Citations - Statewide: NoodleTools

NoodleTools will format the citations for your sources in MLA, APA, or Chicago style. It will even format your citations in Word for you, and save any citations you create in your own online account.

Why use NoodleTools?

There are lots of citation resources available, but for many of those, citation building is not their main focus. For example, Microsoft Word has a citation tool, but it isn't always correct because MS Word's job is to be a word processor, not a citation builder.

For NoodleTools, however, their ONLY job is to be a citation builder. This is their area of expertise and it's what they get paid to do. Since their job is to create your citations, you get more reliable citations in the end.

To use NoodleTools: 

This resource can be accessed through the links below or through the Library website by following these steps or by using the link below.

1. Sign in to MyIvy and choose the Library tab to access the Library website
2. Under the green Citing Sources button, click Noodletools

If you have already registered, enter your personal ID and password to continue.

If this is your first time using NoodleTools, you will need to create a personal ID so that Noodletools can identify and store your work.

1. Click the blue "Don't have an account? Register" button underneath the Sign In form.
2. Select "An account linked to a school/library subscription or trial"
3. Answer the About You questions.
4. Create a personal ID and password.
5. Answer the Easy Login Retrieval questions (so you can get your password back if you forget it).
6. Click the REGISTER button to be automatically logged in.

Once you're logged in, you'll see your list of projects.

If you're new to NoodleTools, this list will be empty for now, but if you've used it before, you'll see all of your old projects listed here until you choose to delete them. Older projects are archived underneath the date drop-down menu in the top-right corner.

A tour of your projects list

1. Top Menu Bar
   • Use the search to find a specific project if you have a long list.
   • Use the date drop-down to look at projects from different years.
   • Click the green +New Project button to start a new list of citations.
2. Project
   • Click on the project title to open the citations for that project.
   • Click on the citation style to make changes to the style or level of your citations.
3. To-Do List
   • Click on the check mark to view or edit your to-do list for this project. (Only shows up when you hover over the project.)
4. Contents
   • Shows you how many citations, notecards, and attachments are included in this project. Click to go straight to that part of your project.
5. Sharing & Options
   • Click on the plus sign to share your project with others. (Only shows up when you hover over the project.)
   • Click on the three dots to open a menu with options for your project.
6. My Profile
   • Update your personal information, connect your Google Account, or choose what help settings show up when working in NoodleTools.

Starting a New Project

Click on the green +New Project button in the top right corner of your projects list to start a new project. Fill out the information to create your project.

1. Enter your project title. Unless you share your project, this will only be visible by you and can help identify different assignments in your project list.
2. Choose the citation style for your project. You can change this later, but if you do, you should check each of your citations for errors before turning in your assignment.
3. Choose your citation level. For college assignments, we recommend using the advanced citation level. The other levels have simplified citations that do not always meet the requirements.

Once you choose your settings, click the blue Submit button to create your project. Then you can click on the project title in your project list to open the project.

Sharing Your Project

You can share your project with your instructor, your classmates, or the world! Click on the plus sign that appears when you hover over a project to open the sharing settings.

1. Share with an Inbox
   • This option shares your project with an inbox your instructor sets up ahead of time.
   • For Faculty: NoodleTools has a Knowledgebase entry for How to create an assignment inbox to help you set this up.
2. Student Collaboration
   • Click on +Add student and enter their NoodleTools usernames to share your project with classmates.
   • Full collaborator will let classmates add their own citations to your project.
   • Peer-reviewer will make it so your classmates can see your project but not add to it on their own.
3. Public View
   • This will give you a link to share with anyone you choose so that they can see your citation list.
   • The options let you decide how your project is shared. You can choose between no access, view-only access, copying only individual citations, or copying the entire project.

When you click on the name of one of your projects, you will be taken to the dashboard for that project. Here, you can add/edit citations, create notecards, organize your assignment, and more.

