Citing Electronic Information in History Papers

by Maurice Crouse
Department of History, The University of Memphis
<mcrouse@memphis.edu>
28 January 1997

Copyright � 1995, 1996, 1997 by Maurice Crouse. You may freely reproduce this document, provided that you reproduce it in its entirety and without any modification.

Introduction:

New information media always present challenges to bibliographers, who must either adapt existing forms of documentation or devise new ones to maintain bibliographic control. The style guides that historians commonly use have not risen well to the challenge of electronic information -- information that has migrated to computer files. All the early guides failed to provide adequate means of citing it, giving sketchy treatment and few useful examples. These included Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 5th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987), in secs. 9.121-2, 11.56-7, 12.20; The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), in secs. 15.421-4, 16.207-9; and Sue A. Dodd, of the Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina, in an online paper in 1990 entitled Bibliographic References for Computer Files in the Social Sciences: A Discussion Paper (available online; see the bibliography of this paper).

The 6th edition of the Turabian manual (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), in secs. 8.139-41, 11.57, 12.1, and 12.20, added disappointingly few basic examples, so we are still awaiting a definitive standard in the discipline of history for citing electronic information. In the meantime, I recommend that you consider the styles described below, in which I seek to make forms borrowed from various sources compatible with Turabian's traditional styles for history. (In early versions of this paper, I recommended the use of a reference list, on the assumption that if historians are sufficiently up-to-date to use electronic sources of information they are also sufficiently up-to-date to use newer forms of citation. Clearly, however, there still is a demand or preference on the part of many historians for the older forms of bibliography and footnotes or endnotes, so I now include them, too.)

The beginning point is Xia Li and Nancy B. Crane, Electronic Style: A Guide to Citing Electronic Information (Westport, CT: Meckler, 1993). Li and Crane, reference librarians at the Bailey/Howe Library, University of Vermont-Burlington, advocated a style based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 3d ed. (Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1983). In turn, in its 4th edition (published 1994) the APA's manual incorporated their style as its standard for citing electronic information (sec. 3.102 and Appendix 3-A, sec. I. Electronic Media, examples 72-7). Li and Crane had some influence on Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 4th ed. (New York: Modern Languages Association of America, 1995), which treated (secs. 4.8.1-6, 4.9.1-3, 4.10.7, B.1.7-8, B.1.9.g) more adequately the citing of electronic information than did the third edition published in 1988.

Because no published style guide other than Li and Crane's dealt extensively with electronic information, many scholars wrote papers which summarized Li and Crane's recommendations, adapted or extended them for a particular academic discipline, or advocated a substantially different approach, such as an extended MLA style of citation. Janice Walker, Department of English, South Florida University, is the central figure among advocates of the MLA style. The Alliance for Computers and Writing has endorsed the recommendations in her paper, MLA-Style Citations of Electronic Sources (available online; see the bibliography of this paper). However, in their paper, Beyond the MLA Handbook: Documenting Electronic Sources on the Internet (available online; see the bibliography of this paper), Andrew Harnack, Department of English, and Eugene Kleppinger, Department of Philosophy and Religion, Eastern Kentucky University, argue that these recommendations need amending to avoid ambiguity.

In 1996, Li and Crane published a revised edition of their book, which reflected the influence of many of the papers mentioned above or listed in the bibliography of this paper. Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information (Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc., 1996) includes revised forms for both "APA embellished style" and "MLA embellished style" citations, and a few examples of footnotes and endnotes -- but no "Turabian embellished style." For persons who do not have the book, Li and Crane provide summaries of the forms online (see the bibliography of this paper). In my view, their new forms are much better than the old ones. The forms in the 1993 edition were fairly consistent for all types of media, but they broke up Internet Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) into unnatural "chunks" of information. The new forms are fairly consistent, too, and allow perfectly natural citations of URLs at the small cost of making citations of CD-ROMs and dial-up information service databases in the APA style look like URLs.

Some historians might find Li and Crane's MLA style acceptable, because it is not remarkably different from Turabian's bibliographic style. Fewer, perhaps, might find their APA style congenial, although it resembles Turabian's reference-list style. Most historians have been trained in Turabian's styles, have used them all their academic lives, and would prefer to keep as much of them as possible. The only person before me, to my knowledge, who has tried specifically to adapt Turabian's styles to electronic information in a fairly comprehensive way is Melvin Page, Department of History, East Tennessee State University, in A Brief Citation Guide for Internet Sources in History and the Humanities (available online; see the bibliography of this paper). Harnack and Kleppinger think that his recommendations need amending, too, to avoid ambiguity. I agree that there are shortcomings. Furthermore, in common with most writers on citing electronic information, Page deals only with sources from the Internet and omits forms of citations for CD-ROMs and dial-up information services. He advocates the use of a bibliography and notes and has no forms for a reference list.

Early in 1997 Harnack and Kleppinger published Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997), in which a chapter entitled "Using Chicago Style to Cite and Document Sources" incorporates their improvements on Page's models. Like Page, however, they deal only with Internet sources, and their models are still not quite what I think Turabian style should be. (In addition to Chicago style, they also have a chapter on MLA style, and they have two sets of models for reference lists, one based on APA style and the other on Council of Biology Editors style.)

Although Li and Crane did not attempt to create a "Turabian embellished style," I believe that their forms can be adapted to Turabian. At first glance, admittedly, these forms look very unfamiliar to persons schooled in the Turabian tradition. Li and Crane add labels such as "Online" or "CD-ROM" which they call "Type of medium" statements. In a striking departure from traditional methods of citation, they substitute for the usual information on place and publisher of printed works an "Available" statement giving the electronic medium where the information can be found. They include two dates for electronic information: the date of the last revision of the work, if it is known, and, at the end of the citation, the date on which the computer search was made (the "Access date"). Besides this, history students will probably consider the spelling, spacing, punctuation, and capitalization of URLs very odd indeed, quite unlike anything to which they have been accustomed. But Turabian documentation has always changed as the nature of information itself has changed, and now, to enable the adequate citing of radically different kinds of information, it needs to change its forms of citation radically, too.

The Basis of My Recommendations:

While I begin with Li and Crane's recommendations as the foundation for my own, I depart from them on both major and minor points.

In their APA style (but not in their MLA style), Li and Crane attach the "Type of medium" label firmly to the title of the publication. It seems to me to be much more closely related to the means of access, so I have moved it to the "Available" statement.

Li and Crane provide separate forms of citations for each of the various protocols used on the Internet for transferring electronic information, such as FTP, Gopher, HTTP, and others. For two reasons, I prefer to cast all Internet citations into forms that use URLs, the "lingua franca" of the World Wide Web: bulletLi and Crane supply very large numbers of forms that are very much alike, differing from each other in only a few details. The use of URLs very substantially reduces the number of distinct forms required.

bulletA World Wide Web browser is a "Swiss Army knife" for the Internet -- it can access almost any information, using almost any protocol. The time is fast approaching, if it has not already arrived, when we can assume that researchers on the Internet will be using the World Wide Web.

