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A. Electronic Mail
B. LISTSERVs and Similar Discussion Lists
C. Blogs
D. Wikis
See also:
Chapter 13 Letters and Other Personal Communication
The general format for a reference to an electronic mail message, including punctuation:
Examples of Citations to Electronic Mail
Electronic mail or e-mail is a written message sent over communication networks to a single address or to multiple addressees. E-mail systems are maintained by most computer networks, and virtually all online services and Internet service providers have them.
E-mail is a form of personal communication and is not often accepted by editors and others for inclusion in a reference list. Most authorities recommend placing references to e-mail communications within the running text, not as formal end references. The nature and source of the cited information should be identified by an appropriate statement. Place the source information in parentheses, using a term or terms to indicate clearly that the citation is not in the reference list. For example:
…and most of these meningiomas proved to be inoperable (Mar 22, 2007 e-mail from RS Grant to me; unreferenced, see "Notes") while a few….
The author must provide written permission to the publisher from the cited person (if living) or from the cited organization if the message is not accessible to scholars via the e-mail server's archive. The permission should be a statement in an "Acknowledgments" or a "Notes" section following the text of an article or placed at the end of a book's main text. These statements may include additional details, such as the reason for the communication.
It is highly recommended that any message being considered for future citation be saved to disk or in print because not all e-mail systems use a standard method of saving or archiving messages.
The rules below apply when an e-mail message is included in a reference list rather than within the text as described above. References to e-mail messages have a formal structure to clearly identify the author (initiator) and the recipient (receiver) of the communication. Because of the lack of other information to include in a citation to an e-mail message, providing the full names for both author and recipient is recommended as well as clarifying notes on content.
For information on citing letters, see Chapter 13. For further examples of formats for author names and titles, see Chapter 1.
Continue to Citation Rules with Examples for Electronic Mail.
Continue to Examples of Citations to Electronic Mail.
Components/elements are listed in the order they should appear in a reference. An R after the component name means that it is required in the citation; an O after the name means it is optional.
Author (R) | Author Affiliation (O) | Title of Message (R) | Content Type (O) | Type of Medium (R) | Connective Phrase (R) | Recipient (R) | Recipient Affiliation (O) | Date (R) | Date of Citation (R) | Extent (Pagination) (O) | Availability (O) | Language (R) | Notes (O)
Enter surname (family or last name) first for the person initiating the communication
Capitalize surnames and enter spaces in surnames as they appear in the document cited. For example: Van Der Horn or van der Horn; De Wolf or de Wolf or DeWolf.
Follow the surname with a comma and a space
Enter the given (first) name and any middle name or initials; follow initials with periods
End author information with a period unless the Author Affiliation is given, then use a space
Begin with the department and name of the institution, followed by city and state/Canadian province/country
Use commas to separate parts of the address
Place the address in parentheses, such as (Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA)
Separate the affiliation from its author by a space
Follow the affiliation with a comma placed outside the parentheses
Enter the title of the subject line of a message as it appears on the screen, in the original language
Capitalize only the first word of a title, proper nouns, proper adjectives, acronyms, and initialisms
Use a colon followed by a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless another form of punctuation (such as a question mark, period, or an exclamation point) is already present
Follow non-English titles with a translation when possible; place the translation in square brackets
End a title with a space
Use a content type to describe the format of the item being cited
Begin type information with a left square bracket
Enter the words "electronic mail on the"
End content type with space
Place the type of medium in square brackets following the title (and Content Type, if present)
End with a period placed outside the closing bracket
Add location information (URL, etc) according to the instructions under Availability below
Use the phrase "Message to" after the title of the message and the Type of Medium
Follow the phrase with a colon and a space
Begin with the given (first) name and any middle name or initials of the person receiving the communication; follow initials with periods
Give the surname (family or last name)
Capitalize surnames and enter spaces in surnames as they appear in the message. For example: Van Der Horn or van der Horn; De Wolf or de Wolf or DeWolf.
Separate multiple recipients with a semicolon and a space
End recipient information with a period unless the Recipient Affiliation is given, then use a space
Begin with the department and name of the institution, followed by city and state/Canadian province/country
Use commas to separate parts of the address
Place the address in parentheses, such as (Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA)
Separate the affiliation from its author by a space
Follow the affiliation with a semicolon placed outside the closing parenthesis, unless the affiliation is for the last or only recipient, then use a period
Begin with the year the message was sent
Convert roman numerals to arabic numbers. For example: MMVII to 2007.
Include the month and day after the year, such as 2007 Apr 30
Use English names for months and abbreviate them to the first three letters
End date information with a space
Give the date the message was first seen
Include the year month and day in that order, such as 2006 May 5
Use English names for months and abbreviate them using the first three letters, such as Jan
Place citation date information in square brackets
End citation date information with a period placed outside the closing bracket
Give extent as the total number of screens, paragraphs, lines, or bytes, whichever is most practical
Precede the total with the word "about" for all except the number of paragraphs and place it in square brackets, as [about 5 screens]
If the message is printed, precede the page total with the word "about" and place it in square brackets, as [about 3 p.]
End extent information with a period placed outside the closing bracket
Provide the access address of the archive if the message is archived by the mail server
Begin with the phrase "Available from" followed by a colon and a space
Insert the entire Uniform Resource Locator (URL); do not omit FTP, http://, www, or other beginning components
End with a period only if the URL ends with a slash, otherwise end with no punctuation
Give the language of the message if not English
Capitalize the language name
Follow the language name with a period
Notes is a collective term for further information given after the citation itself
Complete sentences are not required
Be brief
Note: The examples below are derived from actual e-mail messages, but the names and addresses have been changed in most cases to preserve privacy.
Backus, Joyce. Physician Internet search behavior: detailed study [Internet]. Message to: Karen Patrias. 2007 Mar 27 [cited 2007 Mar 28]. [2 paragraphs].
Backus J. Physician Internet search behavior: detailed study [Internet]. Message to: K. Patrias. 2007 Mar 27 [cited 2007 Mar 28]. [2 paragraphs].
Protein Lounge (San Diego, CA). Pathway illustration tool and database [Internet]. Message to: Karen Patrias (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD). 2007 May 1 [cited 2007 May 2]. [about 2 screens].
Protein Lounge (San Diego, CA). Pathway illustration tool and database [electronic mail on the Internet]. Message to: Karen Patrias (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD). 2007 May 1 [cited 2007 May 2]. [about 2 screens].
Garner, Patricia. DSL and cable modem costs [Internet]. Message to: Phillip S. Chu; Margaret Lyons. 2006 Apr 23 [cited 2006 Apr 24]. [about 1 screen].
Zerhouni, Elias A. (Director, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD). NIH Roadmap [Internet]. Message to: NIH staff. 2007 Feb 15 [cited 2007 Feb 15]. [about 3 p.].
Harris, Pat (National Information Standards Organization, Bethesda, MD). ISO standards on bibliographic references to be revised [Internet]. Message to: Karen Patrias (Public Services Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD). 2005 Jul 07 [cited 2005 Jul 8]. [about 1 screen].
Garner, Patricia (Administrative Officer, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD). DSL and cable modem costs [Internet]. Message to: Phillip S. Chu (Chief, Behavioral and Social Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD); Margaret Lyons (Chief, Neuroscience and Neuropsychology and Aging Program, Bethesda, MD). 2006 Apr 23 [cited 2006 Apr 24]. [about 1 screen].
