Social media post
Format for footnotes
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
27. Author of post (handle where available), "Text of post," Location/description of post, Date of post, URL.
Footnote example
First entry:
5. University of Melbourne Library (@unilibrary), “ # Onthisday in 1975 90% of Icelandic women went on strike, refusing to work in protest of gender inequality. This became known as 'Women's Day Off',” Twitter, October 23, 2018, https://twitter.com/unilibrary/status/1054855102111064065.
Second and subsequent entries:
33. University of Melbourne Library, "#Onthisday."
Format for bibliography
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
Citations of social media posts can generally be omitted from the bibliography, however they should be included if they form a critical part of your research, or if they are frequently cited. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
Author of Post (handle where available). "Text of Post." Location/description of Post. Date of post. URL.
Bibliography entry example
University of Melbourne Library (@unilibrary). “ # Onthisday in 1975 90% of Icelandic women went on strike, refusing to work in protest of gender inequality. This became known as 'Women's Day Off'.” Twitter. October 23, 2018. https://twitter.com/unilibrary/status/1054855102111064065.
Style notes for this reference type
- See Manual 14.209.
- These examples are for publicly available content. Private and direct messages should be treated as a form of personal communication (see Manual 14.214).
- The text of post should include up to 160 characters, including spaces.
- The location or description of the post could include the social media service and a description if relevant (i.e. Instagram photo).
- Time stamps are not usually necessary, but can be included for differentiate posts from the same day.
- A URL for a specific item can often be found via the date stamp.
- Comments on posts should be cited in relation to the respective post (see examples at Manual 14.209).
- Citations of social media content are usually only included in the text and the notes. However, if they form a critical part of your research or are frequently cited, they may be included in your bibliography. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
Explore resources to help with reference management and enable you to effectively integrate and cite sources into your writing and assessment tasks.