URLs do not solve all problems, however; they can complicate as well as simplify. For example, searches for information on the Internet sometimes activate Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts or lead to search engines. These often require the researcher to choose from menu items or to enter search terms which will result in information being returned. It is true that in both theory and practice, once the information has been retrieved it can always be represented by a URL, but the resulting URL may be absurdly long and intricate. For example, a report from the U.S. General Accounting Office could be represented in reference-list form by:


     U.S. General Accounting Office. 1995. U.S. Vietnam

         relations: Issues and implications. Available [Online]:

         http://bubba.ucc.okstate.edu/cgi-bin/GPOretrieve?target=wais.

         access.gpo.gov:210&base=gao&type=TEXT&size=62546&docid=3=

         0%20-62546%20/diskb/wais/data/gao/ns95042.txt;7=%00;&images=0

         [25 October 1996].



This citation, although correct and useable, is unacceptably complicated. There are two ways to improve it. One is to enclose the basic address within angle brackets, a common convention on the Internet (the brackets are not part of the address; they are delimiters to show where the address begins and ends). The other is to return partially to Li and Crane's earlier (1993) system of documentation and use elements labeled "Select," "Search," "Message," "Subject," or other descriptive terms, to identify keystrokes that must be entered once the address has been reached. The previous citation could become:


     U.S. General Accounting Office. 1995. U.S. Vietnam

         relations: Issues and implications. Available [Online]:

         <http://bubba.ucc.okstate.edu/wais/GPOAccess> Select:

         General Accounting Office Reports, 10/94- Search:

         "vietnam relations" [25 October 1996].



This citation has several advantages over the original: it is simpler and easier to understand; it reflects more accurately how the original researcher actually found the document; and it makes URLs easier to distinguish from other kinds of information about access.

Harnack and Kleppinger make the important point that there can be many equivalents of the same electronic address. This principle is obvious in the example above. Persons who prefer prefer to make citations that reflect the "step by step" access that is natural to Gopher may use it for that purpose. My preference is for a form which, if used with a World Wide Web browser, leads directly to the information:


      About The University of Memphis. 6 June 1995. Available [Online]:

            <gopher://gopher.memphis.edu/00/.campus-info/data._/about-um.txt>

            [15 November 1996].



But there is no inherent reason for rejecting a "hybrid" form which, although it looks very different, leads to the same information:


      About The University of Memphis. 6 June 1995. Available [Online]:

            <gopher://gopher.memphis.edu> Path: Campus Information/About

            The University of Memphis [15 November 1996].



The same "hybrid" form can relieve an especially troublesome problem in documenting electronic information -- the need at times to distinguish between the electronic address and the content of a document or the sequence of commands, path names, or keystrokes necessary to retrieve it from that address. Li and Crane's recommendations are not helpful with this problem. In an earlier version of this paper, following Li and Crane's model, I recommended the following citation:


     H-Net jobs guide [Online]. 26 January 1996. Available

         e-mail: mailto:listserv@h-net.msu.edu/get h-net jobguide

         [30 January 1996].



What appears to be a Path name or a File name is actually the body of the message that is to be sent, but it perhaps is not obvious that there are two very different kinds of information in the "Available" statement. The citation could more accurately become:


     H-Net jobs guide. 26 January 1996. Available email

         [Online]: <mailto:listserv@h-net.msu.edu> Message: get

         h-net jobguide [30 January 1996].



This "hybrid" form is not elegant. But it is less misleading than Li and Crane's forms and, at the moment, it is the best way I can think of to represent the required information without confusion.

The MLA Handbook (sec. 4.9.3a-b) surprisingly suggests that access information about an online document is optional or merely supplementary. Li and Crane in their MLA embellished style (pp. 97, 103) insist, rightly, that an "Available" statement is essential in an electronic citation. On the other hand, they agree (p. 100) with the MLA Handbook (secs. 4.8.2a, 4.8.3-6, 4.9.2a, 4.9.3a-b) that if the electronic work has a printed counterpart, the information for the printed source should precede the information for the electronic source. I do not follow this reasoning. If a printed source is conveniently available, you should use it alone and cite it in preference to the electronic source; if you use an electronic source, you should cite it alone (see the section of this paper entitled "Implications for Methodology").

My other departures from Li and Crane's forms are less substantial. I think that Li and Crane's forms for citing postings in lists, Usenet newsgroups, and email need some changes. There are also in other forms a few small adaptations in citing volume, issue, and page numbers; in dates; and in the order of the names of multiple authors, mostly to bring them in line with Turabian.

Models and Examples:

Below are the most common forms, inspired by Li and Crane but adapted to Turabian, with both general models and specific examples. My aim is to retain, as much as possible, the familiar appearance of the forms recommended by Turabian (critics will possibly judge that I have been able to salvage very little indeed), while giving access information that is complete, consistent, and without ambiguity. I do not discuss here such matters as the arrangement of the entries within the reference list or bibliography, the use of parenthetical references in the text or notes, or the placement of footnotes or endnotes, because Turabian fully explains them.

The models are as general as possible. Usually, if the model calls for an item that is missing from the information you are citing, you may simply pass over it to the next item. The only exceptions are with dates, as indicated below, where you must be careful to place the date second in a reference list entry and make the notation "No date" if the date is missing from any kind of entry. On the other hand, you may occasionally have to consult the Turabian manual for guidance on citations that are more complicated than the general ones given here. But such complications as books in a named series with a series editor, or multi-volume works with separate volume titles, seldom occur with electronic information.

These forms assume an author or editor for each entry. If there is neither, the title becomes the first item, as some of the examples show. (Observe that in a reference list, the date of publication is always the second element in the citation.)

Documents that stand alone, such as entire databases, computer sites (FTP, Gopher, Telnet, World Wide Wide), online papers, and email messages, are treated as books. Conferences, interest groups, Usenet newsgroups, and lists are treated as periodicals, and the postings that appear in them are treated as articles. A "message" may, therefore, be an individual work in one setting and an article in another, and a single-page online paper will have a citation form that is indistinguishable from that of a thousand-page book that appears online. Long-time users of Turabian documentation will doubtless find these conventions strange. Li and Crane nowhere explain fully the philosophy behind them but hint (pp. 4, 80-2, 99, 182-4) that they rest upon a distinction between that information which is serial and that which is nonserial in nature. (Li and Crane consider some databases to be serial, others nonserial; I find this distinction more troublesome than useful and do not observe it.)

Observe that in citing electronic information there is no such category as unpublished material. Everything that is available online is published in some sense.

Nearly all of the examples given below have known dates of publication. If an entry lacks this information, put "No date" at the proper place; do not leave this item blank.

Except for "Usenet," "email," and similar protocols, you may omit the protocol type ater the word "Available" because the necessary information appears in the URL.

Because of physical limitations on line length, URLS in their printed form may appear divided on more than one line. Ideally, the line division should come after one of the / characters, but, if necessary, it may come after any of the punctuation characters (such as . or -) that are actually part of the URL. A hyphen is always taken to be part of the URL; never use a hyphen to indicate continuation of the URL. Be aware that on computer systems you must enter everything within the angle brackets as one continuous string of characters from start to finish. Moreover, you must observe meticulously the spelling, spacing, capitalization, and punctuation, or the attempt to access the information will fail.