Patrias, Karen (Senior Resource Specialist, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD). Dates in tables [Internet]. Message to: Lenore Roberts (Editor, Data-Tech, Inc., Ottawa, ON). 2006 Feb 8 [cited 2006 Feb 9]. [2 paragraphs].
Patrias, Karen (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD. patrias@nlm.nih.gov). Presentation for May meeting [Internet]. Message to: Mary Silco (Food and Drug Administration, White Oak, MD. Mary.Silco@fda.hhs.gov). 2007 Feb 7 [cited 2007 Feb 8]. [about 1 screen].
Harris, Pat (National Information Standards Organization, Bethesda, MD). ISO standards on bibliographic references to be revised [Internet]. Message to: Karen Patrias (Public Services Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD). 2005 Jul 07, 4:19 PM [cited 2005 Jul 8]. [about 1 screen].
Patrias, Karen (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD). Dates in tables [Internet]. Message to: Lenore Roberts (Data-Tech, Inc., Ottawa, ON). 2006 Feb 8 [cited 2006 Feb 9]. [2 paragraphs].
Harris, Pat (National Information Standards Organization, Bethesda, MD). ISO standards on bibliographic references to be revised [Internet]. Message to: Karen Patrias (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD). 2005 Jul 07 [cited 2005 Jul 8]. [about 1 screen].
Zerhouni, Elias A. (Director, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD). NIH Roadmap [Internet]. Message to: NIH staff. 2007 Feb 15 [cited 2007 Feb 15]. [about 3 p.].
Patrias, Karen. Presentation for May meeting [Internet]. Message to: Mary Silco. 2007 Feb 7 [cited 2007 Feb 8]. [about 1 screen]. Accompanied by: 1 PowerPoint file.
The general format for a reference to a message from a LISTSERV or similar discussion list, including punctuation:
Examples of Citations to LISTSERVs and Similar Discussion Lists
LISTSERV is a proprietary name for mailing list software that is a registered trademark of L-Soft International, Inc. However, the term is commonly used as a generic for all mailing list applications.
Mailing lists are usually subject-oriented and provide a forum for member discussion. Individuals join a list and post messages that are sent out to all the list members and receive messages sent by others. Lists may be moderated, i.e., content is filtered before broadcast, or unmoderated.
Like e-mail in general, messages posted to discussion lists are a form of personal communication and are not often accepted by editors and others for inclusion in a reference list. Most authorities recommend placing references to e-mail communications within the running text, not as formal end references. The nature and source of the cited information should be identified by an appropriate statement. Place the source information in parentheses, using a term or terms to indicate that the citation is not represented in the reference list. For example:
…and many nurses involved with such cases (Mar 22, 2007 posting by RS Grant to the ANPACC Listserv; unreferenced, see "Notes") report…
When a reference to a discussion list message is included in a reference list, the author must provide written permission to the publisher from the cited person (if living) or from the cited organization if the message is not accessible to scholars via the list server's archive. The permission should be stated in an "Acknowledgments" or "Notes" section that follows the text of an article or is placed at the end of a book's main text. These statements may include additional details, such as the reason for the communication.
Because all discussion lists do not employ a standard method of saving or archiving messages, it is highly recommended that any message being considered for future citation be saved to disk or in print.
The rules below apply when a posting to a discussion list is included in a reference list rather than within the text as described above. Because of the lack of other information to include in a citation to an e-mail message, providing the full name for the author is recommended as well as clarifying notes on content.
Some discussion lists post messages consisting entirely of referrals to publications for their members. Do not cite these as messages on the list, but locate the original publication and cite it.
To cite an entire LISTSERV or other discussion list rather than a message from one, use the instructions from Chapter 24A for citing an open serial database. See also example 24.
For information on citing letters, see Chapter 13. For further examples of formats for author names, titles, place of publication, and publisher see Chapter 1.
Continue to Citation Rules with Examples for LISTSERVs and Similar Discussion Lists.
Continue to Examples of Citations to LISTSERVs and Similar Discussion Lists.
Components/elements are listed in the order they should appear in a reference. An R after the component name means that it is required in the citation; an O after the name means it is optional.
Author (R) | Author Affiliation (O) | Title for Message (R) | Connective Phrase (R) | Title (R) | Address (O) | Content Type (O) | Type of Medium (R) | Place of Publication (R) | Publisher (R) | Date (R) | Date of Citation (R) | Extent (Pagination) (O) | Availability (O) | Language (R) | Notes (O)
Enter surname (family or last name) first for the person initiating the communication
Capitalize surnames and enter spaces in surnames as they appear in the document cited. For example: Van Der Horn or van der Horn; De Wolf or de Wolf or DeWolf.
Convert given (first) names and middle names to initials for a maximum of two initials following each surname
End author information with a period unless the Author Affiliation is given, then use a space
1. Standard citation to a message from a LISTSERV or similar discussion list
2. A message from a LISTSERV or similar list with optional full name for author
3. A message from a LISTSERV or similar list with organization as author
4. A message from a LISTSERV or similar list with e-mail address only for author
Begin with the department and name of the institution, followed by city and state/Canadian province/country
Use commas to separate parts of the address
Place the address in parentheses, such as (Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA)
Separate the affiliation from its author by a space
Follow the affiliation with a comma placed outside the closing parenthesis
Enter the title of the subject line of a message as it appears on the screen, in the original language
Capitalize only the first word of a title, proper nouns, proper adjectives, acronyms, and initialisms
Use a colon followed by a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless another form of punctuation (such as a question mark, period, or an exclamation point) is already present
Follow non-English titles with a translation when possible; place the translation in square brackets
End a title with a space
Use the word "In" after the title of the message
Follow the word with a colon and a space
Enter the title of the list as it appears on screen, in the original language
Use the capitalization and punctuation found
Follow non-English titles with a translation when possible; place the translation in square brackets
End the title with a space
Give the e-mail address for the list as provided in the message
Use the capitalization and punctuation found
Separate the address from the Title by a space
Place the address in parenthesis
Follow the address with a space
Use a content type to describe the format of the item being cited
Begin type information with a left square bracket
Enter the words "discussion list on the"
End content type with space
Place the type of medium in square brackets following the title (and Content Type, if present)
End with a period placed outside the closing bracket
Use for place the city of the individual or organization responsible for the list
Follow US and Canadian cities with the two-letter abbreviation for the state or province (see Appendix E) to avoid confusion when citing lesser known cities or when cities in different locations have the same name, such as Palm Springs (CA) and Palm Springs (FL)
Follow cities in other countries with the name of the country, either written out or as the two-letter ISO country code (see Appendix D), when citing lesser known cities or when cities in different locations have the same name, such as Cambridge (MA) and Cambridge (England)
Use the anglicized form for a non-US city, such as Vienna for Wien
End place information with a colon
The publisher is the individual or organization responsible for the list
Record the name of the publisher as it is found on the screen, using whatever capitalization and punctuation appears
Abbreviate well-known words in publisher names if desired
When a division or another subsidiary part of a publisher is provided, enter the publisher name first. For example: University of Texas, Comprehensive Cancer Center.
End publisher information with a semicolon
Begin with the year the message was sent
Include the month and day after the year, such as 2007 Apr 30
Use English names for months and abbreviate them to the first three letters
End date information with a space
Give the date the message was first seen
Include the year month and day in that order, such as 2006 May 5
Use English names for months and abbreviate them using the first three letters, such as Jan
Place citation date information in square brackets
End date information with a period placed outside the closing bracket
Give extent as the total number of screens, paragraphs, lines, or bytes, whichever is most practical
Precede the total with the word "about" for all except the number of paragraphs and place it in square brackets, as [about 5 screens]
If the message is printed out, precede the page total with the word "about" and place it in square brackets, as [about 3 p.]
