ENCYCLOPEDIAS
IMSA students are likely to encounter many different types of on-line resources. The examples below cover the most likely types to require citations in an IMSA paper. Again you will notice the three-period and three-comma rules being applied in the footnotes and bibliographies. Always, an author, title, site owner, URL, and access date are necessary. When an author is not available give the site owner's name.
Wikipedia is never acceptable as a source under any circumstances for reasons that should be clear from our class discussions.
Encyclopedias are generally not cited in bibliographic and footnote formats. However, given our demands at IMSA that students cite sources, the convention below should be followed for encyclopedias. The "s.v." before the word means "sub verbo" (meaning "under the word" or "under the heading").
Encyclopedia where there is no author of the entry
Encyclopedia of World Explorers, 1st ed., s.v. "Samuel de Champlain."
Encyclopedia with an author of the entryCharles H. Long, "Transculturation and Religion," in Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed.
Electronic EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Brittanica, s.v. "Battle of Hastings," Encyclopedia Brittanica Online, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/256736/Battle-of-Hastings (accessed January 15, 2011).
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, s.v. "Global Warming," http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037044/global-warming (accessed January 31, 2008).