A working bibliography is a list of sources that you may potentially use for your project. As you find and begin to evaluate research sources—articles, books, Web sites, and so on—you should record source information for every source you think you might use. (Relevant information includes everything you need to find the source again and cite it correctly; the information you will need varies based on the type of source, whether you found it in a library or not, and whether you consulted it in print or online.) The emphasis here is on working because the list will probably include materials that end up not being useful. For this reason, you don’t absolutely need to put all entries into the documentation style you will use (see Chapters 49—52). If you do follow the required documentation style, however, that part of your work will be done when you prepare the final draft.
The following chart will help you keep track of the sorts of information you should try to find:
| Type of Source | Information to Collect (if applicable) |
| Print book | Library call number, author(s) or editor(s), title and subtitle, place of publication, publisher, year of publication, any other information (translator, edition, volume) |
| Part of a book | Call number, author(s) of part, title of part, author(s) or editor(s) of book, title of book, place of publication, publisher, year of publication, inclusive page numbers for part |
| Print periodical article | Call number of periodical, author(s) of article, title of article, name of periodical, volume number, issue number, date of issue, inclusive page numbers for article |
| Online source | Author(s), title of document, title of site, editor(s) of site, sponsor of site, publication information for print version of source, name of database or online service, date of electronic publication or last update, date you accessed the source, URL |
For other kinds of sources (such as films, recordings, visuals), you should also list the information required by the documentation style you are using (see Chapters 49-52), and note where you found the information.