1. Project Menu
   • Click on Research question / thesis statement to add this information to your project.
   • Click on the printer icon to export your citations to the format of your choice.
   • Use the Search box to search for a specific citation in your list.
   • Click +New Source to add a new citation to your project.
2. Media Type
   • Shows you what types of resources you already have in your project.
   • If a source is electronically accessible, there will be a link to the source.
3. Citation
   • Shows the formatted version of your citation and annotation.
   • Click to make changes to your citation and/or annotation.
4. Notecards
   • Shows you how many notecards you have attached to this source.
   • Click New to add a new notecard for this source. More information on using Notecards is available below.
5. Options
   • Click on the three dots to open a menu for this source.
   • You can edit/copy/delete the source from here.
   • Choose In-text citation to see how to cite this source in your paper.

Creating a New Source

When you click the +New Source button, you will see a window asking you to choose Where you found the source and What type of source it is. Choose the options that best describe the source you are trying to cite.

1. Where is it?
   • Choose the option that best describes where you found your source. Did you use a database? Did you find a book on the shelf? Did you go to a lecture?
2. What is it?
   • This won't show up until after you choose where you found your source.
   • Choose the option that describes your source. If you're not sure, go back to where you found the source to see if it tells you any more information.
3. Color Key
   • The source options are color coded by the type of source they are, this key can help you figure out which option best meets your needs.

NoodleTools is great for formating citations, but it relies on you to input the correct information. Capitilization, spelling, and some punctuation are up to you, but NoodleTools does offer tips to help you fill in the boxes correctly. Watch for popup boxes, alerts, and red lines which may indicate an error in your entries.

If you have NoodleTools open while you are searching for sources, you can even copy and paste some of the information from the database or catalog you're using - just make sure you check for errors.

At the top of every source you work on, you'll see the menu bar below.

This menu allows you to change the type of citation you're creating, edit the citation directly, and Save or Cancel your changes. It will also have a link to a guide for the citation style you are using.

Once you get into the source itself, you'll have a form to fill out. Enter the information as accurately as you can, and keep in mind that your specific source may not have all of the information requested. Here's how to fill out some of the most common sections of a citation.

Contributors

The Contributors are the people who created or added to the source you are using.

1. Type of contributor
   • For articles, this menu will only have author as an option, but when you're citing a book or website, you can use this drop-down menu to choose between author, illustrator, editor, and more.
2. Name
   • You are given three fields for the name of the contributor. Make sure you put the first and last name into the correct boxes, and take out any extra commas or spaces.
   • The Suffix box is for name suffixes such as Jr. or Sr. Do not include degrees or positions.
   • If your source was produced by a company or group, the company's name can go in the Last name or group section.
3. +Add Contributor
   • If your source has more than one author or contributor, click the blue +Add Contributor button as many times as you need to add all of the authors. You'll get a new line of blanks to fill in for each author.

Book Information

When you cite a book, you will have the option to cite a specific chapter from the book. You can expand this section if you need to use it. Otherwise, fill out the contributors (described above) and then fill out the title and publication information.

1. Title Information
   • Enter the title of the book.
   • Pay attention to any yellow flags that pop up - it means that NoodleTools has noticed a potential formatting error in your text and you'll need to correct it for your final citation to be right.
2. Publisher and Edition Information
   • This information may vary based on the citation style you chose and can include the Publisher, Publication Year, Publication City, and Edition. Your book might not have an edition.

Article Information

When you cite an article, you'll need to include information about the database (if you used one), the article, and the journal the article was published in. All of the information you need can be found on the Detailed Record of the article.

Database

1. DOI
   • The DOI is an identifying number for the article, it works like the ISBN on the back of a book.
   • Not all articles will have a DOI.
   • Pay attention to flags for the DOI - NoodleTools will tell you how to format this correctly.
2. URL
   • This URL is the Permalink or Constant link for the article's record.
   • Don't use the link in the address bar, it doesn't always take you back to the article correctly.
3. Name of the database
   • This is the database you used to find the article.
   • As you type in the name, the list below it will filter to show different databases. Click on the right one to finish this field.

