Research Skills for Developing Writers: How to be a Citation Genius

Properly citing your sources is one of the most confusing research skills to acquire so a Citation Genius uses the right tools. Luckily for you, MLIB provides access to NoodleTools, a free, comprehensive service that will help you create proper citations for your research. NoodleTools will help you include the correct information and learn to format it correctly. NoodleTools is a tool, so it will not do all the work for you, but it will help you learn the tricks to proper in-text and reference citations. 

NoodleTools...

      ...is a learning tool.

• Guides learner through difficult decisions about the source material.
• Generates parenthetical reference for each citation.
• Checks for mistakes in punctuation, abbreviations, and more.

      ...promotes ethical research.

• Ease of use gives students confidence to cite.

      ...is convenient and up-to-date.

• Web-based, no software to install.
• Bibliographies can be copy/pasted directly to Word.
• Prompt software changes to conform to current MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian rules.

(Source: NoodleTools. (n.d.). Software tools: NoodleBib. Retrieved Febraury 15, 2013,
     from http://www.noodletools.com/tools/index.php)

This tutorial leads you through the process of creating your NoodleTools account. Important information to have ready:

1. Your UNID (u0123456)
2. a password (TIP: use the same one you use for CIS and Canvas--this way it will be easy to remember.)
3. Your preferred email address.
4. Your initials--this is the first letters of your given name and your family name (e.g. for John Smith, the initials are JS). 
5. The last 4 digits of your phone number (e.g. for 801-123-4567, the last 4 digits are 4567).

Once you have created your account, you can log in directly at  NoodleTools and you will not need to access the resource through the Marriott Library article databases page.

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