Omit the item "Additional" if the URL is sufficient to retrieve the information. If you use it, label it "Select," "Search," "Message," "Subject," or whatever descriptive term is needed. As in the example above, repeat the item as many times as necessary to assure completeness.

The examples sometimes show, in square brackets, optional supplementary information about the nature of the document being cited. You should furnish such information when it will be helpful to the reader. For example, you might improve citations of newspapers by such notations as "News item," "Editorial," "Personal column," or "Editorial cartoon."

The examples show only "Online" and "CD-ROM," the most common types of media. Other common types are "Diskette" and "Magnetic tape." Li and Crane remark that users of a local area network may not be able to identify the ultimate type of the medium; they suggest (pp. 5-6, 103) the generic designator "Electronic" for those cases. You should use the best descriptive term available.

The forms and examples for notes show no note numbers, because their placement and style may vary. Turabian (secs. 8.10, 14.14) says to place the numbers for endnotes on the line (not superscript), followed by a period; numbers for footnotes may be like those for endnotes or they may be superscript (without a period) and possibly in a smaller size of type.

Some of the forms show only one model because the information usually occurs in only one electronic medium (for example, email).

Individual Works:

Reference List:


Author or Editor. Date. Title of work. Edition. Available Protocol

     [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval

     information [Access date].

         or

Author or Editor. Date. Title of work. Edition. Available [Type of

     medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or number

     [Access date].



     Kehoe, Brian P. 1992. Zen and the art of the Internet. 2d ed.

         Available [Online]: <ftp://quake.think.com/pub/etext/1992/

         zen10.txt> [25 March 1995].



     Dissertation abstracts ondisc [Bibliographic database]. 1861-   [Years

         of coverage]. Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc

         [11 November 1996].



     H-Net jobs guide. 26 January 1996. Available email [Online]:

         <mailto:listserv@h-net.msu.edu> Message: get h-net jobguide

         [30 January 1996].



     Crouse, Maurice. 28 January 1997. Citing electronic information in

         history papers. Available [Online]: <http://www.people.memphis.

         edu/~mcrouse/elcite.html> [28 January 1997].



     The University of Memphis Anonymous FTP Archive. 12 November 1996

         [Last update]. Available [Online]: <ftp://ftp.memphis.edu>

         [3 December 1996].



     Palmer, Pamela. 4 November 1996. Academic Writers' Net Source

         [Helps for writers]. Available [Online]: <http://www.people.memphis.

         edu/~prpalmer> [3 December 1996].



     Moran, Mary. 26 November 1996. Uncle Sam [WWW home page of

        Government Publications Department, Regional Depository Library, The

        University of Memphis]. Available [Online]: <http://www.lib.memphis.

        edu/gpo/unclesam.htm> [3 December 1996].



     Online Book Initiative [Public-domain electronic texts]. No date.

        Available [Online]: <gopher://ftp.std.com/11/obi> [3 December 1996].



Bibliography:

For the bibliographic form the Turabian manual, 6th ed. (sec. 11.18), shows a comma separating the title from the edition. This is at odds with the sample bibliography (sec. 14.42); the manual's own "Selected Bibliography" (pp. 283-6); the corresponding form in the 5th ed. (sec. 11.19); and the corresponding form in The Chicago Manual of Style (sec. 15.132) -- all of which show a period separating the title from the edition. I conclude that the 6th ed. form must contain a typographical error.


Author or Editor. Title of Work. Edition. Date. Available Protocol

     [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval

     information [Access date].

         or

Author or Editor. Title of Work. Edition. Date. Available [Type of

     medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or number

     [Access date].



     Kehoe, Brian. Zen and the Art of the Internet. 2d ed. 1992.

         Available [Online]: <ftp://quake.think.com/pub/etext/1992/

         zen10.txt> [25 March 1995].



     Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc [Bibliographic database]. 1861-   [Years

         of coverage]. Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc

         [11 November 1996].



     H-Net Jobs Guide. 26 January 1996. Available email [Online]:

         <mailto:listserv@h-net.msu.edu> Message: get h-net jobguide

         [30 January 1996].



     Crouse, Maurice. Citing Electronic Information in History Papers.

         28 January 1997. Available [Online]: <http://www.people.memphis.

         edu/~mcrouse/elcite.html> [28 January 1997].



     The University of Memphis Anonymous FTP Archive. 12 November 1996

         [Last update]. Available [Online]: <ftp://ftp.memphis.edu>

         [3 December 1996].



     Palmer, Pamela. Academic Writers' Net Source [Helps for writers].

         4 November 1996. Available [Online]: <http://www.people.memphis.edu/

         ~prpalmer> [3 December 1996].



     Moran, Mary. Uncle Sam [WWW home page of Government Publications

         Department, Regional Depository Library, The University of Memphis].

         26 November 1996. Available [Online]: <http://www.lib.memphis.

         edu/gpo/unclesam.htm> [3 December 1996].



     Online Book Initiative [Public-domain electronic texts]. No date.

         Available [Online]: <gopher://ftp.std.com/11/obi> [3 December 1996].



Note:


     Author or Editor, Title of Work, edition (Date). Available

Protocol [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional:

retrieval information [Access date].

         or

     Author or Editor, Title of Work, edition (Date). Available

[Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or

number [Access date].



         Brian Kehoe, Zen and the Art of the Internet, 2d ed. (1992).

     Available [Online]: <ftp://quake.think.com/pub/etext/1992/

     zen10.txt> [25 March 1995].



         Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc [Bibliographic database]

     (1861-   [Years of coverage]). Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Dissertation

     Abstracts Ondisc [11 November 1996].



         H-Net Jobs Guide (26 January 1996). Available email [Online]:

     <mailto:listserv@h-net.msu.edu> Message: get h-net jobguide

     [30 January 1996].



         Maurice Crouse, Citing Electronic Information in History Papers

     (28 January 1997). Available [Online]: <http://www.people.memphis.

     edu/~mcrouse/elcite.html> [28 January 1997].



         The University of Memphis Anonymous FTP Archive (12 November 1996

     [Last update]). Available [Online]: <ftp://ftp.memphis.edu>

     [3 December 1996].



         Pamela Palmer, Academic Writers' Net Source [Helps for writers]

     (4 November 1996). Available [Online]: <http://www.people.memphis.edu/

     ~prpalmer> [3 December 1996].



         Mary Moran, Uncle Sam [WWW home page of Government Publications

     Department, Regional Depository Library, The University of Memphis]

     (26 November 1996). Available [Online]: <http://www.lib.memphis.

     edu/gpo/unclesam.htm> [3 December 1996].



         Online Book Initiative [Public-domain electronic texts] (No date).

     Available [Online]: <gopher://ftp.std.com/11/obi> [3 December 1996].



Parts of Works:

Reference List:


Author or Editor. Date. Title of part. In Title of work, edition.

     Available Protocol [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File>

     Additional: retrieval information [Access date].

         or

Author or Editor. Date. Title of part. In Title of work, edition.

     Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or

     number/Item name or number [Access date].



     Tritten, James John. August 1988. Is naval warfare unique? In Joint

         electronic library, ed. J-7, Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Available

         [CD-ROM]: MicroRetrieval Corporation/Joint Electronic Library/

         Military Research Papers and Studies/Is Naval Warfare Unique?

         [5 December 1996].



     West India Company. 1978. In Everyman's encyclopaedia, 6th ed.

         Available [Online]: DIALOG/Everyman's Encyclopaedia (File 182)

         [25 March 1995].



     Belarus. 1995. In World factbook, 1995 ed. Available [Online]:

         <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/bo.html>

         [25 March 1995].



     Harnack, Andrew, and Eugene Kleppinger. 25 November 1996. Citing the

         sites: MLA-style guidelines and models for documenting Internet

         sources, version 1.3. In Beyond the MLA Handbook: Documenting

         electronic sources on the Internet. Available [Online]:

         <http://falcon.eku.edu/honors/beyond-mla> [25 November 1996].



Bibliography:


Author or Editor. "Title of Part." In Title of Work, edition. Date.

     Available Protocol [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File>

     Additional: retrieval information [Access date].

         or

Author or Editor. "Title of Part." In Title of Work, edition. Date.

     Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/

     Item name or number [Access date].



     Tritten, James John. "Is Naval Warfare Unique?" In Joint Electronic

         Library, ed. J-7, Joint Chiefs of Staff. August 1988. Available

         [CD-ROM]: MicroRetrieval Corporation/Joint Electronic Library/

         Military Research Papers and Studies/Is Naval Warfare Unique?

         [5 December 1996].



     "West India Company." In Everyman's Encyclopaedia, 6th ed. 1978.

         Available [Online]: DIALOG/Everyman's Encyclopaedia (File 182)

         [25 March 1995].



     "Belarus." In World Factbook, 1995 ed. 1995. Available [Online]:

         <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/bo.html>

         [25 March 1995].



     Harnack, Andrew, and Eugene Kleppinger. "Citing the Sites: MLA-Style

         Guidelines and Models for Documenting Internet Sources," version

         1.3. In Beyond the MLA Handbook: Documenting Electronic Sources

         on the Internet. 25 November 1996. Available [Online]:

         <http://falcon.eku.edu/honors/beyond-mla> [25 November 1996].



Note:


     Author or Editor, "Title of Part," in Title of Work, edition

(Date). Available Protocol [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File>

Additional: retrieval information [Access date].

         or

     Author or Editor, "Title of Part," in Title of Work, edition

(Date). Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or

number/Item name or number [Access date].



         James John Tritten, "Is Naval Warfare Unique?" in Joint Electronic

     Library, ed. J-7, Joint Chiefs of Staff (August 1988). Available [CD-ROM]:

     MicroRetrieval Corporation/Joint Electronic Library/Military Research

     Papers and Studies/Is Naval Warfare Unique? [5 December 1996].



         "West India Company," in Everyman's Encyclopaedia, 6th ed.

     (1978). Available [Online]: DIALOG/Everyman's Encyclopaedia

     (File 182) [25 March 1995].



         "Belarus," in World Factbook, 1995 ed. (1995). Available

     [Online]: <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/bo.html>

     [25 March 1995].



         Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger, "Citing the Sites: MLA-

     Style Guidelines and Models for Documenting Internet Sources,"

     version 1.3, in Beyond the MLA Handbook: Documenting Electronic

     Sources on the Internet (25 November 1996). Available [Online]:

     <http://falcon.eku.edu/honors/beyond-mla> [25 November 1996].



Periodicals and Journals:

Reference List:


Author or Editor. Date. Title of article. Title of Periodical

     volume, issue: paging. Available Protocol [Type of medium]:

     <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval information

     [Access date].

         or

Author or Editor. Date. Title of article. Title of Periodical

     volume, issue: paging. Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/

     Database identifier or number/Item name or number [Access date].



     Gore, Al. Fall 1994. A new era begins. Memphis State University

         Law Review 25:1. Available [Online]: Mead LEXIS/TENN/MSULR/gore

         [5 December 1996].



     Technology projections: 2001. May 1992. Direct Marketing:

         23-25. Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Business Periodicals Online/

         92-29833 [25 March 1995].



     Schaeffer, Scott. May 1996. Disney and the imagineering of

         histories. Postmodern Culture 6, no. 3: par. 11. Available

         [Online]: <gopher://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/00/pubs/pmc/

         issue.596/schaeffer.596> [9 November 1996].



Bibliography:


Author or Editor. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical

     volume, issue (Date): paging. Available Protocol [Type of medium]:

     <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval information 

     [Access date].

         or

Author or Editor. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical

     volume, issue (Date): paging. Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/

     Database identifier or number/Item name or number [Access date].



     Gore, Al. "A New Era Begins." Memphis State University Law

         Review 25 (Fall 1994): 1. Available [Online]: Mead LEXIS/TENN/

         gore [5 December 1996].



     "Technology Projections: 2001." Direct Marketing (May 1992): 23-25.

         Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Business Periodicals Online/92-29833

         [25 March 1995].



     Schaeffer, Scott. "Disney and the Imagineering of Histories."

         Postmodern Culture 6, no. 3 (May 1996): par 11. Available

         [Online]: <gopher://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/00/pubs/pmc/

         issue.596/schaeffer.596> [9 November 1996].



Note:


     Author or Editor, "Title of Article," Title of Periodical

volume, issue (Date): paging. Available Protocol [Type of medium]:

<Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval information [Access date].

         or

     Author or Editor, "Title of Article," Title of Periodical

volume, issue (Date): paging. Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/

Database identifier or number/Item name or number [Access date].



         Al Gore, "A New Era Begins," Memphis State University

     Law Review 25 (Fall 1994): 1. Available [Online]: Mead LEXIS/TENN/

     gore [5 December 1996].



         "Technology Projections: 2001," Direct Marketing

    (May 1992):23-25. Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Business Periodicals

    Online/92-29833[25 March 1995].



         Scott Schaeffer, "Disney and the Imagineering of Histories,"

     Postmodern Culture 6, no. 3 (May 1996): par. 11. Available

     [Online]: <gopher://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/00/pubs/pmc/

     issue.596/schaeffer.596> [9 November 1996].



Newspapers and Magazines:

Turabian (secs. 11.44-5) says that you should seldom place separate news items from newspapers in a bibliography or a reference list and recommends that you list them only in notes or parenthetical references. If you use newspapers extensively in the paper, Turabian recommends that the entries in the bibliography or the reference list contain only the newspaper names and the inclusive dates. If you disagree with Turabian, use the following forms:

Reference List:


Author or Editor. Date. Title of article. Title of Newspaper or

     Magazine, edition, section: paging. Available Protocol [Type of

     medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval

     information [Access date].

         or

Author or Editor. Date. Title of article. Title of Newspaper or

     Magazine, edition, section: paging. Available [Type of medium]:

     Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or number

     [Access date].



