搏击俱乐部学术写作的第一条规则是引用你的来源。（老实说，我们希望它在其他类型的写作中也更常见。）(other kinds of writing)学术写作(academic writing)的两种常见风格是 MLA 和 APA。
两者都提供了有关如何清楚地记录和格式化对书籍、文章和网站等其他作品的引用的指导。此外，两者都明确定义了如何特别引用YouTube视频的规则。
MLA 手册(MLA Handbook)由美国现代语言协会(Modern Language Association of America)( MLA ) 出版，最常用于人文学科的学术写作。该手册的当前版本是 2016 年发布的第八版。不过，风格手册爱好者可以高兴，因为第九版将于2021 年 4 月(April 2021)出版！
社会和行为科学领域的学术作家不遵循MLA规则，而是更常使用(MLA)美国心理学会(American Psychological Association)( APA )的APA 风格。(APA style)
APA 当前的风格手册是美国心理学会出版手册，第七版(The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition)。就像(Just)MLA一样，APA也有关于如何在学术文章中引用YouTube视频的规则。(YouTube)我们将在下面介绍这两种样式。
如何在 MLA 中引用 YouTube 视频
MLA提供了引文中核心元素的模板。大多数来源都有共同的属性，如作者、标题和出版日期。核心元素的MLA 模板(MLA template of core elements)按特定顺序列出了这些元素，这就是您确定在引文中列出哪些元素以及按什么顺序列出的方式。
在MLA中引用(MLA)YouTube 视频(YouTube Video)的分步说明
YouTube视频的MLA引用将按此顺序包含以下信息：
- 格式为LastName、FirstName的视频创建者（如果与第 4 步中的上传者相同，则省略此项），后跟句点。
- “视频的标题。” （注意引号和句号。）
- 平台——在本例中为YouTube，（请务必使用斜体并在其后面加上逗号）。
- 上传视频的YouTube频道或用户，后跟逗号。
- 上传日期，格式为DD Mo. YYYY，后跟逗号。
- URL（不包括 http://），以句点结尾。
对于创作者上传的YouTube视频，引用可能如下所示：
“Garlic Noodles | Kenji’s Cooking Show.” YouTube, uploaded by J. Kenji López-Alt, 13 Sep 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK9OHVxB_Z8.
这是另一个例子：
“Mars rover begins search for alien life on Red Planet – BBC News.” YouTube, uploaded by BBC News, 18 Feb 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00731OeWCA.
如果视频是由不同于视频创建者的人上传的怎么办？这是上传者和创建者不相同的引用示例。
Kuwahata, Ru and Porter, Max. “Negative Space | Oscar Nominated Stop-Motion Animation | Short of the Week.” YouTube, uploaded by Short of the Week, 16 Jul 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI2lsdXJQ40.
方便的是，MLA 提供了一个交互式练习模板(interactive practice template)来帮助您正确引用。虽然他们说模板“不是引文生成器”，但它应该足以帮助您创建引文，然后您可以对照MLA 手册(MLA Handbook)进行仔细检查。
如何在 APA 中引用 YouTube 视频
APA引用(APA)YouTube视频的格式略有不同，根据您要引用的视频，您可能需要做一些额外的研究。
在APA中引用(APA)YouTube 视频(YouTube Video)的分步说明
YouTube视频的APA引用将按此顺序包含以下信息：
- 上传者/创建者的真实姓名，姓氏在前，后跟句号，例如“ López-Alt, Kenji。” 您可能必须访问创建者的个人资料页面才能确定他们的真实姓名。如果您找不到他们的真实姓名，请跳到第 2 步。
如果上传者不是创作者，请做一些研究并尝试在其他地方找到创作者上传的相同视频，例如在创作者的YouTube频道上，并引用该视频反而。
- 上传者的屏幕名称在括号中，后跟一个句点，例如“ [Kenji López-Alt]。”
- 括号中是视频的发布日期，后跟一个句点，例如“ （yyyy, Month dd）。”
- 斜体的视频标题。仅将第一个单词和任何专有名词大写，并且不要在(not)标题后加句号。
- 括号中的文件类型，后跟句点，例如“ [视频]。([Video].)”
- 网站名称，后跟句点，例如“YouTube”。
- URL，例如“ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK9OHVxB_Z8 ”
注意：(Note:) APA风格要求您在引用的第一行之后缩进所有行。
所以，下面是引用作者真实姓名和网名的APA风格的引用：(APA)
López-Alt, Kenji. [Kenji López-Alt.] 2020, September 13. Garlic noodles | Kenji’s Cooking Show [Video]. YouTube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK9OHVxB_Z8.
上传者/创作者是组织的YouTube引用可能如下所示：
BBC News. 2021, February 18. Mars rover begins search for alien life on Red Planet – BBC News [Video]. YouTube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00731OeWCA.
