Page 74 - How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 8th Edition 8th Edition

Page 51
Citation of Electronic Sources

With so much current work listed electronically on the Internet, citations these days may require that you also list the
electronic source. Because the World Wide Web is such a volatile medium, a site may quickly cease being updated
and disappear well before the publication of your paper; or the person or organization maintaining the site may move
it to another location with a different electronic reference or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Readers of your
paper, using the old site address, will be frustrated when they cannot access the site. The only answer to this problem
is for the author of an article to keep a print copy of an electronic URL as an archived reference, should anyone ask
for it.

Another problem lies in the nature of Web "pages," which can vary greatly in length. A long Web document will lack
page numbers to refer to if you wish to pinpoint an exact location for the facts you wish to cite. A general way around
this problem is to name the heading under which the reference occurs. One can also count the paragraphs down from
the top or up from the bottom, whichever is shorter.

Several Web sources provide models for electronic citation formats. The International Standards Organization (ISO)
<http://www.iso.ch/infoe/guide.html> offers a lengthy final draft of standards for bibliographic references for
electronic documents or parts of documents (ISO 690-2:1997). This draft can be ordered online from the ISO
catalogue via the ISO Web site. A University of Toronto Web site <http://www.fis.utoronto.ca/internet/citation.htm>
lists a variety of models and formats, including those from the International Standards Organization. Other helpful
sites include the following:
<http://www.askanexpert.com/p/cite.html> offers students help on citation formats along with hints on grammar
and styling.

<http://www.uvm.edu/~xli/reference/apa.html> lists examples of APA (American Psychological Association)
citation styles for electronic sources.

Page 60
<http://www.famu.edu/sjmga/ggrow> is a downloadable APA style guide for the Macintosh.

<http://www.uvm.edu/~ncrane/estyles/mla.html> allows users to reach Xia Li and Nancy Crane, authors of a
popular book on Web citations, and lists the MLA (Modern Language Association) models for electronic citations.

<http://www-dept.usm.edu/~engdept/mla/rules.html> cites electronic materials with new guidelines.

ISO (International Standards Organization) Draft for Electronic Citations

The ISO is an international group that develops international standards for the presentation, identification, and
description of documents. The organization's final draft (ISO 690-2:1997) of standards for electronic citations can be
ordered online from the ISO catalogue at <http://www.iso.ch/infoe/guide.html>. The draft gives examples of reference
styles for entire documents, electronic monographs, databases, and computer programs. It also lists examples of
electronic citations for journal articles, personal e-mail communications, and listserv communications.

Print Style Manuals for Electronic Citation

The journal you are writing for can usually provide you with a model for formatting electronic references that you
refer to in your article. Several hardcopy reference works can also give guidance. The most important of these are
Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information (Revised edition, 1996) by Xia Li and Nancy Crane,
the 14th Edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (1993), and the 6th Edition of Scientific Style and Format (1993) by
the Council of Biology Editors.

file:///C|/...208%20Books%20(part%201%20of%203)/How%20to%20write%20&%20publish%20scientific%20paper/12.htm[4/27/2009 12:48:26 PM]