Style Guide for Research Papers: Citing Digital Media

Include as much identifying information as possible when citing something from a website. This includes the author of the content or the owner/sponsor of the website, the title of the webpage, and the name of the website as a whole. Do not include the date you accessed the website, but do include the latest date that the content was published or revised, if possible. Include the URL in the footnote and in the bibliography. Remove the hyperlink to the URL.

N:                    1. “Statement of Faith,” Society of Evangelical Arminians, http://www.evangelicalarminians.org/statement-of-faith.

SN:                  2. “Statement of Faith,” Evangelical Arminians.

B:        “Statement of Faith.” Society of Evangelical Arminians. http://www.evangelicalarminians.org/statement-of-faith.

N:                    1. Ben Witherington III, “N. T. Wright on Post-Modernity and the Enlightenment,” Ben Witherington, May 4, 2009. https://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2009/05/nt-wright-on-post-modernity-and.html.

SN:                  2. Witherington, “N. T. Wright on Post-Modernity.”

B:        Witherington, Ben III. “N. T. Wright on Post-Modernity and the Enlightenment.” Ben Witherington. May 4, 2009. https://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2009/05/nt-wright-on-post-modernity-and.html.

Videos hosting sites such as YouTube and Vimeo do not create most of the content on their sites so you may need to do additional research in order to provide as many details as possible about the video and content creator. Include the content creator, video title, channel name in italics (if different than the content creator), date of publication, the word “video,” and then the URL. For YouTube click “share” and use the shortened URL provided by YouTube itself.

N:                    1. Dr. Dan Langston, “Bible Background: Cultures” Bible on the Go! with Dr. Dan, February 26, 2023, video, https://youtu.be/Zpwo65Ti16M.

SN:                  2. Langston, “Cultures,” video.

B:        Langston, Dan. “Bible Background: Cultures.” Bible on the Go! with Dr. Dan. February 26, 2023. Video. https://youtu.be/Zpwo65Ti16M

N:                    1. The Foursquare Church, “Who is Aimee Semple McPherson?,” July 10, 2020, video, https://youtu.be/ilH0xX3ZYD4.

SN:                  2. Foursquare, “McPherson,” video.

B:        The Foursquare Church. “Who is Aimee Semple McPherson?” July 10, 2020. Video. https://youtu.be/ilH0xX3ZYD4.

N:                    1. Elizabeth Groves, “Dramatic Recitation: The Book of Jonah (with English subtitles),” Westminster Theological Seminary, May 3, 2013, video, https://vimeo.com/65396076

SN:                  2. Grove, “Jonah,” video.

B:        Groves, Elizabeth. “Dramatic Recitation: The Book of Jonah (with English subtitles).” Westminster Theological Seminary. May 3, 2013. Video. https://vimeo.com/65396076.

The information required for citing a podcast include: the principle spokesperson for the podcast (usually the host), episode name in quotations marks, podcast name in italics, media type (podcast), the episode release date, website or DOI where the podcast can be found (this is different than the podcast player you used to listen to the episode).

N:                    1. George P. Wood, “Normalize Men and Women Working Together!” Influence Podcast, podcast audio, July 21, 2023, https://influencemagazine.com/en/podcast/normalize-men-and-women-working-together.

SN:                  3. Wood, “Normalize,” podcast.

B:        Wood, George P. “Normalize Men and Women Working Together!” Influence Podcast. Podcast audio. July 21, 2023. https://influencemagazine.com/en/podcast/normalize-men-and-women-working-together.

Citations of social media content should include the author and username, the title of the content, the platform, the date the content was posted, and the URL. If the content was viewed in an app, go and find the same content in a browser cite the URL. If there is no title to the content, quote up to the first 160 charcters of the post.

N:                    1. Gen Z Bible Stories (@gen.z.bible.stories), “‘Blessed are those’….(new version)” TikTok, October 12, 2023, https://www.tiktok.com/@gen.z.bible.stories/video/7289189746188799275?lang=en

SN:                  3. Gen Z, “Blessed,” TikTok. 

B:        Gen Z bible Stories (@gen.z.bible.stories). “‘Blessed are those’…(new version).” TikTok. October 12, 2023. https://www.tiktok.com/@gen.z.bible.stories/video/7289189746188799275?lang=en

Resources in bible software such as Logos and Accordance should be cited as their print counterparts, with “Logos.” or “Accordance.” appended at the end of the citation. This is because Bible Software does not usually publish its own material, but has digitized and integrated other people’s work so that it is searchable within their own proprietary software. So when citing resources from Bible Software, cite the print counterpart and then indicate which software you used. See the eBook guidelines, above, for examples.

