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Overview: Civil Engineering Citation Guide

Citing research in your writing not only supports your ideas, but it also shows that you have explored your topic. By using outside sources, you can either inform or persuade your readers.

Whenever you use another source, you should always credit the source by listing it in a reference list, as well as citing it within your text. The citation guidelines in this guide are from ASCE. Check with your instructor to see if you should use these guidelines. To learn more, choose any of the items below:

Citing Sources within Text

As you refer to other texts in the body of your paper or report, you'll need to inform your readers where you found the information. To do so, use the author-date citation method:

Civil engineers create technical documents to present specific information (Michaelson 1990).

As you refer to other texts in the body of your paper or report, you'll need to inform your readers where you found the information. To do so, use the author-date citation method:

Civil engineers create technical documents to present specific information (Michaelson 1990).

Within your text, give your readers the details from an outside source. They should not have to find and read the original source to understand its content. For example, if you are citing the results of an experiment, be sure to explain the results. This includes what is meant by specific terms used in the original. Remember, you've read the original source and are summarizing it for your readers. Readers gain knowledge from reading the information you present.

Summary

When you summarize, you are capturing the main idea(s) from the original source. A summary is shorter than the original but maintains the meaning of the original.

Listing References

References, according to ASCE, appear as an appendix to your document. This list should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author and double-spaced. Indent all lines following the first line of every entry:

Michaelson, Herbert B. (1990) How to write and 
     publish engineering papers and reports. Oryx 
     Press, Phoenix, AZ.

The following list depicts various reference types you may encounter. To view examples, choose any item below:

Anonymous Book

Moody's municipal & government manual. (1988). Moody's Investors Service, New

York, N.Y.

Paper in a Foreign Journal

Ireland, H.O. (1954). "Stability analysis of Congress Street open cut in Chicago."

Geotechnique, London, England, 4(4), 163-168.

Anonymous Report

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). (1991). "Evaluating scour at bridges." Rep.,

Hydr. Engrg. Circular No. 18: FHWA-IP-90-017, Washington, D.C.

Paper in a Proceedings

Eshenaur, S.R., Kulicki, J.M. and Mertz, D.R. (1991). "Retrofitting distortion-induced

fatigue cracking of non-composite steel girder-floorbeam-stringer bridges." Proc.,

8th Annual Int. Bridge Conf., Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania,

Pittsburgh, Pa., 380-388.

Anonymous Newspaper Story

"Educators, practitioners to provide focus for 1995 ASCE education conference." (1993).

ASCE News, 18(1), 1.

Standard

ASTM. (1991). "Standard practice for the use of the international system of units (SI)

(the modernized metric system)." E 380-91a, Philadelphia, Pa.

ASCE Journal Paper

Pennoni, C.R. (1992). "Visioning: the future of civil engineering." J. Profl. Issues in

Engrg. Education and Practice, ASCE 118(3), 221-233.

Translated Book

Melan, J. (1913). Theory of arches and suspension bridges, D.B. Steinman, translator,

Myron C. Clark, Chicago, Ill.

Book with Editors

Zadeh, L.A. (1981). "Possibility theory and soft data analysis." Mathematical frontiers of

the social and policy sciences, L. Cobb and R.M. Thrall, eds., Westview Press,

Inc., Boulder, Colo., 69-129.

Two-Part Paper

Frater, G.S., and Packer, J.A. (1992a). "Weldment design for RHS truss connections. I:

Applications." J. Struct. Engrg., ASCE, 118(10), 2784-2803.

Frater, G.S., and Packer, J.A. (1992b). "Weldment design for RHS truss connections. II:

Experimentation." J. Struct. Engrg., ASCE, 118(10), 2804-2820.

Building Code

International Conference of Building Officials. (1988). Uniform building code. Whittier,

Calif.

University Report

Duan, L., Loh, J.T., and Chen, W. F. (1990). "M-P-f-based analysis of dented tubular

members." Struct. Engrg. Rep. No. CE-STR-90-27, School of Civ. Engrg., Purdue

Univ., West Lafayette, Ind.

Discussion

Vesilind, P.A. (1992). "Discussion of 'Guidance for engineering-design-class lectures on

ethics,' by Richard H. McCuen." J. Profl. Issues in Engrg. Education and

Practice, ASCE 118(2), 214-215.

Untitled Item in the Federal Register

Federal Register. (1968). 33(No. 146; July 27), 10756.

Doctoral Thesis

Chang, T.C. (1987). "Network resource allocation using an expert system with fuzzy

logic reasoning," Ph.D. thesis, University of California at Berkeley, Calif.

Works in a Foreign Language

Duvant, G., and Lions, J.L. (1972). Les inequations en mechanique et en physique.

Dunod, Paris, France (in French).