Citing Internet 
Sources
 
 
 

 
     The Internet is a wonderful place to do your research for cases.  Most sites have powerful search engines that do all the specific research for your topic for you, instead of having to actually go to a library and look it up yourself (like in Ryan's day...).  Moreover, news cites like CNN Interactive are updated every 3 hours with the most recent stories, often a full day before the papers have it out.
    The only drawback to using the Internet for evidence is that a lot of times, the qualifications aren't well known, or the source is questionable.  Everyone from a Nobel Laureate to a third grader can post evidence to the Web.  Thus, to make sure you don't get burned in a round with bad qualifications, or thrown out of a tournament on an evidence challenge that isn't you fault, I suggest the following guidelines:
  • 1. Record/Check the Source:  A simple name from a web site means nothing.  I could have written it.  You could have written it.  That's why you must put the quals or affiliation of the author in the citation on the evidence.
  • 2. Record/Check the Date:  The date you download or view the web site is NOT the date of the evidence.  Make sure the particular document you are citing has a distinct date of publish and put it in your cite.
  • 3. Include the Article Title.
  • 4. Include the URL:  That means something like "http://www.cnn.com/stories/russia.nuke.war.html" or like that.  Basically, you want to make it possible for someone to find the article again, should there be an evidence challenge.
  • 5. Try to Get Published Documents:  A web page and an already published article, POSTED to a web page are vastly different things.  Only use an actual web page if the creation date and author's quals are clear and good.  I would urge you to try and stick to documents that have already been published and are just made available on the web, or through some official means like CNN online or NYT or the Washington Post online, etc.
  • Example: I found an article on June 9, 1998 on CNN interactive about NATO. getting involved in Kosovo.  If I wanted to cut a card, it would look like this:
    • (__) Russia is against international military action in Kosovo.

    Jill Dougherty  June 9, 1998 (Moscow Bureau Chief - CNN, CNN Interactive, "Russia warns against sending troops to Kosovo", p. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9806/09/germany.russia/index.html)

    "Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Tuesday said it would be a mistake to send international troops to the strife-torn Serbian province of Kosovo. He pledged to use Moscow's influence with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to help mediate an end to the crisis that has displaced thousands of people and triggered international sanctions. "

    Not that this evidence has any relevance, but I just pulled it straight off the web right now.  Notice Author, REAL date, Quals, Source, Title, and URL - you really can't get page numbers, now can you...
  • Last Word: If you do that much, and get it all in the cite, then the coaches will be happy.  However, if you feel the need to get it REALLY right then, you can look at official internet citation documents: University of Michigan's Citation Page or Columbia Online Style.
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