Business Information Guide

Currency

• What is the publication/creation date?
• Does this time period meet your information need?
• When was the last update?
• Are all the links up-to-date (for web resources)?

Authority

• Who is the author? What are the author's credentials?
• Has the author been cited in other sources?
• Who is publishing this information (individual, non-profit organization, commercial entity)?

Validity/Accuracy

• Do other sources contain the same information?
• Is evidence given to support the information?
• Are other sources cited?
• Is the site edited, or does it contain typographical errors (for web resources)?

Audience

• Who is the intended audience (students, researchers, trades people, children, adults)?
• Is this source appropriate for your needs and understanding of the topic?

Point of View (Bias)

• Does the source present the information from a particular bias or single viewpoint?
• Does the source contain assumptions not backed by research?
• Does the sponsoring organization or site have a stake in how information is presented?
• Does the information contain advertising?

Have questions about what plagiarism is or about how to avoid it?     

Browse the following for help:

• Plagiarism: Overview
• Is It Plagiarism Yet?
• Paraphrasing and Summary

The above links are made available through The OWL at Purdue, an Online Writing Lab created and maintained by the English department at Purdue University

 General APA Format

• In-Text Citations: The Basics
• In-Text Citations: Author/Authors
• Footnotes and Endnotes

Reference List: Basic Rules

• Reference List: Author/Authors
• Reference List: Articles in Periodicals
• Reference List: Books
• Reference List: Other Print Sources
• Reference List: Electronic Sources
• Reference List: Other Non-Print Sources

Additional resources for using APA Style Citations

The above links are made available through The OWL at Purdue, an Online Writing Lab created and maintained by the English department at Purdue University

Harvard Business School publishes a very useful citation guide for citing business resources in HBS citation style:

General MLA Format

• In-Text Citations: the Basics
• Formatting Quotations
• Footnotes and Endnotes

Works Cited Page: Basic Format

• Works Cited: Books
• Works Cited: Periodicals
• Works Cited: Electronic Sources
• Works Cited: Other Common Sources

Additional Resources for using MLA Style Citations

Abbreviations used in MLA Style Format

Sample MLA Style Works Cited Page

The above links are made available through The OWL at Purdue, an Online Writing Lab created and maintained by the English department at Purdue University