End extent information with a period placed outside the closing bracket
If the message is archived by the mail server, the access address of the archive may be provided
Begin with the phrase "Available from" followed by a colon and a space
Insert the entire Uniform Resource Locator (URL); do not omit FTP, http://, www, or other beginning components
End with a period only if the URL ends with a slash, otherwise end with no punctuation
Give the language of the message if not English
Capitalize the language name
Follow the language name with a period
Notes is a collective term for information given after the citation itself
Complete sentences are not required
Be brief
Note: The examples below are derived from actual lists, but the names and other components have been changed in most cases to preserve privacy.
Ramirez AG. NPM1 gene mutation in AML. In: AML-Listserv [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources; 2007 Jan 12 [cited 2007 Jan 14]. [about 3 screens].
with optional content type
Ramirez AG. NPM1 gene mutation in AML. In: AML-Listserv [discussion list on the Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources; 2007 Jan 12 [cited 2007 Jan 14]. [about 3 screens].
Davis, Blake F. Albuterol versus levalbuterol for treatment of acute asthma. In: RC_WORLD [Internet]. Indianapolis (IN): IUPUI; 2007 Mar 2 [cited 2007 Mar 2]. [5 paragraphs].
GPO Customer Contact Center. Cessation of the FDA Consumer in print. In: FDLP Listserv [Internet]. Washington: Government Printing Office (US); 2007 Apr 27 [cited 2007 Apr 27]. [13 lines].
CarrieOlson@aol.com. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and nephrology. In: PEDNEFRO-L [Internet]. Prague (Czech Republic): Univerzity Karlovy, Lekarska Fakulta; 1998 Jan 4, 10:01 PM [cited 2007 May 3]. [about 3 p.].
Slack HT (TMD and Orofacial Pain Clinic, College of Dentistry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Lincoln, NE). Orthodontics for TMD therapy. In: OANDP-L [Internet]. Gainesville (FL): O & P digital Technologies; 2007 Apr 20 [cited 2007 Apr 22]. [about 4 screens].
Ramirez AG (Instituto de Biologia Molecular y Celular del Cancer, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain). NPM1 gene mutation in AML. In: AML-Listserv [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources; 2007 Jan 12 [cited 2007 Jan 14]. [about 3 screens].
Slack HT (Clinical Administrator, TMD and Orofacial Pain Clinic, College of Dentistry, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Lincoln, NE). Orthodontics for TMD therapy. In: OANDP-L [Internet]. Gainesville (FL): O & P digital Technologies; 2007 Apr 20 [cited 2007 Apr 22]. [about 4 screens].
Theron M (Hopital Marmottan, Paris, FR. marie.theron@marmottan.fr). WHO revised global disease standards. In: MEDLIB-L [Internet]. Chicago: Medical Library Association; 2007 Mar 18 [cited 2007 Apr 1]. [1 paragraph].
Blake M. Summary: librarian handbooks and guidelines. In: MEDLIB-L [Internet]. Chicago: Medical Library Association; 2007 Apr 27 [cited 2007 Apr 28]. [about 2 screens].
KCarlson@penn.edu. GLAUCOMA: Early vs late intraocular pressure following trabeculectomy. In: OPHTHAL [Internet]. [place unknown]: Internet Ophthalmology; 2007 Apr 27 [cited 2007 May 3]. [about 2 screens].
Michel D. Peut-on se fier aux statistiques fournies par les banques de donnees emanant du ministere de la sante? In: archivistes hospitaliers [Internet]. Lyon (FR): CISR; 2007 May 2 [cited 2007 May 3]. [about 3 p.]. French.
with translation included
Michel D. Peut-on se fier aux statistiques fournies par les banques de donnees emanant du ministere de la sante? [Could we trust clinical statistics from data banks of the National Health Service (NHS)?]. In: archivistes hospitaliers [hospital archivists] [Internet]. Lyon (FR): CISR; 2007 May 2 [cited 2007 May 3]. [about 3 p.]. French.
Davis BF. Albuterol versus levalbuterol for treatment of acute asthma. In: RC_WORLD (LISTSERV@LISTSERV.iupui.edu) [Internet]. Indianapolis (IN): IUPUI; 2007 May 2 [cited 2007 Sep 17]. [5 paragraphs].
Blake M. Summary: librarian handbooks and guidelines. In: MEDLIB-L (MEDLIB-L@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU) [Internet]. Chicago: Medical Library Association; 2007 Apr 27 [cited 2007 Apr 28]. [about 2 screens].
Michel D. Peut-on se fier aux statistiques fournies par les banques de donnees emanant du ministere de la sante? [Could we trust clinical statistics from data banks of the National Health Service (NHS)?]. In: archivistes hospitaliers [hospital archivists] (archivistes_hospitaliers@listes.univ-lyon1.fr) [Internet]. Lyon (FR): CISR; 2007 May 2 [cited 2007 May 3]. [about 3 p.]. French.
Davis BF. Albuterol versus levalbuterol for treatment of acute asthma. In: RC_WORLD [discussion list on the Internet]. Indianapolis (IN): IUPUI; 2007 May 2 [cited 2007 Sep 17]. [5 paragraphs].
Blake M. Summary: librarian handbooks and guidelines. In: MEDLIB-L [Internet]. Chicago: Medical Library Association; 2007 Apr 27 [cited 2007 Apr 28]. [about 2 screens].
King M. Africa goes into negative food balance. In: AFRO-NETS [Internet]. Watertown (MA): AED-SATELLIFE; 2003 May 4 [cited 2007 Apr 25]. 19.55 KB.
KCarlson@penn.edu. GLAUCOMA: Early vs late intraocular pressure following trabeculectomy. In: OPHTHAL [Internet]. [place unknown]: Internet Ophthalmology; 2007 Apr 27 [cited 2007 May 3]. [about 2 screens].
Keller CD. Public health training for rural primary care physicians. In: RURALNET-L [Internet]. Huntington (WV): Marshall University School of Medicine, Department of Academic Computing; 2007 Apr 15 [cited 2007 Apr 16]. [about 3 screens].
Murray GC. A diagram of the UMLS Semantic Network. In: UMLSUSERS-L [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2007 Apr 23, 11:33 AM [cited 2007 May 2]. [60 lines].
Murray GC. A diagram of the UMLS Semantic Network. In: UMLSUSERS-L [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2007 Apr 23, 11:33 AM [cited 2007 May 2]. [60 lines].
Davis BF. Albuterol versus levalbuterol for treatment of acute asthma. In: RC_WORLD [Internet]. Indianapolis (IN): IUPUI; 2007 May 2 [cited 2007 Sep 17]. [5 paragraphs].
GPO Customer Contact Center. Cessation of the FDA Consumer in print. In: FDLP Listserv [Internet]. Washington: Government Printing Office (US); 2007 Apr 27 [cited 2007 Apr 27]. [13 lines].
Karns M. Africa goes into negative food balance. In: AFRO-NETS [Internet]. Watertown (MA): AED-SATELLIFE; 2003 May 4 [cited 2007 Apr 25]. 19.55 KB. Accompanied by: 1 GIF file, 20KB.
