How to Refer

In writing to us and referring to a Gold Scales page, the last parts of what is in the 'location address' atop the page(s) in question - what follows the last / (slash) of the 'location address' there, is enough. For this page, then, refre.html is all that we need. And .html may be omitted too.

If there is subject matter you would like to have modified for some reason or other, do quote it and tell which page it is in.

As a matter of fact, we often change the content to accommodate to requests, but not always. Maybe we include something too.

How We Prefer to Refer

A. TEXT ANNOTATIONS: In the site's texts we very often refer to work titles by reference letters (initials of titles and acronyms), because this way of citing it is unequivocal, and shorter and simpler than other ways of doing it. For example, Aae 75 is simpler than "Berne 1971, 75". The difference is that between 5 letters and numbers + 1 blank space and 12 + 2 - so the code letter way is fine for a defined corpus, like ours. It is one of the most used methods for collections of literature, including books of the Bible.

The other example is good too, and preferred in many contexts, but the advantage of "Cmg 22" over "Lowenfeld and Brittain 22" can be suggested by the proportion (5 +1) compared to (22 + 3); that is, the first method is much simpler.

Still, it is not an "either-or", but a "both-end" issue. We use both ways, as is suitable or acceptable.

B. BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRIES: We furnish two long lists of works and authors. The updated one is by the acronyms and other code letters we have given the works.

In both these site bibliography lists the entries conform largely to the bibliography format of the humanities style of the new Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) guidelines, 15th edition, 2003, and a terse and clear book by Mary Ann Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing History [Wrh], that draws on the CMS and conforms to it.

The notable exceptions are our use of (boldface) code letters - reference letters - in front of the updated list by code letters, and the fact that a single author's titles are listed alphabetically, not by dates of publication in the "Works by Authors".

How to Refer in General

If you are writing something for a school or university, check with your instructor to see what citation standards you are expected to follow. At the Gold Scales we most often accommodate to the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) as adapted to the humanities. It is called both the humanities style and documentary-note style. In this style, short references to text sources are supplemented by a list of detailed references See Wrh for examples.

The Chicago Manual of Style also spells out a shorter, clearer, and more succinct documentation system, the author-date system, which is used in the sciences and is gaining adherents in the social sciences and humanities as well.

There are other style guides apart from the CMS. APA has many adherents too.

Now for a few examples:

Cite a document (work, "page") on the Gold Scales like this: Include the author's name, if known; the title of the document in quotations marks; the title of the site in italics, or the owner of the site; and the URL. Include the date when the site was accessed if the site is likely to have frequent and considerable updates.

Thus:

The text note may be "Kinnes 2005", and the footnote can be:

Tormod Kinnes, comp. "Old Age Quotations". The Gold Scales 2005. oaks.nvg.org/wm4ra13.html

A bibliography entry to go along with the text note may be:

Kinnes, Tormod, comp. Old Age Quotations. The Gold Scales 2005. oaks.nvg.org/wm4ra13.html

More on Bibliographic Entries

When you refer to works of the Gold Scales in a bibliographic entry, periods, rather than commas, are used to separate the elements of the entry. Examples:

Kinnes, Tormod, ed. Emerson Quotations and Fragments. 2005. oaks.nvg.org/self-reliancit.html

To cite a selection from the site, begin with the last name of the author of the selection (if known). Separate the elements of the citation with periods.

Seneviratne, Banda. "Traditional Belief System of Health in Sri Lanka." Ed. Tormod Kinnes. 1998. The Gold Scales. oaks.nvg.org/ys6ra4.html

For an on-line book, begin with the last name of the author. After the name comes the title of the work, and the date given for the Web site publishing, if known. Hence:

Legge, James, tr. The Lun Yu. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1893. On-line version 2005, ed. Tormod Kinnes. oaks.nvg.org/sa3ra8.html

Unknown author, for example:

Rhymes and Jingles of the Complete Mother Goose. 2004. The Gold Scales. oaks.nvg.org/re2ra4.html