Documentation is an academic form of attribution (i.e., crediting) that identifies (cites) sources referred to as evidence in a document. Documentation styles are agreed upon by DISCOURSE COMMUNITIES and are connected to style guides that dictate not only how documentation is organized but also how the members of that community share ideas and attribute credit.
Some of the most popular style guides include:
APA: Documentation style of the American Psychological Association, which is widely used in the social sciences. Major sections of the APA documented essay include title page, abstract, main body, and references. While footnotes and endnotes are sometimes used, in-text citations (author, year) are the primary mode of documentation. (See APA FORMATTING AND DOCUMENTATION.)
MLA: Documentation style of the Modern Language Association, which is widely used in the liberal arts and the humanities. In-text citations (author and page number) are used along with limited footnotes and endnotes. A works cited page includes the list of references used for the essay. (See MLA FORMAT AND DOCUMENTATION.
Chicago Manual of Style: Documentation style from the University of Chicago Press, which is used both in the humanities and the social sciences, most often in history. A bit more complex than MLA or APA, the two modes of documentation include the in-text author/date system and the notes system along with footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography. (See the CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE/TURABIAN handout from the University Writing Center.)
Turabian: Documentation style which is much like the Chicago Manual of Style with slight modifications. There are two modes of documentation: notes/bibliography style and in-text citations/reference list style. The first is used in literature, history and the arts. The latter is used in physical, natural, and social sciences.
Some disciplines use the documentation style of the publications or associations in their field. Chemistry, for example, uses American Chemical Society (ACS), and Sociology uses American Sociological Association (ASA).
If you are ever uncertain about which documentation style to use for an assignment, you should ask your professor.