Prepared by: David J. Birnbaum (djbpitt+tales@pitt.edu) and Helena
Goscilo
Last modified: 2004-01-03
Location:
http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/internet_sources.html
Unless there is a good reason for not doing so, analytical papers must use sources published on paper (i.e., books and articles), and may not rely entirely on the World Wide Web. If you would like to prepare a research paper and do not know how to conduct library research, please see either of your instructors.
You may consult the World Wide Web as part of your research, but be aware that Web pages, unlike books and articles, are not subject to review before publication, and there is no reason to believe that the author of a Web page necessarily knows any more than you do about a topic. This is not to suggest that books and articles are always correct and Internet resources always incorrect, but it does suggest that published books and articles will at least have undergone professional assessment before publication.
If you do use a World Wide Web page in your research, you should have good reason to believe that it is authoritative. Such reasons might include the credentials of the author (e.g., someone who has published books and articles on the subject, or who is teaching a course on the subject at an accredited academic institution), the credentials of the publisher (e.g., the on-line Encyclopaedia Britannica may be considered as authoritative as the printed version), or your own ability to confirm much of the information (e.g., if you are able to determine that much of the information on a site is reliable, you might tentatively conclude that the author knows what he or she is talking about).
If you do use a World Wide Web page in your research, you must cite it in your bibliography or list of works consulted. Web references must include a full URL, so that someone reading your paper can immediately locate the page you cite. Because web pages may change over time, you must also include the date that you accessed the page in question. For example:
http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/04-2/description.html. Accessed 2004-01-05.
If you use multiple pages from a single site, you must list them all individually in your bibliography. If you use a site that relies on frames, the URL for the particular page you are viewing may not be displayed in your browser. You must nonetheless provide the URL for the particular frame; if you do not know how to determine this, ask your instructors.
It is unethical to post a message to an Internet discussion group along the lines of "I would be grateful if anyone who is aware of resources concerning such-and-such a topic would let me know." There is nothing wrong with discussing your research project with friends and colleagues, but you should avoid asking others to perform any analysis or research (including the identification of sources) in your place. If you have a topic in mind and don't know where to start your research, ask one of your instructors for advice.