CarrieOlson@aol.com. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and nephrology. In: PEDNEFRO-L [Internet]. Prague (Czech Republic): Univerzity Karlovy, Lekarska Fakulta; 1998 Jan 4, 10:01 PM [cited 2007 May 3]. [about 3 p.].
Ramirez AG. NPM1 gene mutation in AML. In: AML-Listserv [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources; 2007 Jan 12 [cited 2007 Jan 14]. [about 3 screens].
Karns M. Africa goes into negative food balance. In: AFRO-NETS [Internet]. Watertown (MA): AED-SATELLIFE; 2003 May 4 [cited 2007 Apr 25]. 19.55 KB. Accompanied by: 1 GIF file, 20KB. Available from: http://www.afronets.org/docs-related.php
Theron M. WHO revised global disease standards. In: MEDLIB-L [Internet]. Chicago: Medical Library Association; 2007 Mar 18 [cited 2007 Apr 1]. [1 paragraph]. Available from: http://listserv.buffalo.edu/archives/medlib-l.html
CarrieOlson@aol.com. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and nephrology. In: PEDNEFRO-L [Internet]. Prague (Czech Republic): Univerzity Karlovy, Lekarska Fakulta; 1998 Jan 4, 10:01 PM [cited 2007 May 3]. [about 3 p.]. Available from: http://www.lf2.cuni.cz/cgi-bin/wilma_hiliter/pednefro-l/199806/msg00000.html?line=80#
GPO Customer Contact Center. Cessation of the FDA Consumer in print. In: FDLP Listserv [Internet]. Washington: Government Printing Office (US); 2007 Apr 27 [cited 2007 Apr 27]. [13 lines]. Available from: http://listserv.access.gpo.gov/ by clicking on Online mailing list archives.
Ramirez AG. NPM1 gene mutation in AML. In: AML-Listserv [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources; 2007 Jan 12 [cited 2007 Jan 14]. [about 3 screens]. List for acute myelocytic leukemia.
Davis BF. Albuterol versus levalbuterol for treatment of acute asthma. In: RC_WORLD [Internet]. Indianapolis (IN): IUPUI; 2007 May 2 [cited 2007 Sep 17]. [5 paragraphs]. IUPUI is Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
AML-Listserv [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources. 1997 Nov 12 - [cited 2007 May 11]. Available from: AML-request@LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG
MEDLIB-L [Internet]. Chicago: Medical Library Association. 1995 Aug 16 - [cited 2007 May 11]. Available from: MEDLIB-L@LIST.UVM.EDU
The general format for a reference to a blog on the Internet, including punctuation:
The general format for a reference to a contribution to a blog, when the contribution is written by someone other than the blog owner, including punctuation:
Examples of Citations to Blogs
Blog is a contraction of Web log. A blog is a publicly available Web site that serves as a personal journal or sounding board for an individual or as an information tool for an organization. The blog owner posts messages and invites comments from readers. Entries or messages are displayed in reverse chronological order and the site is usually updated daily.
In citing a blog, note that:
The word blog may or may not be a part of the title. If it is not, using the content type "blog" is strongly recommended.
Many blogs are self-published, with the author and the publisher the same individual.
Place of publication may be absent. Use the author's city as the place if one is not provided.
Blogs often omit giving the date the blog began. If no beginning date is found, use the date of the earliest message posted (usually found under Archive) and place it in square brackets.
Many blogs have new content added daily or very frequently. A date of update/revision is therefore not useful and is omitted from a citation.
Look at the opening screen(s), the bottom or closing screens, sidebar, and the source code (viewable through the Web browser), in that order, for authoritative information to use in citing a blog.
Contributions to a Blog
To cite an entire blog, use the instructions below. To cite a part of, or a contribution to a blog, examples are provided. For more details, combine the instructions in this chapter with those in Chapter 24B Parts of Databases on the Internet if the item was posted by the blog owner or in Chapter 24C Contributions to Databases on the Internet if the item was written by someone other than the blog owner. See examples 29-30.
Be aware that the message content of many blogs is not moderated. Many blogs also post articles or other documents that were initially published elsewhere. Do not cite these as contributions to a blog. Locate the original and cite that item.
Messages posted to discussion lists like a blog are considered a form of personal communication and are not often accepted by editors or others for inclusion in a reference list. Most authorities recommend placing references to such communications within the running text, not as formal end references. The nature and source of the cited information should be identified by an appropriate statement. Place the source information in parentheses, using a term or terms to indicate that the citation is not represented in the reference list. For example:
…and many nurses involved with such cases (Mar 22, 2007 posting by RS Grant to Nurse Studio Blog; unreferenced, see "Notes") report…
When a reference to a blog posting is included in a reference list, the author must provide written permission to the publisher from the cited person (if living) or from the cited organization. The permission should be a statement in an "Acknowledgments" or a "Notes" section that follows the text of an article or is placed at the end of a book's main text. Such statements may include additional details, such as the reason for the posting.
It is highly recommended that any message being considered for future citation be saved to disk or in print because blogs may not save or archive messages for retrieval or may withdraw individual messages.
Continue to Citation Rules with Examples for Blogs
Continue to Examples of Citations to Blogs
Components/elements are listed in the order they should appear in a reference. An R after the component name means that it is required in the citation; an O after the name means it is optional.
Author/Editor (R) | Author Affiliation (O) | Title (R) | Content Type (O) | Type of Medium (R) | Editor and other Secondary Authors (O) | Place of Publication (R) | Publisher (R) | Date of Publication (R) | Date of Citation (R) | Availability (R) | Language (R) | Notes (O)
List names in the order they appear on the opening screens
Enter surname (family or last name) first for each author/editor
Capitalize surnames and enter spaces within surnames as they appear on the assumption that the author approved the form used. For example: Van Der Horn or van der Horn; De Wolf or de Wolf or DeWolf.
Convert given (first) names and middle names to initials for a maximum of two initials following each surname
Give all authors/editors, regardless of the number
Separate author/editor names from each other by a comma and a space
If there are no authors, only editors, follow the last named editor with a comma and the word editor or editors; see Editor and other Secondary Authors below if there are authors and editors
End author/editor information with a period
Enter the affiliation of all authors or only the first author
Begin with the department and name of the institution, followed by city and state/Canadian province/country
Use commas to separate parts of the address
Place the address in parentheses, such as (Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA)
Separate the affiliation from its author by a space
Follow the affiliation with a comma placed outside the closing parenthesis, unless the affiliation is for the last author, then use a period
Reproduce the title of a blog as closely as possible to the wording that appears on the screen, duplicating capitalization, spacing, and punctuation
Use a colon followed by a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless another form of punctuation (such as a question mark, period, or an exclamation point) is already present
Follow non-English titles with a translation whenever possible; place the translation in square brackets
End a title with a space
Use a content type to alert the user that the reference is to a blog, not to a standard book or Web site
Begin type information with a left square bracket
Enter the words "blog on"
End the content type with space
Place the word "Internet" in square brackets after the title (and Content Type, if present)
End with a period, placed outside the closing bracket
Add location information (the URL, etc.) according to the instructions under Availability below
A secondary author modifies the work of the author. Examples include editors, translators, and producers.
Place the names of secondary authors after the Type of Medium
Use the same rules for the format of names given in Author/Editor above
Follow the last named editor with a comma and the word editor or editors; the last named illustrator with a comma and the word illustrator or illustrators, etc.
