Web and video

Overview

There are endless sources of information to be found on the internet, but not all of it is appropriate to contribute to your academic writing.

1. What is the purpose of your writing task? Which sources will support your response to the task?
2. Use your set unit readings as a starting point. Look at the citations in those readings.
3. Then use the Deakin Library databases and resource guides to find further sources.
4. Always ask yourself: Is this a credible and reliable source of information?
5. Seek advice from teaching staff in your unit.
6. You can also get help from the Deakin Library and study support.

Do I always need to include a URL and date of access?

In the Australian Harvard style of referencing, a number of online sources require:

1. the URL, hyperlinked in the title of the work or provided in full at the end of the reference list entry
   (Note for Endnote users: always provide the URL at the end of the reference list entry)
2. the date you accessed the source.

This applies to the following source types:

• web pages or documents
• online news reports
• blog posts
• online videos e.g. YouTube
• podcasts.

Only provide full URLs to freely available sources. If a source is behind a paywall, requires a log in, or is private access only, do not hyperlink the title or provide the URL. In this case, provide the landing page URL or else the name of publisher.

If you are submitting your work in print format only, in your reference list you will need to provide the full URL after the accessed date instead of hyperlinking titles. Do not place a full stop at the end of a URL.

Note: most e-books and online journal articles do not require a URL nor a date accessed, and they do not require any information about the Library database where they were found. They are mostly cited the same way as print books and articles.

Likewise, citations of films or TV episodes, even those accessed via digital streaming platforms, do not require the name of the platform (e.g. Netflix) nor a URL.

How do I hyperlink a title?

If you are using Microsoft Word:

1. Select the title you want to hyperlink.
2. Click CTRL and K (PC) or COMMAND + K (Apple).
3. Paste the URL into the address.
4. Save.
5. Check that your link is correct.

Is this source available to the general public?

Sources that are not available to the general public, such as private social media posts, wikis and email messages, should be treated as Personal communications. If you are not sure whether it is appropriate to cite social media or personal communications in your assessment, seek clarification from the teachers in your unit.

Web page

• Note: Many web pages do not include the names of individual authors. Learn more in the Harvard topics: Group authors, Government overview, NGOs.
• It is preferable to cite a web page rather than an entire website – this provides a more accurate location of your source.
• Provide the day, month and year, where available (commonly provided for an article on a webpage) but do not use the copyright date. Be aware that some web pages do not provide any date – and in this case give the date as (n.d.) ‘no date’.

In-text citations

• For longer webpages, you may provide section titles or paragraph numbers (instead of page numbers).
• When citing multiple sub-pages or sub-sections of a website, you may provide the titles of the specific sections in your in-text citation. In the reference list, provide the single web page where all sub-sections/pages can be found.

Reference list

• Include the day, month and year, where available.
• Include the date you accessed the web page.
• Provide the full URL of the source. You can do this in two ways: hyperlink the title of web page to the URL, or provide the full URL at the end of the reference list entry.
• For students using Endnote, you will place the URL at end of the reference list.
• For web source that requires a log in, do not hyperlink the title. Provide the home page URL at the end of the reference list entry.
• Note: for articles from a library database, do not provide a URL. See the topic Journal articles.

Web page with title hyperlinked to the URL:

Web page with the URL provided at the end of the entry:

Web page not freely available to the public:

• Provide the home page URL at the end of the reference.

Web document

• Note: Many web documents do not include the names of individual authors. Learn more in the Harvard topics: Group authors, Government overview, NGOs.
• Provide the day, month and year, where available, but do not use the copyright date. Be aware that some web documents do not provide any date – and in this case give the date as (n.d.) ‘no date’.

In-text citations

For a long document with no page numbers:

• you may cite a paragraph number, sub-heading or section title.
• never cite the page numbers of your printed version of the document.

Reference list

• Include the day, month and year, where available.
• Provide the full URL of the document. You can do this in two ways: hyperlink the title of web page to the URL, or provide the full URL at the end of the reference list entry.
• For students using Endnote, you will place the URL of the document at end of the reference list.
• If there is no URL for the document, provide the URL for the webpage where the document can be found.
• For web documents that requires a log in, do not hyperlink the title. Provide the home page URL at the end of the reference list entry.
• Include the date you accessed the document.