     Johnson, Rheta Grimsley. 19 March 1995. South had better brace

         itself. [Memphis] Commercial Appeal, Final ed., Section B

         (Metro): B8. Available [Online]: DIALOG/The Commercial Appeal

         (File 740) [25 March 1995].



     Taylor, Frank S. 10 October 1995. Who's making the waves?

         Triangle on the Web Magazine. Available [Online]: <http://

         www.trinet.com/contents.html> Select: Who's Making the Waves?

         [9 November 1996].



Bibliography:


Author or Editor. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper or

     Magazine, edition, date, section: paging. Available Protocol

     [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional:

     retrieval information [Access date].

         or

Author or Editor. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper or

     Magazine, edition, date, section: paging. Available [Type of

     medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or

     number [Access date].



     Johnson, Rheta Grimsley. "South Had Better Brace Itself."

         [Memphis] Commercial Appeal, Final ed., 19 March 1995,

         Section B (Metro): B8. Available [Online]: DIALOG/The

         Commercial Appeal (File 740) [25 March 1995].



     Taylor, Frank S. "Who's Making the Waves?" Triangle on the Web

         Magazine, 10 October 1995. Available [Online]: <http://www.

         trinet.com/contents.html> Select: Who's Making the Waves?

         [9 November 1996].



Note:


     Author or Editor, "Title of Article," Title of Newspaper or

Magazine, edition, date, section: paging. Available Protocol [Type of

medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval information

[Access date].

         or

     Author or Editor, "Title of Article," Title of Newspaper or

Magazine, edition, date, section: paging. Available [Type of medium]:

Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or number [Access date].



         Rheta Grimsley Johnson, "South Had Better Brace Itself,"

     [Memphis] Commercial Appeal, Final ed., 19 March 1995, Section B

     (Metro): B8. Available [Online]: DIALOG/The Commercial Appeal

     (File 740) [25 March 1995].



         Frank S. Taylor, "Who's Making the Waves?" Triangle

     on the Web Magazine, 10 October 1995. Available [Online]:

     <http://www.trinet.com/contents.html> Select: Who's Making the

     Waves? [9 November 1996].



Abstracts and Reviews of Individual Works:

Reference List:


Author. Date. Abstract or Review of Title of work, edition, by

     Original Author or Editor. Available Protocol [Type of medium]:

     <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval information

     [Access date].

         or

Author. Date. Abstract or Review of Title of work, edition, by

     Original Author or Editor. Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/

     Database identifier or number/Item name or number [Access date].



     Cupples, Douglas W. 26 April 1996. Review of The lost colony of

         the Confederacy, by Eugene C. Harter. Available [Online]:

         <http://h-net2.msu.edu/~books/reviews/0342.html> [15 November

         1996].



     McSwain, James Burton. 1986. Abstract of The controversy over infant

         baptism in England, 1648-1700 [Ph.D. diss., Memphis State

         University]. Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Dissertation Abstracts

         Ondisc/Jan. 1982-Dec. 1987/mcswain and baptism [5 December 1996].



     Harkins, John Edward. 1976. Abstract of The neglected phase of

         Louisiana's colonial history: The New Orleans Cabildo, 1769-1803

         [Ph.D. diss., Memphis State University]. Available [Online]:

         DIALOG/Dissertation Abstracts Online (File 35)/589099

         [25 March 1995].



Bibliography:


Author. Abstract or Review of Title of Work, edition, by Original

     Author or Editor. Date. Available Protocol [Type of medium]:

     <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval information

     [Access date].

         or

Author. Abstract or Review of Title of Work, edition, by Original

     Author or Editor. Date. Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/

     Database identifier or number/Item name or number [Access date].



     Cupples, Douglas W. Review of The Lost Colony of the Confederacy,

         by Eugene C. Harter. 26 April 1996. Available [Online]: <http://

         h-net2.msu.edu/~books/reviews/0342.html> [15 November 1996].



     McSwain, James Burton. Abstract of The Controversy Over Infant

         Baptism in England, 1648-1700 [Ph.D. diss., Memphis State

         University]. 1986. Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Dissertation Abstracts

         Ondisc/Jan. 1982-Dec. 1987/mcswain and baptism [5 December 1996].



     Harkins, John Edward. Abstract of The Neglected Phase of Louisiana's

         Colonial History: The New Orleans Cabildo, 1769-1803. [Ph.D.

         diss., Memphis State University]. 1976. Available [Online]:

         DIALOG/Dissertation Abstracts Online (File 35)/589099

         [25 March 1995].



Note:


     Author, Abstract or Review of Title of Work, edition, by Original

Author or Editor (Date). Available Protocol [Type of medium]: <Protocol/

Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval information [Access date].

         or

     Author, Abstract or Review of Title of Work, edition, by Original

Author or Editor (Date). Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/Database

identifier or number/Item name or number [Access date].



         Douglas W. Cupples, Review of The Lost Colony of the Confederacy,

     by Eugene C. Harter (26 April 1996). Available [Online]: <http://

     h-net2.msu.edu/~books/reviews/0342.html> [15 November 1996].



         James Burton McSwain, Abstract of The Controversy Over Infant

     Baptism in England, 1648-1700 [Ph.D. diss., Memphis State University]

     (1986). Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc/Jan. 1982-

     Dec. 1987/mcswain and baptism [5 December 1996].



         John Edward Harkins, Abstract of The Neglected Phase of

     Louisiana's Colonial History: The New Orleans Cabildo, 1769-1803

     [Ph.D. diss., Memphis State University] (1976). Available [Online]:

     DIALOG/Dissertation Abstracts Online (File 35)/589099 [25 March 1995].



Abstracts and Reviews of Periodicals and Journals:

Reference List:


Author. Date. Abstract or Review of Title of article, by Original Author

     or Editor. Title of Periodical volume, issue: paging. Available

     [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval

     information [Access date].

         or

Author. Date. Abstract or Review of Title of article, by Original Author

     or Editor. Title of Periodical volume, issue: paging. Available

     [Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or

     number [Access date].



     Triezenberg, Herman L. October 1996. Abstract of The identification

         of ethical issues in physical therapy. Physical Therapy 76,

         no. 10:1097-1108. Available [Online]: <http://www.apta.org/

         pt_journal/Oct96/Triez.htm> [16 November 1996].



     Abstract of Time for a change: Analyzing graduation invocations and

         benedictions under religiously neutral principles of the public

         forum, by Rick A. Swanson. Summer 1996. Memphis State University

         Law Review 26:1405. Available [Online]: Mead LEXIS/TENN/MSULR/

         swanson [5 December 1996].



     Abstract of American homesteaders and the Canadian provinces, 1899 and

         1909, by Michael B. Percy and Tamara Woraby. 1987. Explorations

         in Economic History 24, no. 1:77-100. Available [Online]:

         DIALOG/America: History and Life (File 38)/950008 [25 March 1995].



Bibliography:


Author. Abstract or Review of "Title of Article," by Original Author or

     Editor. Title of Periodical volume, issue (Date): paging. Available

     [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval

     information [Access date].

         or

Author. Abstract or Review of "Title of Article," by Original Author or 

     Editor Title of Periodical volume, issue (Date): paging. Available

     [Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or

     number [Access date].