如果您想以APA风格引用整个 YouTube 频道，请遵循以下示例：
López-Alt, K. (n.d.). Home [YouTube channel]. YouTube. Retrieved February 20, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/user/kenjialt
López-Alt, K. (n.d.). Playlists [YouTube channel]. YouTube. Retrieved February 20, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/c/JKenjiLopezAlt/playlists
上面示例中的“nd”代表“无日期”，因为YouTube频道没有附加特定日期，并且频道的内容可能会随着时间的推移而改变。
啊，太混乱了！
正确记录和格式化引文可能是一项艰巨的工作，有时正确的格式对于您要引用的来源并不明显。
幸运的是，有参考管理工具(reference management tools)可以帮助您，并且几乎所有现代文字处理器都具有自动格式化书目的内置功能。一旦您获得了一些引用，您的信心就会增加，并且您会在睡梦中引用YouTube资源！(YouTube)
How to Cite a YouTube Video in MLA and APA
The first rule of fight club academic writing is to cite your sources. (Honestly, we wish it were more common in other kinds of writing, too.) Two common styles for academic writing are the MLA and APA.
Both offer guidance on how to clearly document and format references to other works like books, articles, and websites. Moreover, both have clearly defined rules for how to cite YouTube videos in particular.
The MLA Handbook is published by the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) and is most commonly used for academic writing in the humanities. The current version of the handbook is the eighth edition which was issued back in 2016. Style manual aficionados can rejoice, though, because the ninth edition is due out in April 2021!
Instead of following MLA rules, academic writers in the social and behavioral science fields more commonly use the APA style from the American Psychological Association (APA).
The APA’s current style manual is The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition. Just like the MLA, the APA has rules about how to cite YouTube videos in a scholarly article. We’ll cover both styles below.
How to Cite a YouTube Video in MLA
The MLA provides a template of the core elements found in citations. Most sources have common attributes, like an author, a title, and a date of publication. The MLA template of core elements lists those elements in a certain order, and that’s how you determine which elements to list in a citation and in what order.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Citing a YouTube Video in MLA
An MLA citation of a YouTube video will include the following information in this order:
- The video’s creator in the format LastName, FirstName (omit this if it’s the same as the uploader in step 4), followed by a period.
- “The title of the video.” (Note the quotes and period.)
- The platform—in this case, YouTube, (be sure to use italics and follow it with a comma).
- The YouTube channel or user who uploaded the video followed by a comma.
- The upload date in the format DD Mo. YYYY, followed by a comma.
- The URL (do not include the http://), ending with a period.
For YouTube videos that were uploaded by the creator, a citation could look like this:
“Garlic Noodles | Kenji’s Cooking Show.” YouTube, uploaded by J. Kenji López-Alt, 13 Sep 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK9OHVxB_Z8.
Here’s another example:
“Mars rover begins search for alien life on Red Planet – BBC News.” YouTube, uploaded by BBC News, 18 Feb 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00731OeWCA.
What if the video was uploaded by someone different than the video’s creator? Here’s an example of a citation where the uploader and creator are not the same.
Kuwahata, Ru and Porter, Max. “Negative Space | Oscar Nominated Stop-Motion Animation | Short of the Week.” YouTube, uploaded by Short of the Week, 16 Jul 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI2lsdXJQ40.
Conveniently, the MLA provides an interactive practice template to help you get your citations right. While they say the template “is not a citation generator,” it should be good enough to help you to create a citation which you can then double-check against the MLA Handbook.
How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA
The APA follows slightly different formatting for citing YouTube videos, and depending on the video you want to cite, you might have to do a little extra research.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Citing a YouTube Video in APA
An APA citation of a YouTube video will include the following information in this order:
- The uploader/creator’s real name, last name first, followed by a period, e.g., “López-Alt, Kenji.” You may have to visit the creator’s profile page to determine their real name. If you cannot find their real name, skip to step 2.
If the uploader is not the creator, then do some research and try to find the same video uploaded by the creator somewhere else, like on the creator’s YouTube channel, and cite that video instead.
- The uploader’s screen name in brackets, followed by a period, e.g., “[Kenji López-Alt].”
- The date the video was posted in parentheses, followed by a period, e.g., “(yyyy, Month dd).”
- The title of the video in italics. Only capitalize the first word and any proper nouns, and do not put a period after the title.
- The type of file in brackets, followed by a period, e.g., “[Video].”
- The website name, followed by a period, e.g., “YouTube.”
- The URL, e.g., “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK9OHVxB_Z8”
Note: APA style requires that you indent all lines after the first line in your citation.
So, here’s what the citation could look like in APA style with the author’s real name and screen name:
López-Alt, Kenji. [Kenji López-Alt.] 2020, September 13. Garlic noodles | Kenji’s Cooking Show [Video]. YouTube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK9OHVxB_Z8.
A YouTube citation where the uploader/creator is an organization might look like this:
BBC News. 2021, February 18. Mars rover begins search for alien life on Red Planet – BBC News [Video]. YouTube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00731OeWCA.
If you want to cite an entire YouTube channel in APA style, follow this example:
López-Alt, K. (n.d.). Home [YouTube channel]. YouTube. Retrieved February 20, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/user/kenjialt
López-Alt, K. (n.d.). Playlists [YouTube channel]. YouTube. Retrieved February 20, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/c/JKenjiLopezAlt/playlists
The “n.d.” in the examples above stands for “no date,“ since YouTube channels don’t have a specific date attached to them and the content of the channel will likely change as time goes by.
Argh, It’s Too Confusing!
Properly recording and formatting citations can be a beast of a job, and sometimes the proper format isn’t obvious for the source you want to cite.
Luckily, there are reference management tools to help you, and almost all modern word processors have built-in functionality to automatically format bibliographies. Once you get a few citations under your belt, your confidence will increase, and you’ll be citing YouTube sources in your sleep!