Web documents - with title hyperlinked:

Web document - with URL provided at end of the reference list entry:

Blog post

In-text citations

• Provide the author and year.
• As most blog posts are short they do not require paragraph numbers, sub-headings or other locators – but they can be provided for longer posts, if needed.

Reference list

For blog posts, provide:

• the author’s name as it appears in the post
• the blog as author if a post has no named author
• the day, month and year of the post
• a hyperlinked title to the URL of the post, or provide the full URL at the end of the reference list entry.
• the date you accessed the post.

Social media post

Before citing a social media source, ask yourself:

• Is it acceptable to cite social media sources for an assessment in this unit?
• What is the purpose of citing this source?
• Is this a credible and reliable source of information?
• If the post is referring to content that can be found elsewhere, should I try to find the original source?
• Is the social media post/update public or private? Posts from private social media accounts should be treated as Personal communications. All the following examples are of public social media posts.

In-text citations

Provide the author of the post and year.

Reference list

For social media posts and updates, provide the:

• author name (can also be username or name of an organisation)
• day month and year of the post
• first 10 words of the post followed by an ellipsis (…), hyperlinked to the URL of the source, or provide the full URL at the end of the reference list entry.
• the type of post in square brackets
• the date you accessed the post.

Online video

In-text citations

‘Online video’ here refers to videos that have been uploaded to a website or a social media platform such as YouTube. It does not refer to any film or episode that may have been viewed online (e.g. on Netflix or ABC iview). For further details see also the Harvard topics: Films and TV episodes.

• Place the creator or owner of the video in the in-text citation
• In some cases, you might provide the presenter in the in-text citation (if it is a video with a single presenter, e.g. a TED talk).
• In addition, when citing a specific speaker in the video (e.g. interviewee), include their name in text.

Reference list

For online videos, provide the:

• name of video creator/owner, which may be a username or the name of an organisation
  (if there is only one speaker, such as in a TED talk, you can place their name in the author position).
• Day, month and year the video was uploaded, if available
• title hyperlinked to the URL of the source, or provide the full URL at the end of the reference list entry
• medium as [video]
• name of the channel or the name of the organisation that owns the content
• name of the website (if different from the authoring organisation, e.g. YouTube)
• date you accessed the video.

Film

In-text citations

• Provide the director and the original release year of the film.
• Italicise film titles when mentioned in text.

Reference list

Whether a film has been accessed via Netflix, the Deakin Library or on DVD is irrelevant. Therefore, do not include information about the platform/distributor or the format in which you viewed the film.

• Provide the name of the director and their role (or producer, if director unknown).
• Provide the medium as [motion picture].

Note: IMDb (the International Movie Database) is a reliable source of information on films, including release years.

In-text citations

• Provide the director (or producer if the director is not known) and the original release year of the episode.
• Place episode titles in singe quote marks, if mentioned in text.
• Italicise names of series, if mentioned in text.

Reference list

Whether a TV episode has been accessed via broadcast, streaming (Netflix or via a Deakin Library database) or on DVD is irrelevant. Therefore, do not include information about the platform or distributor i.e. how you accessed the episode.

• Begin the citation with the director. If it not relevant/available, begin the citation with the producer or production organisation.
• You may provide a URL for a TV episode, but only if the episode is freely available via a website (e.g. ABC TV, SBS On Demand). Hyperlink the title to the URL of the source, or provide the full URL at the end of the reference list entry.
• Include numbers of the episode and season, where relevant.
• If an episode doesn’t have a name, provide the name of the program first.
• Provide the medium as [television program].
• Include the name of the studio/company that produced the episode (not the distributor or platform provider, e.g. Netflix, but note that in some cases this can be the same organisation).
• Note: IMDb (the International Movie Database) is a reliable source of information on TV series and episodes.

Episode with title:

Episode with season/episode numbers instead of title:

Podcast

In-text citations

• Cite the name of the podcast host or producer in the in-text citation.
• When citing a specific speaker within the podcast (e.g. an interviewee), include their name in text.

Reference list

Provide the:

• name of the host or the producer of the podcast
• the day, month and year of publication or original broadcast
• title hyperlinked to the webpage where the episode is available, or provide the full URL at the end of the reference list entry. Only provide a URL if the podcast is freely available to the public.
• medium as [podcast]
• the episode and season number, where relevant.