     Triezenberg, Herman L. Abstract of "The Identification of Ethical

         Issues in Physical Therapy." Physical Therapy 76, no. 10 (October

         1996): 1097-1108. Available [Online]: <http://www.apta.org/

         pt_journal/Oct96/Triez.htm> [16 November 1996].



     Abstract of "Time for a Change: Analyzing Graduation Invocations

         and Benedictions Under Religiously Neutral Principles of the Public

         Forum," by Rick A. Swanson. Memphis State University Law Review

         26 (Summer 1996): 1405. Available [Online]: Mead LEXIS/TENN/MSULR/

         swanson [5 December 1996].



     Abstract of "American Homesteaders and the Canadian Provinces, 1899

         and 1909," by Michael B. Percy and Tamara Woraby. Explorations

         in Economic History 24, no. 1 (1987): 77-100. Available [Online]:

         DIALOG/America: History and Life (File 38)/950008 [25 March 1995].



Note:


     Author, Abstract or Review of "Title of Article," by Original Author

or Editor, Title of Periodical volume, issue (Date): paging. Available

[Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval

information [Access date].

         or

     Author, Abstract or Review of "Title of Article," by Original Author

or Editor, Title of Periodical volume, issue (Date): paging. Available

[Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item name or

number [Access date].



         Herman L. Triezenberg, Abstract of "The Identification of Ethical

     Issues in Physical Therapy," Physical Therapy 76, no. 10 (October

     1996):1097-1108. Available [Online]: <http://www.apta.org/pt_journal/

     Oct96/Triez.htm> [16 November 1996].



         Abstract of "Time for a Change: Analyzing Graduation Invocations

     and Benedictions Under Religiously Neutral Principles of the Public

     Forum," by Rick A. Swanson, Memphis State University Law Review 26

     (Summer 1996): 1405. Available [Online]: Mead LEXIS/TENN/MSULR/swanson

     [5 December 1996].



         Abstract of "American Homesteaders and the Canadian Provinces,

     1899 and 1909," by Michael B. Percy and Tamara Woraby, Explorations

     in Economic History 24, no. 1 (1987): 77-100. Available [Online]:

     DIALOG/America: History and Life (File 38)/950008 [25 March 1995].



Electronic Mail (Personal):

Some style manuals, such as that of the APA (sec. 3.102), recommend the citing of email only in the text of the paper. If you disagree, use the following forms. These forms do not usually have "Available" statements, because email messages are like personal letters, memoranda, or telephone conversations in that they generally are not freely available to the public. If the contents of an email message are crucial to a point you are making, you perhaps should save the message in some archival form so that you can allow public access to it. If you do so, you should add a statement to the citation, explaining exactly how a researcher could access the message. (The examples reflect email addresses that were current on the dates of the messages.)

Reference List:


Author <author's email address>. Date. Subject of message [Email to

     recipient's name <recipient's email address>].



     Martin, Thomas M. <tmm@sfsu.edu>. 29 January 1996. RE: Broken

         link to citation guidelines [Email to Maurice Crouse

         <crousem@cc.memphis.edu>].



     Davis, Doug <gddavis@msuvx1.memphis.edu>. 5 February 1993. Banjo

         pickers recall [Email to Maurice Crouse <crousem@cc.memphis.

         edu>]. This message is archived for reference: Available [Online]:

         <http://www.people.memphis.edu/~mcrouse/msg-5-feb-93.txt>.



Bibliography:


Author <author's email address>. Subject of Message [Email to

     recipient's name <recipient's email address>]. Date.



     Martin, Thomas M. <tmm@sfsu.edu>. RE: Broken Link to Citation

         Guidelines [Email to Maurice Crouse <crousem@cc.memphis.edu>].

         29 January 1996.



     Davis, Doug <gddavis@msuvx1.memphis.edu>. Banjo Pickers Recall

         [Email to Maurice Crouse <crousem@cc.memphis.edu>]. 5 February

         1993. This message is archived for reference: Available [Online]:

         <http://www.people.memphis.edu/~mcrouse/msg-5-feb-93.txt>.



Note:


     Author <author's email address>, Subject of Message [Email to

recipient's name <recipient's email address>] (Date).



         Thomas M. Martin <tmm@sfsu.edu>, RE: Broken Link to Citation

     Guidelines [Email to Maurice Crouse <crousem@cc.memphis.edu>]

     (29 January 1996).



         Doug Davis <gddavis@msuvx1.memphis.edu>, Banjo Pickers Recall

     [Email to Maurice Crouse <crousem@cc.memphis.edu>] (5 February 1993). 

     This message is archived for reference: Available [Online]: <http://

     www.people.memphis.edu/~mcrouse/msg-5-feb-93.txt>.



Electronic Conferences, Interest Groups, News Groups (Usenet), and Lists:

These materials are not as ephemeral as email, which may vanish completely unless the senders or recipients deliberately create archival copies. Usenet postings remain available as long as the host server has room to retain them on its storage disks (which may be only a few days with busy servers) and may be accessed by a news reader during that period. Because all these materials go through some central distribution point rather than directly from one individual to another, there is an opportunity for their handlers to store copies of them in electronic archives for later retrieval by anyone. Such archives are increasingly common. H-Net, for example, has archives of all of its lists, and Deja News, Inc., has archives of all Usenet news groups. Always try to find an archival copy to support your citation (see the section of this paper entitled "Implications for Methodology"). If you cannot locate one, you may have to omit the "Available" statement in your citation.

Reference List:


Author <author's email address>. Date. Subject of posting <posting

     identification number, if applicable> [Discussion]. Electronic

     Conference <email address to which postings are made>.

     Available Protocol [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File>

     Additional: retrieval information [Access date].



     Wheeler, Bob <hteach@math3.math.csuohio.edu>. 13 November 1995.

         Query: How do you encourage participation in class? [Discussion].

         H-Net List for Teaching College History and Related Fields

         <h-teach@h-net.msu.edu>. Available [Online]: <http://

         www.h-net.msu.edu/~teach/archives/logs/nov95/0087.html>

         [10 February 1996].



     Beatty, J. D. <jdbeatty@aol.com>. 21 November 1996. RE: Presidential

         succession query <19961121130200.IAA07823@ladder01.news.aol.com>

         [Discussion]. History <history@psuvm.psu.edu>. Available

         Usenet [Online]: <news:bit.listserv.history> [23 November 1996].



     Beatty, J. D. <jdbeatty@aol.com>. 21 November 1996. RE: Presidential

         succession query [Discussion]. History <history@psuvm.psu.edu>.

         Available [Online]: <http://www.dejanews.com/> Search: jdbeatty

         bit.listserv.history presidential [30 November 1996].



Bibliography:


Author <author's email address>. "Subject of Posting" <posting

     identification number, if applicable> [Discussion]. Electronic Conference

     <email address to which postings are made>. Date. Available Protocol

     [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval

     information [Access date].



