for an overview of how the APA style works, both in writing your paper and in creating citations.

If you are interested in using a citation manager to gather your research source citations and format them as needed, see our Citation Managers guide.

You may also see the Citing Sources page of the library site for a number of useful links and tips for information on how cite your sources and also some tools that will help you do so. And whatever you do, don't forget the ability to email yourself an APA, MLA, or Chicago citation from Articles & More and other databases. If you don't know how to do this, just ask me!

Quickly build a citation in the citation style you need to add to your bibliography/source list:

Citefast - free citation generator

ZoteroBib - build a bibliography instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software.

Citation Builder - free citation generator from North Carolina State University Libraries

Avoiding Plagiarism

Here are some helpful tips on identifying and avoiding plagiarism:

Here are some tips on preventing plagiarism when writing 

And, one more video on synthesizing information where you bring together your thoughts and the information you learn from other sources into your paper (citing where needed).

Avoiding Plagiarism: What Do I Need to Cite? 

Don't Just Trust What You Find - Verify!

How can you be sure that the information you find through Google or the library is going to be useful for your assignment? Use the SIFT steps below  (Stop, Investigate, Find, Trace) to make sure your source is on track. You can also consult our Avoiding Bad, Misleading, or Fake News guide.

Web accessible version

*Design layout for SIFT based on shared image from the University of Oregon