Research and Documentation in the Digital Age with 2016 MLA Update

Covering the essential information you need in college to successfully complete research assignments in more than 30 disciplines, Research and Documentation in the Digital Age with 2016 MLA Update provides advice on finding, evaluating, and documenting sources.

Diana Hacker personally class-tested her handbooks with nearly four thousand students over thirty-five years at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland, where she was a member of the English faculty. Hacker handbooks, built on innovation and on a keen understanding of the challenges facing student writers, are the most widely adopted in America. Hacker handbooks, all published by Bedford/St. Martin’s, include The Bedford Handbook, Ninth Edition (2014); A Writer’s Reference, Eighth Edition (2015); Rules for Writers, Eighth Edition (2016); and A Pocket Style Manual, Seventh Edition (2015). Barbara Fister is a professor and librarian at Gustavus Adolphus College, where she directs the library's instruction program, works with the John S. Kendall Center for Engaged Learning, and teaches several courses, including a first-term seminar. She has published widely on information literacy, the future of publishing, and popular reading practices; she also has published a book on third world women's literatures, three novels, and is a weekly columnist for Library Journal and Inside Higher Ed.

Part I. Getting started

Seeing the big picture

Developing a focused research question

Using references to get an overview

Developing effective search terms

Identifying and filling gaps

Accessing sources

Part II. Choosing sources

Finding sources

Evaluating sources

Knowing what sources to avoid

Tracing the influence of a source

Getting involved in scholarly conversations

Part III: Managing information

Staying organized anywhere

Using information from sources in your writing

Avoiding unintentional plagiarism

Using citation management tools

Part IV: Research and documentation in the humanities

Finding sources in the humanities

General resources

Art and architecture

Classics

Literature

Music

Philosophy

Religion

Theater, dance, and film

World languages and linguistics

Citing sources in the humanities: MLA style

MLA in-text citations

MLA list of works cited

MLA manuscript format

Sample MLA research paper

Part V: Research and documentation in history

Finding sources in history

General resources

World history

American history

Citing sources in history: Chicago style

Chicago documentation style

Chicago manuscript format

Sample pages from a Chicago research paper

Part VI: Research and documentation in the social sciences

Finding sources in the social sciences

General resources

Anthropology

Business and economics

Communication studies

Criminal justice

Education

Ethnic and area studies

Gender and women’s studies

Geography

Nursing and health sciences

Law

Political science

Psychology

Sociology

Citing sources in the social sciences: APA Style

APA in-text citations

APA list of references

APA manuscript format

Sample APA research paper

Part VII: Research and documentation in the sciences

Finding sources in the sciences

General resources

Biology

Chemistry

Computer science

Engineering

Environmental sciences

Geology

Mathematics

Physics and astronomy

Citing sources in the sciences: CSE Style

CSE documentation systems

CSE in-text citations

CSE references

CSE manuscript format

Sample pages from a CSE research paper

List of Style Manuals

Part VIII: Glossary of research terms