Help With Citations
If you have questions about citation styles or software, please ask us.
While we can't format all of your citations for you or proofread your whole bibliography, we're happy to help you in the following ways:
- Help recommend a citation style (e.g., Chicago, MLA, etc.)
- Advise on formatting complex or troublesome individual citations and give examples
- Introduce citation software individually or to a class
- Help you troubleshoot citation software
Common Citation Styles
Different academic disciplines have created specific style guidelines for citing sources, both throughout a text and as a bibliography. Some examples of common citation styles include MLA (the Modern Language Association), Chicago (the University of Chicago), and APA (the American Psychological Association). Our Citation Support Subject Guide can tell you more about these styles and provides general and specific resources for each.
Citation Generators & Software
Make citation formatting easier! Many databases and search tools (including JumboSearch and Google Scholar) come with built-in citation buttons that provide formatted citations in a few major styles. These are a good starting point if you are familiar enough with the citation style you're using to proofread what has been generated.
The libraries also support a variety of citation management software options, which are robust tools allowing you to collect, organize, and cite all of your sources. Learn more about the many ways you can automatically format your citations.
Prevent link rot in your citations
Permanent links, also known as permalinks, archive the linked webpage as it was when you cited it, preserving a copy that won't be updated or taken down. Tufts is a Perma.cc partner. Use this tool to create archived versions of websites you cite in your work, especially in work that will be published, ensuring access for future readers. Find out more about Perma.cc.