Sources Found on the Web
Helpful Hints for Citing the Web Sources
Keep in mind that many resources on the Internet are also available in a print format.
All of the information may not be available for a site; the goal is to provide readers with enough information so they can locate the web site. So, if you cannot find some of the information, cite what is available (see first two examples – Basic Citation Information and Personal Site).
· Name of the author, compiler, editor, narrator, translator of the site, copyright owner.
· If the site is the same as the print version (book, magazine, newspaper, or reference book), give the complete publication information (see sample format for citing print sources above)
o For an article in an online scholarly journal, give the page numbers, if there are no page number, use the abbreviation, n. pag.
· If citing the entire web site, italicize the title of the site. If the web site, has no title, use a description such as Home page (do not italicize)
· If citing an article from a web site, put the title of the article in quotes and the name of the web site in italics
· The name of the Publisher or Sponsor of the site. If none, use N.p.
· The date on a web site is its copyright date, its date posted, or the last time page was updated If there is no date, use n.d.
· Medium (Web)
· Date of access (day month year)
· Web sites usually do not have page numbers.
The numbers that appear on a hard copy from a printer are the total number of pages printed. There is an exception:
Since PDF files are exact copies, if the page numbers are included on the print out of the original article, the page numbers are included in the citation.
You will use the Web to access information from subscription databases
Subscription Databases
The IMC has many subscription databases that you will use in your research. These databases usually provide a citation at the end of the article. Use this as a guide, but always modify it so it follows the MLA format.
It is important for you to know how to identify the original source of your information: book, magazine, newspaper, scholarly journal. It is equally important to identify where it was found: Database or Web.
Since many subscription databases were previously published in a print format include the following:
The citation for the print source
· For an article in an online scholarly journal in a database, give the page numbers, if there are no page number, use the abbreviation, n. pag.
Title of the database in italics
Medium of publication consulted, Web
Date of access (day month, and year)
Under most circumstances, there are no page numbers with subscription databases. The
exception is for an article from a book, newspaper, magazine or scholarly journal that is a PDF file. Since PDF files are exact copies, if the page numbers are included on the print out of the original article, the page numbers are included in the citation.