Database Articles: MLA Style (7th ed.)
Citation guidelines tend to change over time, especially those that concern the citing of electronic resources. Examples given in this guide are based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition, and other reliable sources. When in doubt, however, it is always a good idea to check with your instructor to see if he/she has a preference for the format you should follow when citing your specific research documents.
MLA style dictates double-spacing for everything in your paper, including the citations in your “Works Cited” list as shown in these examples.
These are the pieces of information you will generally need to cite an article from an online library database:
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Author’s whole name (if given)—this is the writer of the article, not the person the article is about
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Title of the article (if any)
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Title of the journal, magazine, or newspaper in which the article originally appeared (in italics, not underlined)
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Volume number, issue number, year of publication (for a journal) or date of publication (for a magazine or newspaper)
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Page number(s) on which the article originally appeared in the journal, magazine, or newspaper
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Name of the database (in italics, not underlined)
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Medium of publication (this will always be Web for any electronic article, regardless of whether you found it in a library database or by using an Internet search engine such as Google)
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Date on which you accessed the database to find the article
These items are arranged in the following manner:
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Nelson, Michael, and John Lyman Mason. “The Politics of Gambling in the South.” |
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Political Science Quarterly 118.4 (2003-04): 645-69. Academic Search Complete. |
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Web. 19 Dec. 2011. |
To use this guide, find the listing below for the database in which you found your article, and click on the database name to find an example of how to cite your article in MLA style. If you are not sure about which database you used, look at your article printout (if you have one) or look at the citation information that came up with your article when you found it on the computer. If you printed out your article in PDF (page image) format and all you have is that printout, you will likely have to find the article online again to get the relevant database information. (If you are unsure how to do this, ask a Reference Librarian for assistance.)
“Helpful Tips” appear throughout this guide; these apply to MLA citation style in general. “NOTES” also appear; these apply to specific features of particular databases or specific citation examples.
For databases or types of documents not listed in this guide, or if you have any other questions on MLA citation style, consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed., or ask a Reference Librarian.
Click on the database name below for relevant examples:
Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Health Source: Consumer Edition
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
Proquest Nursing and Allied Health Source
Go back to the Cite Your Sources (MLA) page.
