IRIS 42: Information and Research Instruction Suite for two-year colleges
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Taking Good Notes

The secret to acknowledging sources properly

Librarians often see students in a panic because they didn't record information about a source and can't find the source again. Save yourself time, effort and frustration: Keep good notes on your sources.

The information you need for a bibliographic citation (regardless of the style manual you're using) depends on the type of source you're using. Here are some general guidelines:

Books Periodical Articles Websites
author(s) or editor(s) author(s) author
title title of article title of website
publisher name of periodical title of article
city of publication volume number date site was posted or updated
publication date issue number date you accessed the site
page numbers year of publication URL (web address)
possibly: author of chapter if different than the author/editor of the book month and/or day  
possibly: title of chapter, if chapters are written by different authors page numbers  

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