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Build a Citation: Articles from Databases

Use the format templates below to build a correct citation.

Intro

The editors at MLA consider an article taken from ProQuest--as well as other article databases we provide--as a "work from a subscription service." A subscription service is a company that provides information to its subscribers, or customers. Article databases are produced and operated by companies who usually provide access only to their subscribers. Marquette is an official subscriber to ProQuest and other article databases, so you will need to refer to the Marquette Libraries in your works cited page when including items from these databases.

MLA Works Cited Format

(See additional examples at the MLA site under Frequently Asked Questions.)

Formula:

1. author's name
2. article title
3. title of journal or magazine
4. volume number (for a scholarly journal)
5. issue number (if needed)
6. date of publication
7. page number(s)
8. name of database
9. name of company (when not redundant to name of database)
10. name of subscribing library
11. university where library is located
12. date when you accessed the information
13. URL, or web address, for the database company's main page

It would look like this:

    Lastname, Firstname. "Article Title." Title of Journal or Magazine 
          Volume.issue Date of publication: page number(s).  Name of 
          Database.  Name of Database Company.*  Library, University.
          Date accessed <http://address/main.page.of.database.service>.

* It is not necessary to include the name of the company if it duplicates the name of the database. *

In the examples that follow, notice that when a web address (URL) does not fit on a line, the appropriate place to break the address is at a slash mark (/).

Examples from the company ProQuest:

    Basinger, Julianne. "Boston U. Sues Companies for Selling Term Papers  
            Over the Internet."  Chronicle of Higher Education  31 Oct. 1997:   
            A34-35.  ProQuest Research Library.  Raynor Memorial Lib.,  
            Marquette Univ.  10 Apr. 2001  <http://www.proquest.com>.

    Adams, Melinda. "Liberia's Election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Women's
            Executive Leadership in Africa." Politics & Gender 4.3 Sept. 2008:
            475. GenderWatch. ProQuest. Raynor Memorial Lib., Marquette Univ.
            12 Sept. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com>.


    Rivera, Miquela. "A Different Slant on Literacy." The Hispanic Outlook in 
            Higher Education 18:23 25 Aug. 2008: 19. Ethnic NewsWatch.
            ProQuest. Raynor Memorial Lib.,Marquette Univ. 10 Sept. 2008
            <http://www.proquest.com>.

Examples from other companies:

    Caruso, Doug. "Term-Paper Cheats Score on Web, But Some Professors 
            Aren't Worried."  Columbus Dispatch 11 Nov. 1996: 5C. 
            Academic Search Elite. EBSCO Publishing. Raynor Memorial Lib., 
            Marquette Univ. 10 Apr. 2001 <http://www.epnet.com>.

    Koretz, Gene. "Economic Trends: Warm Water." Business Week 
            21 July 1997: 22.  Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. Reed Elsevier. 
            Raynor Memorial Lib., Marquette Univ.  20 Apr. 2001 
            <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>.

APA References Format

APA Style Guide to Electronic References

Formula:

1. author's name
2. year of publication (or year and date, as appropriate)
3. title of article
4. title of magazine, journal, or newspaper
5. volume number (for a scholarly journal)
6. page number(s)
7. name of aggregated database

It would look like this:

    Lastname, Firstinitial. (year, month date).  Article title. Title of Journal or
          Magazine, Volume, Page Number(s). Retrieved from the 
          DatabaseName database.

Examples:

In the examples that follow, notice that when a web address (URL) does not fit on a line, the appropriate place to break the address is at a slash mark (/).

    Basinger, J. (1997, October 31). Boston U. sues companies for selling
            term papers over the Internet. The Chronicle of Higher Education,
            A34-35. Retrieved from the ProQuest Research Library
     
    Caruso, D. (1996, November 11). Term-paper cheats score on Web, but 
            some professors aren't worried. Columbus Dispatch, 5C. Retrieved
            from the Academic Search Elite database.

    Koretz, G. (1997, July 21). Economic trends: warm water. Business Week, 
            22. Retrieved from the Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe database.

    Lawson, C. (1998). Work, friendship, and media use for information exchange 
            in a networked organization. Journal of the American Society for 
            Information Science 49, 1101-14.  Retrieved from the ProQuest
            Research Library database.

    Scholastic, NBC to cover 2000 Olympics for kids. (2000, January 24). 
            Publishers Weekly, 178. Retrieved from the ProQuest Research
            Library database.

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