End secondary author information with a period
If there is no author, move secondary authors such as editors and translators to the author position in the reference
Use for place of publication the city where the blog is published
Follow US and Canadian cities with the two-letter abbreviation for the state or province to avoid confusion when citing lesser known cities or when cities in different locations have the same name, such as Palm Springs (CA) and Palm Springs (FL)
Follow cities in other countries with the name of the country, either written out or as the two-letter ISO country code, when citing lesser known cities or when cities in different locations have the same name, such as Cambridge (MA) and Cambridge (England)
Use the anglicized form for a non-US city, such as Vienna for Wien
End place information with a colon
Use for publisher the individual or organization issuing the blog
Record the name of the publisher as it is found on the title page or opening screens, using whatever capitalization and punctuation appears
When a division or another subsidiary part of a publisher appears in the publication, enter the publisher name first. For example: McGraw-Hill, Health Professions Division.
End publisher information with a period
Give the beginning date, i.e., the date the blog was created
Always give the year
Convert roman numerals to arabic numbers. For example: MM to 2000.
Include the month, if desired, after the year, such as 2004 May
Use English names for months and abbreviate them using the first three letters, such as Jan
For an open blog, give the beginning date of the blog followed by a hyphen and 3 spaces
For a closed blog, give the beginning and ending dates, separated by a hyphen with a space before and after
End date information with a space
Always include the date the blog was seen on the Internet
Include the year month and day in that order, such as 2006 May 5
Use English names for months and abbreviate them using the first three letters, such as Jan
If a date of update/revision is given, place the date of citation after it and follow both dates with a right square bracket
If no date of update/revision is given, place citation date information in square brackets
End date information with a period placed outside the closing bracket
Begin with the phrase "Available from" followed by a colon and a space
Insert the entire Uniform Resource Locator (URL); do not omit http://, www, or other beginning components
Provide the specific URL or Permalink for the content if available
End with a period only if the URL ends with a slash, otherwise end with no punctuation
Give the language of publication if not English
Capitalize the language name
Follow the language name with a period
Notes is a collective term for any useful information given after the citation itself
Complete sentences are not required
Be brief
Bernstein M. Bioethics Discussion Blog [Internet]. Los Angeles: Maurice Bernstein. 2004 Jul - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://bioethicsdiscussion.blogspot.com/.
Holt M. The Health Care Blog [Internet]. San Francisco: Matthew Holt. 2003 Oct - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/.
with optional content type
KidneyNotes.com [blog on the Internet]. New York: KidneyNotes. c2006 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.kidneynotes.com/.
Cohen MH. CAMLAW: complementary and alternative medicine law blog [Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Michael H. Cohen, Esq. c2007 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.camlawblog.com/.
Mik T. Nursing Studio [blog on the Internet]. Seattle: Akon. [2002 May] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.nursingstudio.net
Cohen, Michael H. CAMLAW: complementary and alternative medicine law blog [Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Michael H. Cohen, Esq. c2007 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.camlawblog.com/.
Ostrovsky, Michael; Genes, Nicholas; Odell, Timothy; Ostrovsky, Gene, editors. medGadget [blog on the Internet]. El Granada (CA): Medgadget LLC. [2004 Dec] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.medgadget.com/.
Kim. Emergiblog: The Life & Times of an ER Nurse [Internet]. Ask Shane, producer. San Francisco: Emergiblog. c2005-2007 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.emergiblog.com/.
Doctor CBB. CodeBlueBlog [Internet]. [Florida]: [Thomas Boyle]. [2004 May] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://codeblueblog.blogs.com/.
Wall Street Journal. HEALTH BLOG: WSJ's blog on health and the business of health [Internet]. Hensley S, editor. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. c2007 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/.
AARP Issues Blog Team. AARP Issues Blog [Internet]. Washington: AARP. [2005 Jan] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://aarp.typepad.com/.
Ostrovsky M, Genes N, Odell T, Ostrovsky G, editors. medGadget [blog on the Internet]. El Granada (CA): Medgadget LLC. [2004 Dec] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.medgadget.com/.
KidneyNotes.com [blog on the Internet]. Viklund A, CSSCreator, illustrators. New York: KidneyNotes. c2006 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.kidneynotes.com/.
HealthNex: IBMers and friends on networked, patient-centric healthcare [Internet]. [place unknown]: IBM. [2006 Sep] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://healthnex.typepad.com/web_log/.
Myers PZ (University of Minnesota, Morris, MN). Pharyngula [blog on the Internet]. New York: ScienceBlogs LLC. [2006 Jan] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/.
Schwitzer G (University of Minnesota, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Minneapolis, MN). Schwitzer health news blog [Internet]. Minneapolis (MN): HealthNewsReview.org. [2004 Sep] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/.
Tenderich A. Diabetes Mine: a gold mine of straight talk and encouragement for people living with diabetes [blog on the Internet]. San Francisco: Amy Tenderich. [2005 Feb] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from:http://www.diabetesmine.com/.
Kim. Emergiblog: The Life & Times of an ER Nurse [Internet]. Ask Shane, producer. San Francisco: Emergiblog. c2005-2007 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.emergiblog.com/.
Silverman E. PHARMALOT [blog on the Internet]. [Newark (NJ)]: Star-Ledger. 2007 Jan - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://pharmalot.com/.
Genes N. blogborygmi: a digest of developments in the life of an emergency medicine resident [Internet]. [place unknown]: Nicholas Genes. [2003 Jun] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://blogborygmi.blogspot.com/.
Sharp J. eHealth: a blog devoted to ehealth and healthcare information technology [Internet]. Cleveland (OH): EHEALTH.JOHNWSHARP.COM. [2006 Sep] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://ehealth.johnwsharp.com/.
Scalpel or Sword? [blog on the Internet]. [Texas]: [publisher unknown]. [2006 Aug] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://scalpelorsword.blogspot.com/.
Arrington M, Ohayon O. TechCrunch: explorons le Web 2.0 [blog on the Internet]. Arrington M, editor. Paris: Pulpmedia. 2005 Jun 11 - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://fr.techcrunch.com/. French.
Martins G. O INTERNO: technologia e anesthesia [blog on the Internet]. Porto (Portugal): Gustavo Martins. [2006 Jun] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://ointerno.blogspot.com/. Portuguese.
Fresquet Febrer JL. Blog de Historia de la medicina [Internet]. Valencia (Spain): Universidad de Valencia. [2005 Dec] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://www.historiadelamedicina.org/blog/. Spanish.
with translation included
Fresquet Febrer JL. Blog de Historia de la medicina [Blog of the history of medicine] [Internet]. Valencia (Spain): Universidad de Valencia. [2005 Dec] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://www.historiadelamedicina.org/blog/. Spanish.
Tenderich A. Diabetes Mine: a gold mine of straight talk and encouragement for people living with diabetes [blog on the Internet]. San Francisco: Amy Tenderich. [2005 Feb] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from:http://www.diabetesmine.com/.
Levy P. RUNNING A HOSPITAL [blog on the Internet]. Boston: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. [2006 Aug] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/.
Wall Street Journal. HEALTH BLOG: WSJ's blog on health and the business of health [Internet]. Hensley S, editor. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. c2007 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/.
KidneyNotes.com [blog on the Internet]. Viklund A, CSSCreator, illustrators. New York: KidneyNotes. c2006 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.kidneynotes.com/.
