You can use a citation generator to produce citations in selected styles based on the bibliographic information you provide. Always make sure to double-check that your generated citations are correct either with a style guide or at the Purdue Online Writing Lab. Citation generators are a helpful first step, but they are subject to errors.
You can use the below guides to check proper citation formats.
Some library databases have built-in citation generators, where you can select a "Cite" button to get the citation for that article or book in various formats. Library Search has a built-in generator for APA 7, AMA 11, Chicago 17, Harvard, and MLA 9 styles. You can access it by clicking on the quotation mark icon next to the title in your search results list. In other databases, you might have to first click on the title of the article, then find the “Cite” button to generate a citation.
Below are some recommended citation generators.
BibME
- Creates citations and bibliographic references for MLA, APA, Turabian, and Chicago styles
- Look up your reference by URL, title, or ISBN, then it automatically converts to a citation and bibliographic reference
- Create a free account and save your references for future use
Citation Machine
- Creates citations and bibliographic references for MLA, APA, Turabian, and Chicago styles
- Look up options for APA and MLA styles
View the Citation Machine website
CitationGenerator
- Creates citations and bibliographic reference for APA, MLA, and Chicago styles
- Consists of a live editor that allows you to highlight portions of text and automatically create citations for it
View the CitationGenerator website
EasyBib
- Creates citations and bibliographic references for MLA, APA, Turabian, and Chicago styles
- Look up your reference by URL, title, or ISBN, then it automatically converts to a citation and bibliographic reference
Citation management systems
Citation management systems allow you to download citations from various websites and databases (often with the full-text article) and electronically store and organize the citations, as well as insert citations and a bibliography into your paper in the format of your choice as you write your paper. If you need to manage a large number of citations, or are going to need to write a lot of papers that require you to cite sources, a citation management system may make citing sources in your paper a lot easier. If you work collaboratively on some projects, your citations can also be shared with groups or co-authors.
The University of Nevada, Reno provides support for several free-to-use citation management tools, as well as tutorials on how to use them: