Professor Matthew Burbank

Department of Political Science, University of Utah

Citation Guidelines for Research Papers

The proper presentation of reference material is essential for any research paper. For papers submitted in my courses, I strongly encourage you to use in-text citations and to follow carefully one of the three systems of citation described below. The three in-text citation systems most widely used in political science are the Chicago style, the system used by the American Political Science Review, and the American Psychological Association (APA) style. For a detailed discussion and examples of these styles see:

Turabian, Kate L. 1996. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

American Political Science Association. 2001. The Style Manual for Political Science. Washington, DC: APSA. [Or, a recent issue of the APSR.]

American Psychological Association. 2001. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, DC: APA.

The Chicago style, presented by Turabian, is based on the University of Chicago's manual of style. It actually consists of two different approaches: Chicago A, which uses footnotes for references, and Chicago B, which uses in-text citations. The APSR and APA styles use in-text citations exclusively for references (although footnotes or endnotes can be used to communicate substantive content). For your paper, choose a style that you can use consistently and correctly.

Each system consists of two parts. The first part is the citation that is used in the text. With all of these in-text citation system, references are located in the body of the text by means of parenthetical citations. The second part is the full bibliographic information that is provided for each citation used in the text. Complete bibliographic information is reported in a list of references at the end of the paper. A few examples for comparison:

1. Presentation of Citations in the Text

Chicago B and APSR styles:

•  If the United States were to adopt a system of automatic voter registration, voter turnout in the U.S. would increase by 14% (Powell 1986, 35).
•  The importance of partisan identification is well established (Campbell et al. 1960; Miller and Shanks 1996).
•  Popkin's (1994) argument about how citizens attend to political information is similar to hypotheses developed earlier (Converse 1962).
•  As summarized by Kiewiet and Rivers (1985, 208): "economic conditions exert a strong influence upon the choice voters make in national elections."
•  Theories of political participation often overlook the fact that "welfare recipients have an unusually visible material stake in government policies" (Soss 1999, 363).

• If the United States were to adopt a system of automatic voter registration, voter turnout in the U.S. would increase by 14% (Powell, 1986, p. 35).
• The importance of partisan identification is well established (Campbell, Converse, Miller, & Stokes, 1960; Miller & Shanks, 1996).
• Popkin's (1994) argument about how citizens attend to political information is similar to hypotheses developed earlier (Converse, 1962).
• As summarized by Kiewiet and Rivers (1985, p. 208): "economic conditions exert a strong influence upon the choice voters make in national elections."
• Theories of political participation often overlook the fact that "welfare recipients have an unusually visible material stake in government policies" (Soss, 1999, p. 363).

2. Presentation of the List of References

Chicago B reference list

            Campbell, Angus, Philip Converse, Warren E. Miller, and Donald Stokes. 1960. The American voter. New York: John Wiley.

            Converse, Philip. 1962. Information flow and the stability of partisan attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly 26 (4): 578-599.

            Kiewiet, D. Roderick, and Douglas Rivers. 1985. A retrospective on retrospective voting. In Economic conditions and electoral outcomes: The United States and Western Europe, ed. Heinz Eulau and Michael Lewis-Beck, 207-231. New York: Agathon.

            Miller, Warren E., and J. Merrill Shanks. 1996. The new American voter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

            Popkin, Samuel L. 1994. The reasoning voter: Communication and persuasion in presidential campaigns. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

            Powell, G. Bingham. 1986. American voter turnout in comparative perspective. American Political Science Review 80 (1): 17-43.

            Soss, Joe. 1999. Lessons of welfare: Policy design, political learning, and political action. American Political Science Review 93 (2): 363-380.

APSR reference list

            Campbell, Angus, Philip Converse, Warren E. Miller, and Donald Stokes. 1960. The American Voter. New York: John Wiley.

            Converse, Philip. 1962. "Information Flow and the Stability of Partisan Attitudes." Public Opinion Quarterly 26 (4): 578-599.

            Kiewiet, D. Roderick, and Douglas Rivers. 1985. "A Retrospective on Retrospective Voting." In Economic Conditions and Electoral Outcomes: The United States and Western Europe, ed. Heinz Eulau and Michael Lewis-Beck. New York: Agathon, 207-231.

            Miller, Warren E., and J. Merrill Shanks. 1996. The New American Voter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

            Popkin, Samuel L. 1994. The Reasoning Voter: Communication and Persuasion in Presidential Campaigns. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

            Powell, G. Bingham. 1986. "American Voter Turnout in Comparative Perspective." American Political Science Review 80 (1): 17-43.

            Soss, Joe. 1999. "Lessons of Welfare: Policy Design, Political Learning, and Political Action." American Political Science Review 93 (2): 363-380.

APA reference list

            Campbell, A., Converse, P., Miller, W. E., & Stokes, D. (1960). The American voter. New York: John Wiley.

            Converse, P. (1962). Information flow and the stability of partisan attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly, 26, 578-599.

            Kiewiet, D. R., & Rivers, D. (1985). A retrospective on retrospective voting. In H. Eulau & M. Lewis-Beck (Eds.), Economic conditions and electoral outcomes: The United States and Western Europe (pp. 207-231). New York: Agathon.

            Miller, W. E., & Shanks, J. M. (1996). The new American voter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

            Popkin, S. L. (1994). The reasoning voter: Communication and persuasion in presidential campaigns (2nd ed). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

            Powell, G. B. (1986). American voter turnout in comparative perspective. American Political Science Review, 80, 17-43.

            Soss, J. (1999). Lessons of welfare: Policy design, political learning, and political action. American Political Science Review, 93, 363-380.

A Quick Check List for Proper Citation Format

As you put your research paper into final form, ask yourself the following four questions to avoid making common mistakes with your citations:

(1) Am I presenting my in-text citations consistently and in conformity with a recognized style? (NB: Check that my use of commas conforms to the style I am using; check that periods are placed after the in-text citation; check that the use of author and date information is complete for all citations and not just the first.)

(2) Am I using the style in my list of references that corresponds to the in-text citation style I have used? (NB: Check the use of capitalization of book and journal titles; check the for the use of first names or initials according to the style selected; check for the presentation of dates in my references; check for inclusion of issue numbers depending on style used.*)

(3) Have I included page numbers in my in-text citations for all cases that I need to (for example, for all direct quotes and all specific references)?

(4) Do all the citations I use in the text have a matching source in the list of references and are all the sources listed in the references cited in the text?

* Academic journals publish a yearly volume as well as an issue number (often quarterly, but not always). For example, in the year 2005 the American Political Science Review volume was number 99 and there were four issues numbered respectively: 1 (March), 2 (May), 3 (June), and 4 (December). Because the APSR, like most academic journals, is paginated consecutively across these issues (e.g., in 2005 the first issue includes pages 1 to 152 and the second issue begins on page 153 rather than starting over on page 1), the volume number and page number are sufficient to locate an article.  For such references in consecutively paginated journals, the APA style omits the issue number and only requires the volume number and page numbers. Please note that none of citation style shown here use "vol." or "volume" or "no." or "number" in the reference list. Even though electronic databases may include these terms, they are not used in any of these citation styles and should not be included when you are listing references. If you are using the Chicago B or APSR style and are thus indicating the issue for a source in an academic journal, it is preferable to use the issue number (as the obvious and sensible choice) though you can use the month of the issue if you prefer.