Accordance has its guidance on how to use the software to generate citations https://www.accordancebible.com/accordance-citations/. It also has guidance on how to export its bibliographic information into programs such as Zotero and EndNote: https://www.accordancebible.com/reference-manager/

Sometimes Logos or Accordance produces its own content within the software, such as with their atlas or word-count features. In those cases where the software is not simply providing a digital copy of an independent, physical resource, cite the module in the same way one would cite a webpage from a larger website, or provide a narrative explaining the module in the footnote.

Electronic books (eBooks) are digital versions of books that are read in a browser or in an app. Cite electronic books just like their printed counterparts. The publication information is for the book and not the software. If you read the book in a library or commercial database, give the name of the database but not the URL (AdobePDF eBook, Proquest Ebrary, Google Books). If read in an app, specify the app (Kindle, iBooks, Logos, Accordance).

If no page number is available then find and cite the corresponding page number in a hardcopy of the book. Google Books or other keyword-search book-browsing sites can be helpful for this. If you have done your due diligence in finding the page number and it is still not forthcoming, do not cite an app-specific location number or designation but instead cite the chapter & section number, or the chapter & section title, that contains the page you are citing.

N:                    1. Joseph P. Quinlan, Last Economic Superpower: The Retreat of Globalization, the End of American Dominance, and What We Can Do About It (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010), 211. ProQuest Ebrary.

SN:                  3. Quinlan, Last Economic Superpower, 211.

B:        Quinlan, Joseph P. Last Economic Superpower: The Retreat of Globalization, the End of American Dominance, and What We Can Do About It. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. ProQuest Ebrary.

N:                    1. Thomas Schreiner, Forty Questions About Christians and Biblical Law, ed. Benjamin L. Merkle (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2010), 33. Logos.

SN:                  3. Schreiner, Forty Questions, 33.

B:        Schreiner, Thomas. Forty Questions About Christians and Biblical Law. Edited by Benjamin L. Merkle. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2010. Logos.

N:                    1. Bruce W. Winter, Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), “Chapter 5: What was Proper in Roman Corinth?” Kindle.

SN:                  3. Winter, Roman Wives, “Chapter 5: What was Proper in Roman Corinth?” Kindle.

B:        Winter, Bruce W. Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. Kindle.

For our purposes, electronic journals are journals that are read online in a browser or app, whether or not there is a print counterpart to that journal. Cite electronic journals like a print counterpart by including the author, article title, italicized journal name, volume, issue, year, and page number. The only difference from citing a print journal is the inclusion of a DOI or URL. If the article has a DOI or URL, do not include it in the footnotes but do include the DOI (preferred) or URL in the bibliography.

N:                    1. Beverly Roberts Gaventa, “Places of Power in Paul’s Letter to the Romans,” Interpretation 76.4 (2022): 294.

SN:                  3. Gaventa, "Power," 300.

B:        Gaventa, Beverly Roberts. “Places of Power in Paul’s Letter to the Romans.” Interpretation 76.4 (2022): 293-302. doi:10.1177/00209643221108179.

N:                    1. H. Wayne Johnson, “Practicing Theology on a Sunday Morning: Corporate Worship as Spiritual Formation, TrinJ 31.1 (2010): 28, Academia.

SN:                  3. Johnson, “Practicing Theology,” 28.

B:        Johnson, H. Wayne. “Practicing Theology on a Sunday Morning: Corporate Worship as Spiritual Formation.” Trinity Journal 31.1 (2010): 27–44. http://www.academia.edu/7444520.

Check with your faculty member first to confirm whether interviews are allowed to be used in your paper. If they are used, interviews should include the name of the person interviewed (or a pseudonym if real names are withheld), name of the interviewer, place of interview, time of interview, and the location of transcripts or recording of the interview (if known).

N:                    1. John Wyckoff, interview by the author, Dallas, January 1, 2023.

SN:                  3. Wyckoff, interview.

B:        Wyckoff, John. Interviewed by the author. Dallas. January 1, 2023.

N:                    1. Martin Luther King Jr, interview by Robert Penn Warren. Atlanta. March 18, 1964, transcript, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Contucky Libraries, https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt79kd1qgb1z.

SN:                  3. King Jr., interview.

B:        King, Martin Luther, Jr. Interview by Robert Penn Warren. Atlanta. March 18, 1964. Transcript. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Contucky Libraries, https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt79kd1qgb1z.