The University of Nottingham provides helpful information about citing electronic sources. There is further information at the University of Alberta which also provide provides excellent citation and style guides for electronic and internet resources.

As you will discover, the protocols for developing an agreed system of referencing electronic sources are still being developed. As a rule of thumb, you should provide the name of the author, the web or URL address and the date you accessed the website. Not all of this information is always available on the web, so it is important always to evaluate the sources you are accessing, using the questions below (based on information provided by the University of Alberta):

• Remember that quality control does not exist

  Because there is no quality control on the world wide web, you need to remember not everything is true and you are unlikely to find everything that can be said about a topic.

• What kind of research data do you need?

  It is vital that before using a search engine to its best advantage you know exactly what it is you want to find out.. What kind of information do you need (historical, documentary, critique, research, official or government information, theory?)

• Who is the author of this information?

  It is very important that you understand who the author/s is/are of any information on the web. Is the author an authority in the field, or is the information copied from somewhere. It is vital that you know what bias the authors have point of view or bias

• When was this information pasted?

  Has the information been updated recently? When was it first posted?

• What is the content intended for?

  Is the information just popular information, or is it based on scholarship and authority. Look for citations and the list of references or the bibliography. Can you identify any significant sources in the information? Does the site make any reference to important papers. Is the information designed for entertainment, or is it satirical?

• Is there any comparison of the site contents and other sources you know about?

  It is important that your information can be cross references and that it is supported by other authorities and sources.

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