Child Study & Human Development (General)

Citation is how the scholarly conversation continues to grow and is an essential element of your work as Child Study and Human Development students and scholars. Below are resources on some of the more commonly used citation styles in Child Study and Human Development. However, it is always best to ask your professor about which citation style they would prefer for you to use for any given class. If you need help with citation styles, please visit the general citation guide using the link below.

APA Citation Style is frequently used in the social sciences and natural/physical sciences. The first style rules were published in 1929 and the American Psychological Association has produced six editions of the Publication Manual since then.

APA style uses Parenthetical In-Text Citations within the main text of your paper. The sources that you refer to are then compiled into a References List at the end of the paper.

One key feature of APA style is that it now includes DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers), unique codes that are increasingly assigned to published articles.

While staying organized is a key element of any successful research project, sometimes using a tool like citation management software can help, especially for large projects. Citation management software helps you store, organize, and generate your citations in your required citation style. It can be an amazing time-saving and organizational tool, but just like web-based citation generators (such as Citation Machine or the cite button in a library database), make sure to double check your citations and the information being input into the generator to make sure that your citations are accurate.

If you are interested in citation management software and want help setting it up, please feel free to ask a librarian for help.

Zotero is a very popular citation management software and accommodates a wide variety of disciplines and citation styles. Below is a link to a research guide explaining how to get started with Zotero from the Hirsch Health Sciences Library at the Boston Health Sciences Campus.