How to reference...
Citing Facebook and Twitter in a general discussion
To cite a Twitter or Facebook feed as a whole or to discuss it in general, it is sufficient to give the URL in text, inside parentheses. The suggested method is to use the guidelines to cite a website as a whole, and there is no need for a reference list entry.
The Education Faculty Library uses Twitter (https://twitter.com/edfaclib) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Education-Faculty-Library-University-of-Cambridge) to keep library users up to date with services and news.
Citing particular posts on Facebook and Twitter
Citing particular posts, require both reference list entries and in-text citations. The suggested reference list entries generally follow the format of online sources.
Reference list:
Twitter profile name [Twitter handle]. (Year, Month Date). Text of tweet [Tweet]. Retrieved from URL
Education Faculty Library [edfaclib], (2014, June 23) Carnegie & Kate Greenaway medal winners 2014 [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/edfaclib/status/481064599492755456
Username. (Year, Month Date). Title of post [Facebook update]. Retrieved from URL
Education Faculty Library. (2014,May 16). Undergrads, are you looking for past exam papers? [Facebook update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pages/Education-Faculty-Library-University-of-Cambridge/638858689457909
In-text:
(Education Faculty Library, 2014)
Private Page Citation
Because content from private or friends-only Facebook pages or profiles are not retrievable by everyone, if you cite it, it should be treated as personal communication, in the same way as e-mails and telephone conversations. Cite personal communications in text only, giving the initials and surname of the communicator with an exact a date as possible.
K. M. Ingraham (personal communication, October 5, 2013) stated that she found her career as an educational psychologist intellectually stimulating as well as emotionally fulfilling.
Posts from Online Forums
Reference list:
Include author's full name if available; if not use their screen name.
Surname, INITIAL. [screen name if used] (Year, Month day). Title of discussion thread [Description of the format eg Online forum comment/Electronic mailing list etc]. Retrieved from URL
Jakins, A (2005, February 13). Complex needs and inclusion [Online forum content]. Retrieved from http://educationforum.ipbhost.com
In-text:
(Jakins, 2005)
Reference list:
Profile name [handle]. (Year, Month Date). Title of Instagram post [Instagram post]. Retrieved from URL
Education Faculty Library [Edfaclib]. (2016 October 27) Phonic friends [Instagram post]. Retireved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BMEWXrJBSQ0/
In-text:
(Education Faculty Library, 2016)
Surname/Institution, INITIALS. (Year Month Date Published). Article title [Type of blog post]. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL.
Individual author
Reference list:
Didau, D. (2014, February 8). Still grading lessons? A triumph of experience over hope [Web blog post]. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://www.learningspy.co.uk/education/triumph-experience-hope/.
In-text:
(Didau, 2014)
Institutional author
Reference list:
Faculty of Education Library. (2014, January 23). New research methods resource! [Web blog post] Retrieved August 7, 2014, from http://edfaclib.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/new-research-methods-resource/
In-text:
(Faculty of Education Library, 2014)
APA gives the following advice about the general format for creating a reference for a video found on YouTube and other video-posting websites:
If both the real name of the person who posted the video and the screen name are known:
Author, A. A. [Screen name]. (year, month day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from http://xxxxxxxxx
If only the screen name of the person who posted the video is known:
Screen name. (year, month day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from http://xxxxxxxxx The in-text citations include the author name outside of brackets (whichever that may be) and the date.
Reference list:
Zoteron. (2007, January 1). Zotero intro [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq94aBrc0pY&list=PL043A88E0B39B9656&index=1&feature=plpp_video
In-text:
(Zoteron, 2007)
Direct quotes:
If you are quoting from a YouTube video then you need to include the time stamp for any comments you use:
(Zoteron, 2007, 01:54)
Further information on citing audiovisual materials can be found on the APA blog here
If you are referring to your own previous research you will need to reference this to avoid self plagiarism
To do this cite yourself as the author then reference the work as an unpublished paper, essay or thesis. Please see the guidance for Unpublished Works by clicking on the link below:
https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/educationfacultyreferencing3/unpublished
If your work is published (including blog posts, book reviews etc) reference as per the guidance given for the specific format.
APA provides guidance on citing social media, on their APA Style Blog:
http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2013/10/how-to-cite-social-media-in-apa-style.html Retrieved July 8, 2014
The online resource ‘Cite them right’ states that when citing from social networking sites that require registration and then acceptance by other members, the main web address should be used and you may wish to include a copy of the member-to-member discussion you are referring to as an appendix to your work, so that readers without access to the original can read it.
http://www.citethemrightonline.com/digital-internet/the-internet/facebook Retrieved July 8, 2014
Photo fromYoel Ben-Avraham @ Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/epublicist/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
General Advice on citing Online Documents and Websites can be found here
CLICK HERE for guidance on how to add Social Media posts into your Zotero Library
CLICK HERE for guidance on how to use Zotero with word to create your In-Text citation and Reference List
For further guidance on downloading and using Zotero please see the FAQ guides in the *Managing Your References (Zotero)* Tab
