How to interpret an article citation

All indexes will include information on where (and in what periodical) an article was published. This is sometimes called the article citation, or article reference. It will help you locate the article, and this information is usually required in the bibliography of your paper. While each index may do it differently, the indexes will generally include the basics:

• the AUTHOR of the article (usually last name first)
• the TITLE of the article
• the TITLE of the journal where the article was published. This is what you look up first when trying to locate the article in the library
• the VOLUME NUMBER, ISSUE NUMBER, PAGE NUMBER, and DATE of the article

Many indexes and databases will include an ABSTRACT or summary of the article, to help you decide if the article is relevant to your topic. You can also look at the SUBJECT HEADINGS or DESCRIPTORS assigned to that article to find more articles on the same topic. Here is an example of an article citation with an abstract and descriptors:

Walsh, Doris. "Safe Sex in Advertising." American Demographics 16(4):24, April 1994.
In this exclusive poll, almost half of middle-aged women say they are frequently offended by sexually charged advertising. What's more, one-third of all Americans connect sexy ads with sexual harassment.
1. Sex. 2. Advertising 3. Sexual harassment

To find this article, you would look for the April 1994 issue of American Demographics and turn to page 24.

See also Citing Sources.