Thanks for helping me out with my citation question. Here is the "hit".
Original question:
We have a class researching parenting right now. Several students are looking at
online forums where single-parents/teenage parents etc. are writing in about their
experiences. The teacher asked how they should cite that information. My quick
answer is to cite it as they would a web page. But that does not really seem
adequate to me. I am not having any luck finding this specific situation
addressed in my MLA Handbook. Could you point me in the right direction?
Answers:
Here are two websites that should answer your question. I also saw a webpage that
says that there is no "official" way to cite these according to the MLA.
http://www.yale.edu/bass/writing/sources/kinds/citeinternet/forums.html
http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/library/tools/bib_formats/MLA_all_landscape.doc
If you look at NoodleBib Express
http://www.noodletools.com/noodlebib/citeone_s.php?style=MLA , they have
a format for web forums. Where it's from, I'm not certain, but it's
there. I generally consider that to be a pretty thorough source of
citation information.
Try http://citationmachine.net
Click on MLA, then More resources
I think you could use one of the non print resources.
I have a couple of classes researching right now and I have found
nothing in MLA Handbook however, the following online sources both
have examples for blogs that I think would be acceptable.
www.citationmachine.net
http://www.oslis.k12.or.us/secondary/index.php?page+citeSources
Based on MLA format, here are the examples I used for students at my school in our
Research Paper Handbook They need to include username, real name if known, article
title. the fact that it is an online posting, the date it was posted, the list or
service it was on, when they accessed it, and the path or url to get to the forum
or newsgroup. The exact post designation is preferred if available but not
strictly required. Oh, and the examples for discussion lists/forums and
weblogs/podcasts are all from actual posts while the email and Chat/IM examples are
made up.
In the MLA Handbook, check section 5.9 or look at their webpage:
<http://www.mla.org/style_faq4>
For what it's worth, EasyBib (at www.easybib.com) would format your posting in this
way:
Henry, Jacqueline. "TARGET: Gen: Citing Online Discussion Groups/Forums." LM_NET.
06 Nov. 2007. 06 Nov. 2007 <http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/>.
I find it useful that they have formats for so many different kinds of sources.
What about citing it as a personal communication? That is how I cite emails.
In the the edition of the MLA Handbook, online forums are listed in electronic
resources with this format: author's name and the title of the document in quotes,
as given in the subject line, followed by the description Online Posting, the date
when the materials was posted, name of the forum, if known, the date of access, and
in angle brackets, the online address of the list's internet site or the e-mail
address of the list's moderator. The example given is:
Chu, Michael. "Belline Style." Online posting. 20 May 2002. Opera-L 21 May 2002
<http://lists.cuny.edu/archives/oper-l.html>.
Hope this helps.
I've found this site useful.
http://www.studentabc.com/citation_machine
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University. I use that for everything that I cite!
Jacquie
"The Librarian, whose job is to heal ignorance, to keep life safe for poetry and to
put knowledge smack dab in the middle of the American way."
From The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9-20-03
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jacquie Henry, MLS
Ruben A. Cirillo High School (GHS)
Gananda Central School District
3195 Wiedrick Road
P.O. Box 609
Macedon, NY 14502
315-986-3521 x 3144
jhenry@gananda.org
Library Page: http://www.gananda.org/library/mshslibrary/indexgcl.htm
Blog: http://nlcommunities.com/communities/wanderings/default.aspx
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