HOW TO CITE
In TESOL research, you will need to find sources (books, articles, websites, etc.) and then cite them. Meaning:
- Cite (mention) them in the body of your writing every time you quote or paraphrase them.
- Cite (list) them at the end of your research, in a "Works Cited" or "References" or "Bibliography" page
You cannot mention or list your sources any way you want. If everyone did that, it would be chaos for readers to properly identify and track down your sources. So there are rules, or formats, on how to cite your sources. Some majors use a format called MLA. Others use a format called Chicago. In the field of TESOL, the most common format is APA (it comes from the American Psychological Association).
So what are the rules, or formats, for APA style?
- The official explanation is from the APA website, here. (And their APA stylebook is for sale here).
- A more detailed, yet easier to understand, explanation is from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL), here
- The CSUF Pollak Library also has a handy APA summary guide too, here.
- A good training video, of using APA to cite, is available from the CSUDH Library, here: 
COMPILING YOUR SOURCES
There are several ways you can compile, or keep track of, all your sources:
1. Compile them yourself (manually). As you find books and articles, you can use the "cite" tool (button)--available on OneSearch and the databases--to autormatically put your sources in APA format (note: these auto-cite buttons are not always 100% accurate; use them, but double check them yourself for accuracy). Then you can copy-&-paste these into a Word document--your master source list.
2. Store them in OneSearch pins & databases folders. OneSearch and the databases allow you to save citation info (author, title, link, etc.) in personalized "pins" (OneSearch) or "folders" (the databases). Then the next time you return to OneSearch or the databases, you can login to your pins or personalized folders and see all your saved sources still there.
3. Use EndNote Web. EndNote Web is separate program that helps you compile and organize all your sources into APA format
4. Use Zotero. Zotero is a Firefox browser add-on that collects, manages, and cites research sources.
LITERATURE REVIEW vs. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
These are two terms you may hear your professors say they want from you. But what are these?
- A Literature Review is an essay where you briefly describe (summarize, compare) all the sources you found. You don't need to go into excessive detail; a few sentences describing each source is typical.
- An Annotated Bibliography is your list of sources at then end of your paper but with a short summary (few sentences), under each source, describing what the source is about.
The CSUF Pollak Library has created a detailed guide on creating Literature Reviews and Annotated Bibliographies, here.