Arrington M, Ohayon O. TechCrunch: explorons le Web 2.0 [blog on the Internet]. Arrington M, editor. Paris: Pulpmedia. 2005 Jun 11 - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://fr.techcrunch.com/. French.
Levy P. RUNNING A HOSPITAL [blog on the Internet]. Boston: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. [2006 Aug] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/.
Wall Street Journal. HEALTH BLOG: WSJ's blog on health and the business of health [Internet]. Hensley S, editor. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. c2007 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/.
Arrington M, Ohayon O. TechCrunch: explorons le Web 2.0 [blog on the Internet]. Arrington M, editor. Paris: Pulpmedia. 2005 Jun 11 - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://fr.techcrunch.com/. French.
Ostrovsky M, Genes N, Odell T, Ostrovsky G, editors. medGadget [blog on the Internet]. El Granada (CA): Medgadget LLC. [2004 Dec] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.medgadget.com/.
Schwab S. Surgeonsblog [Internet]. Puget Sound (WA): Sid Schwab. [2006] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://surgeonsblog.blogspot.com/.
Pho K. Kevin, M.D.: medical Weblog [Internet]. Nashua (NH): Kevin Pho. [2004 May] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://kevinmd.com/blog/.
Martins G. O INTERNO: technologia e anesthesia [blog on the Internet]. Porto (Portugal): Gustavo Martins. [2006 Jun] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://ointerno.blogspot.com/. Portuguese.
Silverman E. PHARMALOT [blog on the Internet]. [Newark (NJ)]: Star-Ledger. 2007 Jan - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://pharmalot.com/.
Hunscher D. Future Scenarios for Health IT [blog on the Internet]. [Ann Arbor (MI)]: Dale Hunscher. [2006 Aug] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://hunscher.typepad.com/futurehit/.
Reider J. Family Medicine Notes [blog on the Internet]. [place unknown]: Jacob Reider. 1999 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.docnotes.net/.
Genes N. blogborygmi: a digest of developments in the life of an emergency medicine resident [Internet]. [place unknown]: Nicholas Genes. [2003 Jun] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://blogborygmi.blogspot.com/.
Gottesman MM The DDIR's COI Blog [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health (US), Office of the Director, Office of Intramural Research. 2005 Mar 25 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.nih.gov/ddir/COIBlog/COIBlog.htm
Bernhardt JM. Director's Blog [Internet]. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US), National Center for Health Marketing. [2006 Jul 13] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/blog.htm
Doctor CBB. CodeBlueBlog [Internet]. [Florida]: [Thomas Boyle]. [2004 May] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://codeblueblog.blogs.com/.
Scalpel or Sword? [blog on the Internet]. [Texas]: [publisher unknown]. [2006 Aug] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://scalpelorsword.blogspot.com/.
Holt M. The Health Care Blog [Internet]. San Francisco: Matthew Holt. 2003 Oct - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/.
Gottesman MM The DDIR's COI Blog [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health (US), Office of the Director, Office of Intramural Research. 2005 Mar 25 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.nih.gov/ddir/COIBlog/COIBlog.htm
Kim. Emergiblog: The Life & Times of an ER Nurse [Internet]. Ask Shane, producer. San Francisco: Emergiblog. c2005-2007 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.emergiblog.com/.
KidneyNotes.com [blog on the Internet]. Viklund A, CSSCreator, illustrators. New York: KidneyNotes. c2006 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.kidneynotes.com/.
Kim. Emergiblog: The Life & Times of an ER Nurse [Internet]. Ask Shane, producer. San Francisco: Emergiblog. c2005-2007 - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.emergiblog.com/.
Bernhardt JM. Director's Blog [Internet]. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US), National Center for Health Marketing. [2006 Jul 13] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/blog.htm
Mik T. Nursing Studio [blog on the Internet]. Seattle: Akon. [2002 May] - [cited 2007 May 16]. Available from: http://www.nursingstudio.net
Scalpel or Sword? [blog on the Internet]. [Texas]: [publisher unknown]. [2006 Aug] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://scalpelorsword.blogspot.com/. Topic is emergency medicine.
Tripathi M. MAeHC Blog [Internet]. Waltham (MA): Micky Tripathi. [2006] - [cited 2007 May 17]. Available from: http://maehc.blogspot.com/. MAeHC is the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative.
Reider J. Family Medicine Notes [blog on the Internet]. [place unknown]: Jacob Reider. 1999 - . CRP again ...; 2004 Apr 2 [cited 2007 May 23]; [about 1 screen]. Available from: http://www.docnotes.net/001763.html
Doctor CBB. CodeBlueBlog [Internet]. [Florida]: [Thomas Boyle]. [2004 May] - . i-Mammo part II: breasts, lies and videotapes; 2005 Apr 15 [cited 2007 May 23]; [about 4 screens]. Available from: http://codeblueblog.blogs.com/codeblueblog/2005/04/part_ii_and_the.html
Kraft M. The Krafty Librarian [blog on the Internet]. [Cleveland (OH)]: Michelle Kraft. [2004 Jun] - . Collaborative technologies and science: more tools or more risk? 2008 Jan 21 [cited 2008 Apr 28]; [about 1 screen]. Available from: http://kraftylibrarian.com/2008/01/collaborative-technologies-and-science.html
with author affiliation
Leavitt M (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC). Secretary Mike Leavitt's Blog [Internet]. [Washington]: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2007 Aug 13 - . Health information technology; 2008 Jan 24 [cited 2008 Apr 28]; [about 1 screen]. Available from: http://secretarysblog.hhs.gov/my_weblog/2008/01/health-informat.html
Mantone J. Head trauma haunts many, researchers say. 2008 Jan 29 [cited 2008 Apr 28]. In: Wall Street Journal. HEALTH BLOG [Internet]. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. c2008 - . [about 1 screen]. Available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/01/29/head-trauma-haunts-many-researchers-say/.
Teresa. Comment on: "Flo's pledge: deal or no deal?" 2007 May 12 [cited 2007 May 16]. In: Kim. Emergiblog: The Life & Times of an ER Nurse [Internet]. San Francisco: Emergiblog. c2005-2007 - . [about 1 screen]. Available from: http://www.emergiblog.com/2007/05/flos-pledge-deal-or-no-deal.html scroll down to comments.
with author affiliation
Lanard J (Western Pacific Regional Office of the World Health Organization, Manila, Philippines). Comment on: "This blog can save your life!" and "Health Communication: Science and Art." 2006 Oct 15 [cited 2007 May 17]. In: Bernhardt JM. Director's Blog [Internet]. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US), National Center for Health Marketing. [2006 Jul 13] - . [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/blog_101106.htm scroll down to locate comment.
Campbell A (Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA). Diabetes and alcohol: do the two mix? (Part 2). 2008 Jan 28 [cited 2008 Apr 28]. In: Diabetes Self-Management Blog [Internet]. New York: Diabetes Self-Management. [2006 Aug 14] - . 2 p. Available from: http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/Amy_Campbell/Diabetes_and_Alcohol_Do_the_Two_Mix_Part_2
The general format for a reference to a wiki on the Internet, including punctuation:
Examples of Citations to Wikis
A wiki is a multi-authored or collaborative Web site that permits users to create additional content for the site and to edit existing content. Users may also add comments to content, ask questions, and reply to questions posed by others. The term wiki is derived from the Hawaiian "wiki wiki", which means quick. Wikipedia is perhaps the most widely known general wiki. Most other wikis are devoted to a particular subject, like AIDS Wiki or WIKISURGERY.
