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How to Cite the SEP (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
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This is the version you reach directly from our main Table of Contents. However, because Encyclopedia entries are subject to periodic revision, it is more appropriate to cite one of the ‘archived’ versions of the entry. When you quote from an entry, it is particularly important to cite an archived version, for otherwise the passage you cite might disappear from the active version of the entry. Be sure to verify that the passage you are quoting matches what is in the archived version. For some scholarly purposes, it might be important to cite the <em>earliest</em> version in our Archives that matches the current version. But any archived SEP entry is citable.</p> <p> If the material you wish to cite has not been archived (because the entry is new or has been recently modified), you should, if possible, wait for the next archived version of the Encyclopedia. Fixed editions of the Encyclopedia are created and archived every three months, on the 21st of September, December, March, and June.</p> <p> To make the citation process easier, each entry has an “Author and Citation Info” link in the box of menu items located at the top left corner of the entry. This takes you to a page with specific citation information for that entry. For example, the citation information page for Jeff Malpas' entry on Donald Davidson will show you a citation of the following form:</p> <blockquote> Malpas, J., “Donald Davidson”, <em>The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</em> (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/davidson/>. </blockquote> <p> Note that the above URL ends in the name “davidson” followed by a slash “/”. “davidson” is the name of the directory which contains the entry. The filename of the entry itself is “index.html” (indeed, all the entries in the Encyclopedia are named “index.html”). However, you need not include the entry filename at the end of the URL. By default, our web server will send the file “index.html” when a web browser requests a URL such as the one displayed above.</p> <p> Again, the above citation is only an example. To get the current citation information for the Donald Davidson entry or any other entry, please go to the entry and click on the “Author and Citation Info” link in the menu list located in the box at the top left corner of each entry.</p> <p> If you require other kinds of bibliographic information, you may find the following facts helpful.</p> <ul> <li>Title: <em>The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</em></li> <li>Co Principal Editors: Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman</li> <li>World Wide Web URL: https://plato.stanford.edu/</li> <li>Publisher: <blockquote> The Metaphysics Research Lab <br /> Philosophy Department <br /> Stanford University <br /> Stanford, CA 94305-4115 </blockquote> </li> <li>International Standard Serial Number: ISSN 1095-5054</li> </ul> <p> If you have any further questions, please <a href="contact.html">contact the SEP</a>. </p> </div> <!-- End content --><!--DO NOT MODIFY THIS LINE AND BELOW--> <div id="footer" class="scroll-block"> <div id="footer-menu"> <div class="menu-block"> <h4><i class="icon-book"></i> Browse</h4> <ul role="menu"> <li role="menuitem"><a href="contents.html">Table of Contents</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="new.html">What's New</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/encyclopedia/random">Random Entry</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="published.html">Chronological</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="archives/">Archives</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="menu-block"> <h4><i class="icon-info-sign"></i> About</h4> <ul role="menu"> <li role="menuitem"><a href="info.html">Editorial Information</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="about.html">About the SEP</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="board.html">Editorial Board</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="cite.html">How to Cite the SEP</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="special-characters.html">Special Characters</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="tools/">Advanced Tools</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="accessibility.html">Accessibility</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="contact.html">Contact</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="menu-block"> <h4><i class="icon-leaf"></i> Support SEP</h4> <ul role="menu"> <li role="menuitem"><a href="support/">Support the SEP</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="support/friends.html">PDFs for SEP Friends</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="support/donate.html">Make a Donation</a></li> <li role="menuitem"><a href="support/sepia.html">SEPIA for Libraries</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <!-- End footer menu --> <div id="mirrors"> <div id="mirror-info"> <h4><i class="icon-globe"></i> Mirror Sites</h4> <p>View this site from another server:</p> </div> <div class="btn-group open"> <a class="btn dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" href="https://plato.stanford.edu/"> <span class="flag flag-usa"></span> USA (Main Site) <span class="caret"></span> <span class="mirror-source">Philosophy, Stanford University</span> </a> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a href="mirrors.html">Info about mirror sites</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <!-- End mirrors --> <div id="site-credits"> <p>The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is <a href="info.html#c">copyright © 2024</a> by <a href="https://mally.stanford.edu/">The Metaphysics Research Lab</a>, Department of Philosophy, Stanford University</p> <p>Library of Congress Catalog Data: ISSN 1095-5054</p> </div> <!-- End site credits --> </div> <!-- End footer --> </div> <!-- End container --> <!-- NOTE: Script required for drop-down button to work (mirrors). --> <script> $('.dropdown-toggle').dropdown(); </script> </body> </html>