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Citation Style: ERIC Documents | Citation Style: Unpublished Sources | |
First, many students have no idea how to cite electronic texts. Only the most current style manuals give any hint as to how to write a reference entry for, say, a Web page; even then, the citation formats are sometimes confusing and outdated. Interestingly enough, it is Web sites like this one that can help solve this problem.
Second, compared to print-based resources, e-texts are relatively unstable. While a book consists of information encoded in ink on a printed page, an e-text exists as magnetic pulses over a telephone line. Discounting mishaps such as fire, flood, and theft, books are fairly permanent. As anyone who uses computers can tell you, though, servers go down and phone connections get cut. Electronic documents can literally be here today and gone tomorrow. As we've mentioned before, the whole purpose of a reference is to allow readers to find a source themselves. If the source itself no longer exists, this causes problems for validity and verification.
One possible solution to this problem is to keep careful records. Saving e-texts (either as screenshots or text files) will allow you to produce the source for a reader, even if the document has disappeared from the server on which you found it. In addition, it's also wise to use many different types of documents-books and journals, as well as e-texts-rather than relying heavily on one kind of source.
NECESSARY INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT:
Author(s) of document if an author is given it is usually at the very beginning or very end of a particular document; when in doubt, look for an email address-this will often lead you to the name of the person who authored the document Date of publication if given, the document's date will be included somewhere in its text. There is a special way to note if the document has no specific date. date of publication on the web (or the date of most recently updated version) Title of document the placement of documents' titles varies. Generally, web authors place a title at the top of the actual web page. If no title is there, use the title of the window as it opens in your web browser Type of document varies according to the source of the document. See below for details on this citation element Volume and issue number (on-line journals) if a volume and issue number is given, it will probably be in the header for the document, close to the title Location of document also varies according to the source of your document. See below for details on this citation element
CITATION ELEMENTS
AUTHOR(S) OF DOCUMENT
One author Buchholz, T. Two authors James, M. & Henrichsen, L. Three authors Gregg, E., Chapman, S., & Gass, L. W. Institutional author Online Pig Latin Institute.
DATE OF PUBLICATION
TITLE OF DOCUMENT
TYPE OF DOCUMENT
[WWW page] [Discussion] [News Bulletin] [Text file]
For web pages which give the date on which they were electronically published, include the year of publication online, in parenthesis, then end with a period. If no date is given in the e-text, put "n.d." in the parenthesis.
Standard form (1995). No date given (n.d.).
For web pages, give the full title of the page, including the subtitle if one is given. Capitalize only the first word of the title, and the first word of any subtitle; also capitalize any proper names in the title. Separate title and subtitle with a colon (:). Don't put a period after a web page title--the period for this element will go after the brackets which follow the document type (see the next section). Don't underline titles of web pages.
To cite articles in on-line journals (generally accessible through email), you will need to follow the format germane to standard journals: put the article title, without any specific formatting, followed by a period, then the on-line journal title, underlined, followed by the document type in brackets.
Web page Investigations into Pig Latin usage in chat room communication [document type]. Web page with subtitle Pig latin and email: Who would've unk-thay? [document type]. On-line journal A discussion on international topics in Pig Latin studies. Internet Pork [On-line serial],
Knowing what type your document is requires some knowledge about how the Internet works. The most common use of the internet is still electronic mail. Email makes use of the network of computers that actually comprises the internet, but emailed documents are not usually accessible to the public. On-line journals, however, often make use of email as a method of distribution-a person sends a message with a certain "request code" in the text, and receives an "issue" of the journal by return email.
The second most popular use of the Internet is the World Wide Web. Web pages are viewed by use of a "web browser", which takes text, formatting, graphics and links and combines them on a user's screen. Other uses of the internet include discussion groups and newsgroups, which generally deal with a specific subject.
Finally, it is possible to download text files-papers, reports, and other documents-which are available either on the web or by using "gopher" software. These documents are not web pages, since they are not formatted to be viewed by web browsers.
A particular item's document type goes after the title, in brackets, and is followed by a period (except in the case of on-line journals). Here are some example types:
Some possibilities [On-line serial]
| Citation Style: ERIC Docs | Citation Style: Unpublished Sources | | |