Social media post
You may need to consult more than one section to accurately represent the source used (eg. number of authors and source descriptions)
Format for in-text citation
In-text citation example
The University Library noted that ... (Unimelb Library, Twitter post, October 23, 2018, [3:48 p.m.], accessed November 5, 2016, https://twitter.com/unilibrary/status/794400949674512384).
OR
In a message posted to Twitter on November 4, 2016 (at 3:48 p.m.), the University of Melbourne Library (@unilibrary) noted that ...
Format for reference list
Elements, punctuation & capitalisation
References to social media posts are generally only included in the text. No reference list entry is required unless they form a critical part of your research or are frequently cited. Check with your lecturer if you are unsure.
See Turabian 19.5.3 for further information.
Author of post (handle where available). Year. “Text of Post.” Location/description of post, date of post. URL.
Reference list example
University of Melbourne Library (@unilibrary). 2018. “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 15.52 and Turabian 19.5.3.
- These examples are for publicly available content. Private and direct messages should be treated as a form of personal communication (see Manual 15.53) .
- 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).
- Repeat the year of the post with the month and day to avoid confusion. Timestamps are not necessary but can be included to differentiate posts from the same day.
- A URL for a specific item can often be found via the date stamp. Where a specific URL is not available, include a link to the whole profile or account (eg. http://www.facebook.com/unilibrary).
- Comments on posts should be cited in relation to the respective post (see examples at Manual 15.52).
- References to social media posts are generally only included in the text. No reference list entry is required unless they form a critical part of your research or are frequently cited. 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 .