How to Cite a Lab Report in a Lab
- 1). Write or type the author's last name to begin the sentence. Include a set of parentheses immediately after the space between the last name and the first parenthesis, and include the date of publication for the published work. Shape the author's theory or thought after the informal, in-text citation. The author's last name may be included in the middle of the sentence but the set of parentheses with the date of publication must follow his name.
Example: Smith (2011) states that the recessive, blue-eyed trait is apparent in the genetic make-up of the parents. - 2). Include two authors, in-text by separating the authors' last names with the word "and" and follow with the date in parentheses. This method is used when including the author information in the sentence structure.
Example: Smith and Williams (2011) state that the recessive, blue-eyed trait is apparent in the genetic make-up of the parents. - 3). Crediting three or more authors allows the student to use the primary author's last name followed by "et al." and then the set of parentheses encasing the publication date.
Example: Smith et al. (2011) state that the recessive, blue-eyed trait is apparent in the genetic make-up of the parents. - 4). In lieu of including author's last name and year in the sentence, it may be included in its own set of parentheses at the end of the sentence, before the punctuation mark. Separate the name and year with a comma and a space, and use the ampersand in lieu of the word "and" when citing two authors.
Example:
The recessive, blue-eyed trait is apparent in the genetic make-up of the parents (Smith 2011).
The recessive, blue-eyed trait is apparent in the genetic make-up of the parents (Smith & Williams 2011).
The recessive, blue-eyed trait is apparent in the genetic make-up of the parents (Smith et al 2011). - 5). Use a shortened version of the publication title when a listed author is unavailable.
Example: The recessive, blue-eyed trait is apparent in the genetic make-up of the parents (Recessive Genes, 2011). - 1). Type the author's last name, a comma, his first name's initial and a period, flushed to the left-side margin of the report. Include a period, a space and the date of publication in a set of parentheses. End this section with a period.
Example: Smith, J. (2011). - 2). Type the title of the author's work after a space, which is typed between the parentheses period and the first letter of the title. End the title with a period.
Example: Smith, J. (2011). Recessive Genes in the Parents of Blue-Eyed Offspring. - 3). Include a space followed by the publication journal from which the work was taken. Format the journal title in italics and end this section with a period.
Example: Smith, J. (2011). Recessive Genes in the Parents of Blue-Eyed Offspring. Journal of Hereditary Traits. - 4). Leave a space and type the abbreviation "vol." for the volume of the publication, a space, and the abbreviation "no." for number of the publication; Follow this citation section with a period for punctuation. Include a colon, the abbreviation "pgs" and type the page range where the information was taken within the journal publication. End the entire citation with a period.
Example: Smith, J. (2011). Recessive Genes in the Parents of Blue-Eyed Offspring. Journal of Hereditary Traits: vol. 8 no. 2: pgs 89-91.