Help:Citations

Why Cite?

• To ensure that the content of articles can be checked by any reader or editor.
• To show that your edit is not original research and to reduce editorial disputes.
• To avoid claims of plagiarism and copying.
• To help users find additional information on the topic.
• To ensure that material about living persons complies with biography policy.
• To improve the credibility of OutHistory.org.

When to Cite:

When quoting someone

You should include a citation when quoting published material, and the citation should be placed at the end of the sentence in which the quote is included. Quotes which should be marked by double quotation marks or single quotation marks if it is a quote-within-a-quote.

Quote: Thomas or Thomasine Hall, claimed to be "both a man and a woman," but was alleged by neighbors to be a man.

Quote-within-a quote:

When stating information that is likely to be challenged

When uploading an image

Images must include source details. If you download an image from the web, you should give the URL:

Source: http://www.thedorsetpage.com/people/Images/George_Somers_1.jpg

If you got the image from an offline source, you should specify:

Source: Postcard from Marshall Weeks collection

Citation Information:

Full citations for books should include:

• The name of the author or authors
• The title of the book (in italics) or article (in quotes)
• The date of publication
• Page number(s)
• The name of the publisher and city of publication

Full citations for journal articles should include:

• Volume number, issue number (where the publication uses them) and page numbers

Full citations for newspaper articles should include:

• The title of the article in quotes
• The author's name
• The name of the newspaper in italics
• Date of publication
• Page number(s)
• A comment with the date you retrieved it if it is online

Citation Format:

OutHistory.org encourages the use of footnotes rater than in-text citations. See Footnotes Help on OutHistory.org

See also:

Citing Sources on Wikipedia