     Wheeler, Bob <hteach@math3.math.csuohio.edu>. "Query: How Do You

         Encourage Participation in Class?" [Discussion]. H-Net List for

         Teaching College History and Related Fields <h-teach@h-net.msu.edu>.

         13 November 1995. Available [Online]: <http://www.h-net.msu.edu/

         ~teach/archives/logs/nov95/0087.html> [10 February 1996].



     Beatty, J. D. <jdbeatty@aol.com>. "RE: Presidential Succession

         Query" <19961121130200.IAA07823@ladder01.news.aol.com>

         [Discussion]. History <history@psuvm.psu.edu>. 21 November 1996.

         Available Usenet [Online]: <news:bit.listserv.history> [23 November

         1996].



     Beatty, J. D. <jdbeatty@aol.com>. "RE: Presidential Succession

         Query" [Discussion]. History <history@psuvm.psu.edu>.

         21 November 1996. Available [Online]: <http://www.dejanews.com/>

         Search: jdbeatty bit.listserv.history presidential [30 November 1996].



Note:


     Author <author's email address>, "Subject of Posting"

<posting identification number, if applicable> [Discussion], Electronic

Conference <email address to which postings are made>. Date. Available

Protocol [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> Additional: retrieval

information [Access date].



         Bob Wheeler <hteach@math3.math.csuohio.edu>, "Query:

     How Do You Encourage Participation in Class?" [Discussion],

     H-Net List for Teaching College History and Related Fields 

     <h-teach@h-net.msu.edu> (13 November 1995). Available [Online]:

     <http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~teach/archives/logs/nov95/0087.html>

     [10 February 1996].



         J. D. Beatty <jdbeatty@aol.com>, "RE: Presidential Succession

     Query" <19961121130200.IAA07823@ladder01.news.aol.com> [Discussion],

     History <history@psuvm.psu.edu> (21 November 1996). Available

     Usenet [Online]: <news:bit.listserv.history> [23 November 1996].



         J. D. Beatty <jdbeatty@aol.com>, "RE: Presidential Succession

     Query" [Discussion], History <history@psuvm.psu.edu> (21 November

     1996). Available [Online]: <http://www.dejanews.com/> Search:

     jdbeatty bit.listserv.history presidential [30 November 1996].



Searches in Online Library Catalogs and Databases:

Students often ask how to cite the results of searches that they have made in online catalogs or databases such as UnCover, using specific search terms. For example, a researcher might want to mention in a paper the number of books on Eastern Orthodox icons reported in the online catalog of the library of a Presbyterian liberal-arts college. Another researcher might want to know for many dissertations in history at Memphis State University during the period 1980-92 Dr. Charles W. Crawford was the major advisor. Yet a third researcher might want to know how many VAX accounts are registered to persons in the Department of Political Science at The University of Memphis. The results coming back from these searches hardly constitute in themselves bibliographic items, but the information requires some kind of citation. It might be possible to force such citations into one of the models above, but because they are often one-time occurrences it seems more advisable to use the form recommended by Turabian in sec. 10.15. There is no entry in the reference list or bibliography -- all the information is in a parenthetical reference in the text or in a note. In the examples below, the forms alternate between the two; observe that in notes, you should omit the parentheses.

Avoid the temptation to treat everything you encounter as the result of this kind of search. Documents, home pages, and computer sites are usually not databases. Selecting a link in an online document is not using a search term. Using a search term normally involves your typing a word or phrase of your choosing rather than selecting from a list of possibilities. Even if you use a search term to locate an item, it may be like using the index to a book: you often end up with a perfectly good bibliographic item which you can cite in the normal way -- for example, a "search" to locate McSwain's dissertation in a previous section. If the "search" culminates with a definite bibliographic item and you use it as such, cite it using appropriate forms given above. Use the following forms only if the "search" yields a temporary set of information which will vanish as soon as you exit from the database. (Other researchers who use your citation may recreate the information, but it still is not an enduring bibliographic item.)


(Results of Type search on term "search term" in Source.  

Available Protocol [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File> 

Additional: retrieval information [Access date])

     or

(Results of Type search on term "search term" in Source. 

Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/Item

name or number [Access date])



           Results of Name search on term "hurley jack" in UnCover 

      database. Available [Online]: <telnet://pac.carl.org> [30 

      January 1996].



      (Results of Subject search on term "icons" in online catalog of

      Burrow Library at Rhodes College. Available [Online]:

      <telnet://libcat@rhodes.edu> [30 September 1996])



            Results of Expert Keyword search on term "au onasch and ti

      icons" in online catalog of McWherter Library at The University of

      Memphis. Available [Online]: <telnet://library@library.memphis.edu>

      [30 January 1996].



      (Results of search on term "su(history, united states) and

      sc((memphis state university) or (university of memphis)) and

      ad(crawford, charles w)" in Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc database.

      Available [CD-ROM]: UMI/Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc/Jan. 1980-

      Dec. 1992 [11 November 1996])



            Results of Title search on term "debow's review" in Tennessee

      Union List of Serials database. Available [CD-ROM]: Auto-Graphics,

      Inc./Tennessee State Library CD-ROM Catalog/Serials [11 November 1996].

      

      (Results of Department search on term "political science" in VAX

      Users Directory at The University of Memphis. Available [Online]:

      <:telnet://username:password@msuvx2.memphis.edu> DCL Command:

      vax_accts [11 October 1996])



            Results of Author search on term "hawes joseph" in WorldCat

      database. Available [Online]: OCLC FirstSearch/All Databases/WorldCat

      [2 November 1996].



Government Publications and Legal Documents:

The models and examples above should be enough to get you through most of the citations you will need, unless you work with government publications and legal documents. For these difficult materials, I have neither space nor expertise. Diane L. Garner and Diane H. Smith, The Complete Guide to Citing Government Documents: A Manual for Writers & Librarians (Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Service, 1993), and The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 16th ed. (Cambridge: Harvard Law Review Association, 1996) are the most complete guides for citing printed versions of these materials, but they barely recognize the existence of electronic versions. The Turabian manual (secs. 12.1-33) and The Chicago Manual of Style (secs. 15.312-411, 16.148-98) have useful models which could be adapted with some determined effort. Li and Crane's book (chapters 5, 12) is the only comprehensive guide for citing electronic versions. The Government Publications Department, McWherter Library, The University of Memphis, has prepared a Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications, which deals partly with electronic sources. It is available online (see the bibliography of this paper). Peggy Whitley has a few examples for citing legal materials in Citing Online Sources: Internet and Westlaw (available online; see the bibliography of this paper). I recommend that you study all these guides and choose one set of recommendations for the descriptive part of the citation. Then use one of the following models for the "Available" statement, depending on the means of access:

      Available Protocol [Type of medium]: <Protocol/Site/Path/File>

      Additional: retrieval information [Access date].

            or

      Available [Type of medium]: Supplier/Database identifier or number/

      Item name or number [Access date].



Finding and Using the Information for Citations:

The author's name is usually at the head of the electronic document. If not, you should look for it at the end of the document, or near links labeled "Send comments to," "Mail to," "Return to," "Maintained by," or something similar. Usenet postings or email messages may have only an email address as author. Some messages may have a nickname or "handle" as author. If you fail to find any indication of the author's name, you may sometimes substitute the publisher's name if it is known, or you may omit the information entirely and begin the entry with the title.

