Wondering how to cite this website for a research paper? Search no further!
In general the citation format will be similar to the following:
Centre for European Studies. (date of last update ). “Title of the page you consulted.” EU Learning: An educational website about the European Union, general editor, Joan DeBardeleben, Carleton University. Retrieved ‘enter today’s date’, from www…(the web address of the page).
However, there may be some variations on this depending on which citation style your teacher requires. If you are unsure which style to use, be sure to ask your teacher to clarify his or her preferences.
Now let’s do a sample citation. Let’s pretend that you are trying to cite the article “Immigration and Asylum: Some Concerns for Europe” from this website.
Whenever you are citing sources, no matter which citation style you use, it is always a good idea to start out by collecting as much information as possible about the source. This basic bibliographic information about the above article is shown in the following table:
| Author (in this case, the author is a collective organization) | Centre for European Studies |
| Editor | Joan DeBardeleben |
| Date of last update | |
| Title of the article | “Immigration and Asylum: Some Concerns for Europe” |
| Title of the website | EU-Learning: An Educational Website about the European Union |
| Related institutions | Carleton University |
| Retrieval date | Today’s date |
| URL | http://carleton.ca/ces/eulearning/eu-learning/politics/human-rights/immigration-and-asylum-some-concerns-for-europe/ |
Now that you have the necessary information, all you need to do is put it all together! Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done! This is tricky since different citation styles all have their own precise technical requirements about which information to include, what order to list it in, etc. Ask your teacher if he or she has a specific style guide to which you can refer for help. According to one commonly used method, you would put this information together like this:
Centre for European Studies. ( June 8, 2010 ). “Immigration and Asylum: Some Concerns for Europe.” EU Learning: An educational website about the European Union. Joan DeBardeleben, ed. Retrieved July 11, 2010, from http://carleton.ca/ces/eulearning/eu-learning/politics/human-rights/immigration-and-asylum-some-concerns-for-europe/
(This example uses the APA style guide referenced below).
Here some links to online style guides that we recommend to Carleton University students studying with the Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. But like we said, if your teacher provides you with a specific style guide, be sure to use that one!
APA Style (American Psychological Association)
MLA Style (Modern Languages Association)
Also, always make sure that you are using the most up-to-date style guide as possible, since the conventions for citations change frequently!
Lastly, remember that including a bibliography at the end of your essay is not sufficient! You also need to include parenthetical notation or footnotes throughout the body of your essay, depending, once again, on which referencing style you are using. But style guides also explain in detail how to do this!