Internet Sources in a Bibliography

Even the most seasoned writer (and source documentor) frequently has difficulty citing Internet sources. What information do you need to include? What order should it appear in? What if no author name is present? These questions, among others, often arise when it comes to documenting sources found online...especially since more and more of our research is conducted online. Following is a list of common online sources and how they should be cited (structure and order). At times you may find that not all of the information you need to document is present; when this happens, simply cite the information that is present in the order shown here. Note: this information has been adapted from Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources, by Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger, 1997.

Author's name (if known). Title of document, in quotation marks. Title of complete work (if known), italicized or underlined. Date of publication or last revision (if known). <URL>. Date of access, in parentheses.

Examples:

Drury, Allan. "Brunswick Fugitive Captured in Arizona." Press Herald Online. January 22, 2001. http://www.portland.com/news/coast/010122suspectarres.shtml. (January 22, 2001)

"How MP3 Files Work." http://www.howstuffworks.com/mp3.htm. (January 23, 2001)

"Tasmania State Emblems." Tasmania Online: About Tasmania. June 16, 1999. http://www.tased.edu.au/tasonline/emblems/emblems.html. (January 19, 2001)

Wahrer, Sherri. "Bowled Over by Internet Citations? Strike Back!" Bowling Green State University Writer’s Lab. 1998. http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/acen/writerslab/handouts/citations.htm. (January 22, 2001)

Note that when you have more than one source to cite they should be alphabetized in your bibliography.

The title of a web page appears at the very top of the Internet Explorer window you are using when you look at a page. It is in the colored bar at the top known as the Title Bar. You may find the latest publication date by scrolling to the bottom of the page you are using. You may find the name of the entire web site or complete work by finding a "home" link or button. Very often, no author is given. But look around the page carefully especially at the bottom for authors’ names.