Article

1. Article Title
   • Enter the title of the article.
   • Watch for yellow flags - NoodleTools will try to help you with capitalization and punctuation.
   • If you read the article in a language other than English, put the non-English title in the first box and an English translation in the second.
2. Page Numbers
   • Enter the starting and ending page number.
   • You can usually find this in the Source line of the detailed record.

Journal

1. Name of Journal
   • This is just the title of the journal the article was printed in and can usually be found in the source line of the detailed record.
2. Volume, Issue, and Publication Date
   • The volume and issue might be written out as Vol. 26, Iss. 21 or abbreviated as 26(21).
   • The date information needed varies based on your citation style. Fill in as much information as you have from your detailed record or printed journal.

Annotation

If you're working on an annotated bibliography, you can add your annotations to the bottom of your citation form.

You can do paragraphs, and use Bold, Italic, and Underline to format your annotation.

NoodleTools is great for formatting citations, but it relies on you to input the correct information. Capitalization, spelling, and some punctuation are up to you, but NoodleTools does offer tips to help you fill in the boxes correctly. Watch for popup boxes, alerts, and red lines which may indicate an error in your entries.

Sometimes you don't have all of the information NoodleTools is asking for - which is fine because you can leave lines blank. However, items with red asterisks (*) are required.

NoodleTools can help correct small errors like punctuation, but it cannot give you a correct citation if you put in the wrong information. For example, if you don't use the correct name for the database, or you mix up the journal title and article title, NoodleTools isn't going to know. Here are some of the key things you might need to find.

Every source is different, but once you know what to look for, it becomes easier to find the information you need.

Books

If you have the book in your hands:

If you don't have the book with you, search for the title in IvyCat. All of the above information is available in the record.

Database Articles

Most, if not all, information needed for a citation can be found in the Detailed Record.
This is the page shown after you select an article in a search, as seen below:

Notice the DOI, Accession Number, and Database information are all available towards the bottom of the Detailed Record - just in case you need this information for your citation. You might need to scroll down to see it.

IMPORTANT! Pay attention to the Database name! Many of our resources search several different databases. For example, the above article was found using EBSCOhost, but the name of the database is Academic Search Premier.

Websites

• Author
  • You are looking for whomever has written the page you are citing. You can find it usually at the top/bottom of the article or page. If you do not find it there, look in the “contact us” or “about us” page of the website.
  • You may not find an individual author.  If you feel that the website is reputable, this is okay.  In most citation styles, you would just skip this information.
  • There will also be times that you cannot find the author because there isn’t an individual author. In these cases, the organization responsible for providing the website is often the author. This is especially the case with government sites or major organizations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation or American Psychological Association.
• Title/Name of Website/Webpage
  • There are two titles you will need to find: the name of the specific webpage you are citing and the name of the overall website that the webpage falls under.
• Publisher
  • You are looking for whomever produces or sponsors the website - many times this is just the name of the website.
  • In a big organization, like the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the publisher is the Heart and Stroke Foundation. However, other  organizations might have a sponsor who pays for their website.
  • By the way - if you can’t find a publisher or sponsor (i.e. if it’s an average person’s website rather than an organization’s) make sure to include “n.p.” (as in “no publisher”) in your citation where the publishing information should go. When using NoodleTools, just keep the publisher space blank and it will add the “n.p.” for you.

Your list of sources has now been formatted and alphabetized, but it still needs to be converted into a word processing document.

1. Click Printer Icon at the top of the page to open your list with Word, Works, WordPerfect, or any other word processing software you use. You can then copy and paste the citations into your paper, or save or print the document separately.
2. Now that the citations are completed, you can enter in-text citations.  Suggestions for what to include in an in-text citation are provided next to each citation (In-text reference).