Keep a record of each source you read or view. This record, called a working bibliography, will help you compile the list of sources that will appear at the end of your paper. The format of this list depends on the documentation style you are using (for MLA style, see MLA-4; for APA style, see APA-4; for CMS style, see CMS-4). Using the proper style in your working bibliography will ensure that you have all the information you need to correctly cite any sources you use. (See R3-e for advice on using your working bibliography as the basis for an annotated bibliography.)

Most researchers save bibliographic information from the library’s catalog and databases and the Web. The information you need to collect is given in the chart below. If you download a visual, you must gather the same information as for a print source.

For Web sources, some bibliographic information may not be available, but spend time looking for it before assuming that it doesn’t exist. When information isn’t available on the home page, you may have to follow links to interior pages. (See also R1-d and R3-c for more details about finding bibliographic information in online sources.)

using sources responsibly: Use care when printing or saving articles in PDF files. The files themselves may not include some of the elements you need to cite the source properly, especially page numbers. You may need to record additional information from the database or Web site where you accessed the PDF file.

research tip: Your school may provide citation software, which automatically formats citations in any style using bibliographic information submitted by researchers. You must carefully proofread the results from these programs, however, because the citations sometimes include errors.

Information to collect for a working bibliography