(2016 ed.)
If you do not see the rule you need, consult the additional resource.
In the paragraph below, the parenthetical in-text citations are highlighted in yellow, and the signal phrases are in blue. Note that the second sentence is common knowledge, whereas the final sentence is clearly the opinion of the author.
The NPS Thesis Processing Office prefers a List of References for the following:
Do not include honorifics (Dr., Col., Professor, etc.) when citing author names. Including these titles in the body of your document is acceptable.
The author is the organization immediately responsible for creating the document. In the example below, the author is the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and the publisher is the Department of the Navy.
In the example above, the author is NOT an umbrella organization, signatory, or any of the following:
Do not include acronyms for organizations listed as authors in the List of References or footnotes:
To cite an undated document, put the year you accessed the material in parentheses in both in-text citations and the list of references.
A secondary source is a source that cites some other work that you discuss in your text.
Whenever possible, consult primary sources and your sources’ sources yourself. Upon investigation of the primary source, you may find you disagree with the secondary source author’s analysis or methods. Only use secondary sources when the primary source is unavailable.
The following passage incorporates a properly credited secondary source. The secondary source information is highlighted in yellow; the primary source information is highlighted in blue.
Walker (2014) describes data collected in 1999 by Miguel Roig that correlates students’ inadequate paraphrasing to poor reading comprehension. Citing Roig’s data, Walker explains that “students do in fact possess skills necessary for paraphrasing but … may be impeded from applying those skills when dealing with rigorous text” (p. 2).
Note: Include only the secondary source (the source you consulted) in your reference list.
See the TPO's "Citing Your Sources’ Sources" handout.
Title Case | Sentence case |
Love among the Ruins: A Memoir of Life and Love in Hamburg, 1945 | Love among the ruins: A memoir of life and love in Hamburg, 1945 |
Capitalize everything except:
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Capitalize only:
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Note: Always format the information in your citations (titles, author names, etc.) according to the requirements of the citation style you are using, regardless of how it appears in the original source.
If any information is missing from a source (a journal with no volume number, for example), simply omit that information. For sources consulted in hardcopy, omit the URL and any additional verbiage that introduces it. Anything retrieved online, however, MUST have a link. The only exception is journals retrieved from a subscription database such as ProQuest.
For direct quotes, add page numbers to the in-text citation only.
Example: (Haynes 2009, p. 70)
For book chapters, include page-number range in List of References/Bibliography.
Example: Cordesman AH, Mausner A, Kasten D (2009) Introduction. Python MM, Monty PP, eds. Winning in Afghanistan: Creating Effective Afghan Security Forces (Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC), 15–25.
When citing a source retrieved online, use the "online" format even when you or someone else printed out the material. For example, if you print out a thesis or your advisor provides you with a printed thesis, it is still categorized as an online document.
Only cite as a print source when the material has been produced by a publisher in hard copy. For example, if you obtain a print journal or book from the library stacks, it is categorized as a printed source.
Examples given are for books; follow the appropriate style for the source type you are citing.
Source | Generic Example | Actual Example |
---|---|---|
Same author, same year, different sources
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Source 1 |
R: Author AA (year + a) Title of Book 1 in Title Case and Italics (Publisher, Place of Publication). T: (Author year + a) |
R: Hawthorne M (2006a) The Cannibal’s Dilemma: An Unnatural History of Four Siblings (Penguin, New York). T: (Hawthorne 2006a) |
Source 2 |
R: Author AA (year+b) Title of Book 2 in Title Case and Italics (Publisher, Place of Publication). T: (Author year + b) |
R: Hawthorne M (2006b) Having People for Dinner: A Guide for the Home Cook (Penguin, New York). T: (Hawthorne 2006b) |
Combined |
T (both sources): Author Last Name year + a, year + b) |
T (both sources): (Hawthorne 2006a, 2006b) |
Same author, different year, different sources
|
||
Source 1 |
R: Author AA (year) Title of Book 1 in Title Case and Italics (Publisher, Place of Publication). T: (Author year) |
R: Hawthorne M (2006) Having People for Dinner: A Guide for the Home Cook (Penguin, New York). T: (Hawthorne 2006) |
Source 2 |
R: Author AA (year) Title of Book 2 in Title Case and Italics (Publisher, Place of Publication). T: (Author year) |
R: Hawthorne P (2008) Regrets (Penguin, New York). T: (Hawthorne 2008) |
Combined |
T (both sources): (Author year 1, year 2) |
T (both sources): (Hawthorne 2006, 2008) |
Different authors, different years
|
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Combined |
T: (Author 1 year; Author 2 year)
|
T: (Hawthorne 2006b; Norton 1998; Stulberg 2014) |