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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MUS 533: Research in Music Education

Creating & Managing Your Citations

Whether you are using direct quotations or paraphrasing another author's thoughts, you will need to provide complete and accurate citations so that your readers can follow your trail and consult the sources you've referenced. This page collects resources to help you format and manage your citations in whatever style you choose to use.

Citation Managers

There are several citation managing software (both free and paid versions) that can help you keep track of your citations and format them appropriately. The Library has a variety of guides to these software to help you use them and choose between them.

Style and Formatting Guides for Citing Music

We are including several guides that focus specifically on citing music and other sources for music research. While the citation managing software linked above is a great tool for staying organized and keeping all your citations in one place, citing different printed and recorded music can be complex, and it's a good idea to consult guides that focus on music to ensure you are citing your sources accurately.

Style Guides

The style guides listed below correspond to the most common styles of citation in music and the performing arts: Chicago, Turabian, and MLA. These are a great reference to consult as you work on formatting and checking your citations and bibliographies.