To cite a wiki:
Always begin with the title. If the word wiki is not included, using the content type "wiki" is strongly recommended.
Enter as secondary authors those named as editors, curators, moderators, and other similar roles.
Look to the opening screen(s), the sidebar, links from the site, and the source code (viewable through the Web browser), in that order, for authoritative information to use in citing a wiki.
If publication facts are absent from these sources, look for a link labeled "About this site", "History", or similar wording.
Contributions to a Wiki
To cite an entire wiki, use the instructions below. To cite a contribution to a wiki, combine the instructions in this chapter with those in Chapter 24C Contributions to Databases on the Internet if the contribution has an author named or with Chapter 24B Parts of Databases on the Internet if the contribution has no author named. See also examples 25-26.
Be aware, however, that many wikis are not moderated. Since anyone can post text to most wikis, the validity of the content may be questionable. Even for moderated sites, the content is generally only reviewed after posting and the content may remain online for some time before review. Note also that many wikis post articles or other documents that were initially published elsewhere. Do not cite these as contributions to a wiki. Locate the original and cite that item.
Messages or other content posted to discussion lists including wikis are a form of personal communication and not often accepted by editors or others for inclusion in a reference list. Most authorities recommend placing references to such communications within the running text, not as formal end references. The nature and source of the cited information should be identified by an appropriate statement. Place the source information in parentheses, using a term or terms to indicate that the citation is not represented in the reference list. For example:
…and many nurses involved with such cases (Mar 22, 2007 posting by RS Grant to Nurse Wiki; unreferenced, see "Notes") report…
When a reference to a wiki posting is included in a reference list, the author must provide written permission to the publisher from the cited person (if living) or from the cited organization. The permission should be a statement in an "Acknowledgments" or a "Notes" section that follows the text of an article or is placed at the end of a book's main text. These statements may include additional details, such as the reason for the posting.
It is highly recommended that any message/content considered for future citation be saved to disk or in print because all wikis may not save or archive message content for retrieval or may withdraw some content.
Continue to Citation Rules with Examples for Wikis.
Continue to Examples of Citations to Wikis.
Components/elements are listed in the order they should appear in a reference. An R after the component name means that it is required in the citation; an O after the name means it is optional.
Title (R) | Content Type (O) | Type of Medium (R) | Editor and other Secondary Authors (O) | Place of Publication (R) | Publisher (R) | Date of Publication (R) | Date of Update/Revision (R) | Date of Citation (R) | Availability (R) | Language (R) | Notes (O)
Reproduce the title of a wiki as closely as possible to the wording that appears on the screen, duplicating capitalization, spacing, and punctuation
Use a colon followed by a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless another form of punctuation (such as a question mark, period, or an exclamation point) is already present
Follow non-English titles with a translation whenever possible; place the translation in square brackets
End a title with a space
Use a content type to alert the user that the reference is to a wiki, not to a standard book or Web site
Begin type information with a left square bracket
Enter the phrase "wiki on the"
End the content type with space
Place the word "Internet" in square brackets after the title (and Content Type, if present)
End with a period, placed outside the closing bracket
Add location information (the URL, etc.) according to the instructions under Availability below
Place the names of secondary authors, such as editors, curators, and moderators, after the Type of Medium
Use the same rules for the format of names given in Author/Editor above
Follow the last named editor with a comma and the word editor or editors; the last named curator with a comma and the word curator or curators, etc.
End secondary author information with a period
Use for place of publication the city where the wiki is published
Follow US and Canadian cities with the two-letter abbreviation for the state or province to avoid confusion when citing lesser known cities, or when cities in different locations have the same name, such as Palm Springs (CA) and Palm Springs (FL)
Follow cities in other countries with the name of the country, either written out or as the two-letter ISO country code, when citing lesser known cities or when cities in different locations have the same name, such as Cambridge (MA) and Cambridge (England)
Use the anglicized form for a non-US city, such as Vienna for Wien
End place information with a colon
Use for publisher the individual or organization issuing the wiki
Record the name of the publisher as it is found on the title page or opening screens, using whatever capitalization and punctuation appears
Abbreviate well-known publisher names with caution to avoid confusion. For example, "John Wiley & Sons, Ltd." may become simply "Wiley".
When a division or other subsidiary part of a publisher appears in the publication, enter the publisher name first. For example: McGraw-Hill, Health Professions Division.
End publisher information with a period
Give the beginning date, i.e., the date the wiki was created
Always give the year
Convert roman numerals to arabic numbers. For example: MM to 2000.
Include the month and day, if desired, after the year, such as 2004 May 6
Use English names for months and abbreviate them using the first three letters, such as Jan
End date information with a space
Begin update/revision information with a left square bracket
Use the word for update or revision provided, such as updated or modified
Always give the year of update/revision
Convert roman numerals to arabic numbers. For example: MM to 2000.
Include the month and day of update/revision, if provided, after the year, such as 2006 May 5
Use English names for months and abbreviate them using the first three letters, such as Jan
End update/revision information with a semicolon and a space
Always include the date the wiki was seen on the Internet
Include the year month and day in that order, such as 2006 May 5
Use English names for months and abbreviate them using the first three letters, such as Jan
If a date of update/revision is given, place the date of citation after it and follow both dates with a right square bracket
If no date of update/revision is given, place citation date information in square brackets
End date information with a period placed outside the closing bracket
Begin with the phrase "Available from" followed by a colon and a space
Insert the entire Uniform Resource Locator (URL); do not omit http://, www, or other beginning components
End with a period only if the URL ends with a slash, otherwise end with no punctuation
Give the language of publication if not English
Capitalize the language name
Follow the language name with a period
Notes is a collective term for any further information given after the citation itself
Complete sentences are not required
Be brief
WIKISURGERY [Internet]. London: Surgical Associates Ltd. 2006 Sep - [modified 2007 Jan 30; cited 2007 May 3]. Available from: http://www.wikisurgery.com/.
Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia [Internet]. St. Petersburg (FL): Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2001 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/.
with optional content type
OpenWetWare [wiki on the Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biological Engineering Division. 2005 May - [modified 2007 Mar 4; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://openwetware.org/.
Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia [Internet]. St. Petersburg (FL): Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2001 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/.
WikiOmics: open bioinformatics [Internet]. [place unknown]: Wikiomics. 2005 Nov - [cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://wikiomics.org/.
OpenWetWare [Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biological Engineering Division. 2005 May - [modified 2007 Mar 4; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://openwetware.org/.
xanthusBase [Internet]. [Syracuse (NY): Syracuse University, Welch Laboratory]. c2006 - [modified 2007 Mar 2; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.xanthusbase.org/.
ganfyd [Internet]. [United Kingdom]: [publisher unknown]. [date unknown] - [modified 2007 May 4; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.ganfyd.org/.
PflegeWiki [Internet]. Gelsenkirchen (Germany): Verein zur Forderung Freier Informationen fur die Pflege e.V. 2004 Aug - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://de.nursingwiki.org/. German.
with translation included
PflegeWiki [Nursing Wiki] [Internet]. Gelsenkirchen (Germany): Verein zur Forderung Freier Informationen fur die Pflege e.V. 2004 Aug - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://de.nursingwiki.org/. German.
Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia [Internet]. St. Petersburg (FL): Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2001 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.wikipedia.org/. English, French, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, German, Polish, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish.
