This short video from the University of Houston Libraries explains why we cite sources.
Academic disciplines have unique citation style requirements. This is because different information is more valuable to some disciplines than others. For example, the data a source was publishing might be very important to researchers in business who want to rely on recent studies; whereas the date of a source used by a history researcher is not as significant.
Some of the common citations styles are
Your professor might indicate which citation style they want you to use for their course. If it isn't specified in the assignment, ask them.
There are many online citation generators, although some require you to pay for a subscription to gain access to different styles.
As a librarian, I recommend the citation generator ZoteroBib or Zbib. Its benefits include:
JMU Libraries has created several resources to help students cite our specialized business resources. Pasting a link into a ZoteroBib doesn't always generate a correct citation that your professor can review.
These links show how to use ZoteroBib to create citations for data you've found in business databases like IBISWorld or Mintel.
For citation questions not covered by our tutorials, I recommend the APA Style Blog. On this site, the authors of the APA Style manual answer questions about unique citation problems, such as "How do I cite a mobile app?
Carefully choosing file names that are informative and useful saves you time when researching. Consider these examples:
Files that don't employ a naming convention | Files that do employ a naming convention |
marketing mix FINAL | 20180115_MGT555_BeverageDispenser_Smith.pdf |
MGT-week2 | 20180115_MGT555_ConsumerExpenditures_BLS.xlsx |
908AF84F-8C23-33CC-8701-2B9ABA59E939 | 20180201_MKT592_RestaurantDecisionMaking_Jones.pdf |
Content (1) | 20180215_FIN600_IndustryAveragesRestaurants_Chen.pdf |
Meeting Notes Oct 23 | 20240820_curriculum_meeting_minutes |
The files with a naming convention provide a preview of the content, are organized in a logical way (by date yyyy-mm-dd) identify the database that provided it, and show which team member found it, unlike the files without a naming convention.
Use deliberate deliminators
Common approach is using “_” and “-” to deliminate units of metadata in the file names.
Can use “-” to separate words you want to glob together and “_” to separate different information within a file name.
Don’t use spaces or punctuation
Don’t use special characters
Using $, @, %, #, &,*, (, ), !, etc. may have meanings in programming languages.
The more meaningful the name, the more useful it is for you.
The more metadata you store in the name, the easier it will be to search. Metadata could include an author's name or article title.
When not employing version control, numbering methods facilitate file ordering and distinction.
Don’t use the word “final”
Number or date the versions so they can be ordered.
Put something numeric first
A date or version number is common.
Left pad version numbers with zeros (eg, 01_file.pdf).
Use YYYY-MM-DD for dates
The computer will order using this date format.