1. What’s My
SOURCE?
Citing Online
Databases

2. Locate your citation information at the end of your article.
Look for “MLA” or “Works Cited” or “How to Cite.”
Example Article

3. Example Article

4. Some articles will have MLA citation only, APA
citation only, or BOTH for you to look at as
you are adding your information to your
bibliography chart or NoodleTools. It can also
be helpful to look at the beginning of the
article for more details.

5. Once you have you have located your
citation information -
Can you find the date of
publication?

6. (If the year does not appear
in the citation itself, scroll to
the bottom of the page for
the date next to the ©.)
DATE OF
PUBLICATION
(hint – this is the FIRST
date you come across in
your citation – it is NOT the
day you went online)

7. Once you have the date of publication -
Do you see a city?

10. If YES, then you have a source that is also
available in print – such as a Reference
Source or Nonfiction Book.

11. NO city?

12. NO city?
NO city?

13. Look again at the date of publication. If you
have only the YEAR, it’s more than likely original
content. However, if you have a month or season
in the date, it’s a magazine (June 2011)
or journal (Summer 2011).

14. ORIGINAL
CONTENT
MAGAZINE

15. See the Library
for Help.
All Images Provided byBy S. Penttila,
The John Cooper School
MS Librarian