OpenWetWare [wiki on the Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biological Engineering Division. 2005 May - [modified 2007 Mar 4; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://openwetware.org/.
ganfyd [wiki on the Internet]. [United Kingdom]: [publisher unknown]. [date unknown] - [modified 2007 May 4; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.ganfyd.org/.
PubDrug [wiki on the Internet]. [place unknown: publisher unknown]. 2006 Nov 8 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.pubdrug.org/.
RxWiki [Internet]. Proctor KA, Staffa E, Roberts B, editors. Alexandria (VA): Community MTM Services, Inc. [2007?] - [cited 2007 May 23]. Available from: http://www.rxwiki.com/.
Wikikidney.org [Internet]. Fadem SZ, curator. [Houston (TX)]: Nephron Information Center. [2002?] - [modified 2007 Apr 25; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://wikikidney.org/.
AskDrWiki: a medical Wiki with the goal of creating a collective online memory for physicians, nurses, and medical students [Internet]. Civello K, Jefferson B, Bailey S, McWilliams M, editors. [place unknown]: Open Access Medical Informatics Group. 2006 Nov - [modified 2007 May 3; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://www.askdrwiki.com/.
HLWiki [Internet]. Giustini D, Barsky E, Rowell G, Saunders J, Cho A, Stibravy R, curators. [Vancouver (BC)]: University of British Columbia. [2006 Aug] - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/.
The RHIO Wiki [Internet]. Washington: Center for Health Transformation. 2006 Aug 21 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.socialtext.net/rhiowiki/index.cgi
OpenWetWare [Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biological Engineering Division. 2005 May - [modified 2007 Mar 4; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://openwetware.org/.
PflegeWiki [Internet]. Gelsenkirchen (Germany): Verein zur Forderung Freier Informationen fur die Pflege e.V. 2004 Aug - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://de.nursingwiki.org/. German.
Clinfowiki [Internet]. [Portland (OR)]: Dean F. Sittig. 2005 Jul 25 - [cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://www.informatics-review.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Student Doctor Network Wiki [Internet]. [Granite Bay (CA)]: Coastal Research Group. c1999-2007 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://studentdoctor.net/wiki//index.php/Main_Page
Flu Wiki [Internet]. [Virginia]: Melanie Mattson. 2005 Jun - [modified 2007 Feb 21; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://www.fluwikie.com/.
ganfyd [wiki on the Internet]. [United Kingdom]: [publisher unknown]. [date unknown] - [modified 2007 May 4; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.ganfyd.org/.
WikiOmics: open bioinformatics [Internet]. [place unknown]: Wikiomics. 2005 Nov - [cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://wikiomics.org/.
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OpenWetWare [Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biological Engineering Division. 2005 May - [modified 2007 Mar 4; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://openwetware.org/.
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Clinfowiki [Internet]. [Portland (OR)]: Dean F. Sittig. 2005 Jul 25 - [cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://www.informatics-review.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
The RHIO Wiki [Internet]. Washington: Center for Health Transformation. 2006 Aug 21 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.socialtext.net/rhiowiki/index.cgi Jointly published by eHealth Initiative and CHIME.
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ganfyd [wiki on the Internet]. [United Kingdom]: [publisher unknown]. [date unknown] - [modified 2007 May 4; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.ganfyd.org/.
AIDS Wiki [Internet]. [place unknown: publisher unknown]. 2006 Jan - [modified 2007 Apr 26; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://www.reviewingaids.org/awiki/.
AskDrWiki: a medical Wiki with the goal of creating a collective online memory for physicians, nurses, and medical students [Internet]. Civello K, Jefferson B, Bailey S, McWilliams M, editors. [place unknown]: Open Access Medical Informatics Group. 2006 Nov - [modified 2007 May 3; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://www.askdrwiki.com/.
Clinfowiki [Internet]. [Portland (OR)]: Dean F. Sittig. 2005 Jul 25 - [cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://www.informatics-review.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
xanthusBase [wiki on the Internet]. [Syracuse (NY): Syracuse University, Welch Laboratory]. c2006 - [modified 2007 Mar 2; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.xanthusbase.org/.
Student Doctor Network Wiki [Internet]. [Granite Bay (CA)]: Coastal Research Group. c1999-2007 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://studentdoctor.net/wiki//index.php/Main_Page
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HLWiki [Internet]. Giustini D, Barsky E, Rowell G, Saunders J, Cho A, Stibravy R, curators. [Vancouver (BC)]: University of British Columbia. [2006 Aug] - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/.
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ganfyd [wiki on the Internet]. [United Kingdom]: [publisher unknown]. [date unknown] - [modified 2007 May 4; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.ganfyd.org/.
COLAB: an open Collaborative Work Environment (CWE) to support networking among Communities of Practice [Internet]. Washington: General Services Administration (US), Intergovernmental Solutions Division. [date unknown] - [edited 2007 May 1; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://colab.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WikiHomePage#nid35OA
HealthGrid [Internet]. [place unknown]: HealthGrid.org. [date unknown] - [updated 2007 May 4; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://wiki.healthgrid.org/.
OpenWetWare [Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biological Engineering Division. 2005 May - [modified 2007 Mar 4; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://openwetware.org/.
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The RHIO Wiki [Internet]. Washington: Center for Health Transformation. 2006 Aug 21 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.socialtext.net/rhiowiki/index.cgi RHIO = Regional Health Information Organizations.
ganfyd [wiki on the Internet]. [United Kingdom]: [publisher unknown]. [date unknown] - [modified 2007 May 4; cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.ganfyd.org/. GANFYD stands for Get A Note From Your Doctor.
WikiOmics: open bioinformatics [Internet]. [place unknown]: Wikiomics. 2005 Nov - [cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://wikiomics.org/. Funded by the Godzik lab at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in San Diego, CA.
OpenWetWare [wiki on the Internet]. Cambridge (MA): Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biological Engineering Division. 2005 May - [modified 2007 Mar 4; cited 2007 May 4]. Available from: http://openwetware.org/. Current support from the National Science Foundation Biological Databases & Informatics Program and MIT's Cell Decision Process Center.
RxWiki [Internet]. Proctor KA, Staffa E, Roberts B, editors. Alexandria (VA): Community MTM Services, Inc. [2007?] - [cited 2007 May 23]. Available from: http://www.rxwiki.com/. Content accepted only from licensed pharmacists.
Radiopaedia.org [Internet]. [place unknown: publisher unknown]. 2005 Dec 6 - [cited 2007 May 5]. Available from: http://www.radiopaedia.org/. Formerly called Wikiradiology.
McEvoy D. The symptoms of IBS. c2006 [cited 2007 May 14]. In: WIKISURGERY [Internet]. London: Surgical Associates Ltd. 2006 - . [5 paragraphs]. Available from: http://www.wikisurgery.com/index.php?title=The_symptoms_of_IBS
with author affiliation
Gardner PP (Molecular Evolution Group, Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark). RNA phylogenetics. 2006 Sep 11 [modified 2006 Oct 4; cited 2007 May 14]. In: WikiOmics: open bioinformatics [Internet]. [place unknown]: Wikiomics. 2005 Nov - . [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://wikiomics.org/wiki/RNA_phylogenetics
RxWiki [Internet]. Proctor KA, Staffa E, Roberts B, editors. Alexandria (VA): Community MTM Services, Inc. [2007?] - . Celecoxib; [modified 2007 May 9; cited 2007 May 23]; [about 5 p.]. Available from: http://www.rxwiki.com/~medicati/index.php?title=Celebrex