Most electronic documents have titles at their head, just like printed documents. If you use a browser to access the document, there will probably also be a title which appears at the top of the browser window. If the two titles differ, you should choose the title that more accurately describes the document. If no meaningful title appears anywhere, you may supply a descriptive title of your own in square brackets.

The date of the document often occurs either at the head or the end of the document. In either case, it may be labeled "Last revised," "Last modified," or something similar. In my experience it is not uncommon for authors to forget to change this information when they make changes in the document. I have seen papers in which two or more conflicting dates appear. Remember that the date of the document is usually not the date on which you accessed the document; do not confuse the two dates. You should always give the access date, except for email, where the access date is not required in the citation model. If you cannot find a date for the document, put "No date" in the citation.

How do you get the URL for an online document that you access? If you were able to access the document using a given URL, presumably others can do so as well; use the given URL in your "Available" statement. If you use a browser to jump from one hypertext link to another, the browser usually displays the current URL. If not, there is usually a menu choice or keystroke that will display it -- consult the browser's documentation or online help file. For example, if you are using Lynx, you can display URLs for both the current document and the link to which the cursor points by pressing the = (equal sign) key. If you are using Netscape, the URL of the current document appears in a small window near the top of the screen, and the URL of any link on which the mouse cursor is resting appears at the bottom of the screen.

The last two citations in the section entitled "Searches in Online Catalogs and Databases" illustrate a special problem with citing information found in electronic sources: some citations may be difficult or impossible for others to verify. Anyone can use the online catalogs cited in that section by telneting directly to them and using the public usernames, which do not require passwords. But some information is restricted to qualified members of an organization. For example, persons who want to use the VAX Users Directory at The University of Memphis must themselves have valid usernames and passwords on that VAX system. Outsiders cannot verify a reference to that database because they are barred from access to it. There is a subtle, hidden problem in the citation of the WorldCat database. At The University of Memphis, access to WorldCat is through the online catalog of McWherter Library, whose contract with OCLC grants only restricted use of OCLC materials. Persons who access the online catalog from their password- protected VAX accounts are presumed to be bona fide members of the University community. They can, therefore, easily reach FirstSearch through selecting a procedure on a menu that runs a script; the script connects to a remote computer and logs in with an unidentified password belonging to the library. But it would be useless for you to include in your citation the steps you took to be able to select that procedure, because persons who reach the online catalog via <telnet://library@library.memphis.edu> have only "guest" status on the system and will not even find FirstSearch in the list of databases available to them. They need to know only what is given in the citation. Using whatever steps are necessary at their own locations to access FirstSearch, they can then use the citation to find the information that you found. Unless they have access by some other means to FirstSearch, they will be unable to verify the last citation.

The same problem is inherent to earlier citations of Mead LEXIS, which, at The University of Memphis, must be accessed directly from a VAX account, not through the online catalog, because the contract with Mead is even more restrictive than the contract with OCLC. Furthermore, only paying subscribers to the Knight-Ridder information services may use DIALOG. Again, lack of access to a database results in the inability to verify a citation made to it.

This is not to say that you must refrain altogether from citing electronic sources that might be difficult for others to verify. If it alone contained the information you needed, you would not hesitate to cite a rare book that could be found in few or no other libraries. Similarly, with electronic information, you should cite what you actually use. It is simply a fact of academic life that some libraries have better holdings or better access to information than others. Still, if you can find the same information in an electronic source that is freely available to the public, you should cite that source.

How much access information should you provide? Students sometimes assume, erroneously, that they must account for each and every link they have used in finding information. Suppose that you used the Harvard Guide to American History to locate a bibliography on the colonial period of American history, then used the bibliography to identify Charles Sydnor's book, Gentlemen Freeholders, as a good source of information on your topic. The only book you would need to cite is Gentlemen Freeholders, because that citation is sufficient to lead readers to the exact material you used in your report. Similarly, suppose that you used Netscape to access the home page of The University of Memphis, then selected in turn the links for "Departments," "Colleges," "Arts and Sciences," "History," "Resources in history," and finally the link for the electronic equivalent of this paper, <http://www.people.memphis.edu/~mcrouse/elcite.html>. The last URL is all you would need to cite. Observe carefully that you should not (as some of my naive students in the past have done) cite only Netscape (it's not even a URL) or the home page of The University of Memphis, because that information would not be sufficient to lead to this paper. The URL is sufficient, because it fully identifies the necessary protocol, computer site, path, and file.

Be sure to include enough information in the citation to identify the source clearly and without ambiguity. Otherwise, you might as well say, "It's out there somewhere; I found it; you probably can, too." But, on the other hand, don't burden your reader with completely unnecessary information. Somewhat like Goldilocks, you need to provide "not too much" and "not too little" but "just enough."

Implications for Methodology:

There is a serious problem in citing electronic information that seems inescapable, a problem that Harnack and Kleppinger aptly call "invisible revisability." A citation gives the content and the location of the information at the time of access. Unlike most printed information, electronic information may have been silently modified, moved, or deleted by the time a reader tries to verify the citation. For example, if you were to send email today to <listserv@h-net.msu.edu> with the message "get h-net jobguide" a position cited on 30 January 1996 would not be in the current guide, because H-Net constantly updates the guide. Citations may, therefore, on occasion appear to be incorrect through no fault of the researcher. A reader may be hard pressed to distinguish between these innocent cases and cases in which the researcher is careless or even fraudulent in citing. For this reason, you should always give preference in citing to a printed version of the information. Cite electronic information only when a printed version does not exist or you cannot locate it or use it conveniently.

Never assume that electronic information which was "here yesterday" but "gone today" has vanished forever. In many cases, what might be thought to be ephemeral, such as a posting sent to a discussion group (the list H-Teach, for example), can be located later in computer archives or logbooks (see the example, above, of Bob Wheeler's posting). You may use Wide Area Information Services (WAIS) queries or other search engines to search these archives. (The Internet Resources page of the Department of History, The University of Memphis, provides links to several search engines at the URL <http://www.people.memphis.edu/~history/internet.html>.)

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bulletThe Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. 16th ed. Cambridge: Harvard Law Review Association, 1996.

bulletBrown, Haines. ASCII Citation of Electronic Documents. 24 July 1996. Available [Online]: <http://library.ccsu.ctstateu.edu/~history/docs/cite.html> [9 November 1996].

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bulletHarnack, Andrew, and Eugene Kleppinger. Beyond the MLA Handbook: Documenting Electronic Sources on the Internet. 25 November 1996. Available [Online]: <http://falcon.eku.edu/honors/beyond-mla> [25 November 1996].

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_____________________



This document is subject to constant revision.  You may

find the current version on the World Wide Web at the URL:

<http://www.people.memphis.edu/~mcrouse/elcite.html>



Send comments to Maurice Crouse at: <mcrouse@memphis.edu>



Last modified: 28 January 1997