{"id":322,"date":"2024-03-31T02:08:39","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T02:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/knowledge-bank\/?page_id=322"},"modified":"2024-04-12T15:12:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T15:12:43","slug":"should-i-use-a-citation-generator","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/knowledge-bank\/should-i-use-a-citation-generator\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I use a citation generator?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Kate Moss, Ph.D, <\/strong>Doctoral Lecturer and Full-time Faculty, General Education & BA in Liberal Studies \nWriting Fellows (WAC) and Tutoring Coordinator<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Putting references into APA 7 style (or another citation style) can be time consuming, and you may want to take advantage of citations generated automatically by the library databases or a citation generator on the Internet.  Using citation generators can make your job easier as long as you know how to use them correctly and do so with caution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citation generators \u2013 even the ones used by the Newman Library databases — often produce errors. It\u2019s your<\/em> job to double check the citation which is generated by looking at the source and to make any needed corrections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, here is an article from Pew Research: \u201cAmericans Who Mainly Get Their News on Social Media Are Less Engaged, Less Knowledgeable\u201d.<\/a> The four authors are listed above the article as: Amy Mitchell, Mark Jurkowitz, J. Baxter Oliphant and Elisa Shearer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
At the time of this writing (12\/2023), I put the URL of this article into Chegg\u2019s Citation Machine<\/a>, and it produced this citation in APA style:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mitchell, A. (2020, July 30). Americans who mainly get their news on social media are less engaged, less knowledgeable<\/em>. Pew Research Center\u2019s Journalism Project. https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/journalism\/2020\/07\/30\/americans-who-mainly-get-their-news-on-social-media-are-less-engaged-less-knowledgeable\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
This citation is almost<\/em> correct. However, it omits three<\/strong> of the listed authors. In APA 7 style References lists, you need to list all of the authors for a work, if there are fewer than twenty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the generated citation is wrong, you would need to correct it as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mitchell, A., Jurkowitz, M., Oliphant, J.B., & Shearer, E. (2020, July 30). Americans who mainly get their news on social media are less engaged, less knowledgeable<\/em>. Pew Research Center\u2019s Journalism Project. https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/journalism\/2020\/07\/30\/americans-who-mainly-get-their-news-on-social-media-are-less-engaged-less-knowledgeable\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you click the link to copy a citation for a resource you find in the Newman Library, you also need to check it for accuracy, since these automatically-generated citations can also contain errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n