How To Cite

The editors of the Lost Plays Database encourage scholars to use and accurately cite this resource in their own work.

Preferred Citation Style:
We suggest adopting the MLA's new policy on citing web sources, in which the reproduction of a URL is no longer required for citing online resources:

In the past, this handbook recommended including URLs of Web sources in works-cited-list entries. Inclusion of URLs has proved to have limited value, however, for they often change, can be specific to a subscriber or a session of use, and can be so long and complex that typing them into a browser is cumbersome and prone to transcription errors. Readers are now more likely to find resources on the Web by searching for titles and authors' names than by typing URLs. You should include a URL as supplementary information only when the reader probably cannot locate the source without it or when your instructor requires it. (5.6 Citing Web Publications).

We also suggest beginning a citation with the name of the entry, rather than with an author. This is because the collaborative nature of a wiki will inevitably lead to multi-authored and repeatedly revised entries that are not conducive to author-focused citations. (NB. All contributors to a given entry are identified within the entry itself and its history page).

Example:
Using the latest MLA style, a citation for the Bellendon entry in a 'Works Cited' list would appear as follows:

"Bellendon". Lost Plays Database. Ed. Roslyn L. Knutson and David McInnis. Melbourne: University of Melbourne, 2009. Web.

Further Information:
Because other citation styles may require more or less information, the following may be of assistance:

Page Title: All entries have a page title, usually formatted for alphabetising purposes (e.g. "Conquest of the West Indies, The")

Resource Title: Lost Plays Database

Editors: Roslyn L. Knutson and David McInnis

Place of Publication: Melbourne

Publisher: University of Melbourne

Date of Publication: This is given at the bottom of an entry.

URL: www.lostplays.org

Questions about citing the database can be directed to the editors at:
lost-plays@unimelb.edu.au