Recommendations for WMU Researchers Using Web-Based Information Sources

As scholars increasingly rely on online sources for research, it’s important to consider the long-term accessibility and stability of these materials. Content published on websites—including government (.gov) pages, nonprofit organizations, news outlets and others—can be edited, moved or removed without notice. This is especially relevant in light of recent changes to federal government websites, but it applies broadly across the web.

To help ensure the integrity, transparency and replicability of research at all levels, we encourage adopting the following best practices for citing web-based information:

Best practices for citing and preserving webpages

1. Review all web-based sources

Whether conducting your own research or advising students, take time to review any citations that link to online sources. These could include data sets, research reports, news articles, agency guidelines and other web content.

2. Use the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine

• Copy the URL of each cited webpage.
• Visit the Wayback Machine and paste the URL into the search bar.
• If a snapshot already exists, select the one closest to your date of access.
• If no capture exists, use “Save Page Now” to archive the current version.
• Creating an archive.org account is optional but helpful for managing saved pages. We
  encourage all researchers to archive additional web content in the Wayback Machine on
  a regular basis in order to assist other scholars.

3. Save a local copy

Download a PDF of the webpage and save it to your research folder or project files. Be sure to
record the archive date for citation purposes.

4. Include archived links in citations

Whenever possible, cite the archived version of a webpage alongside or instead of the live URL. This ensures future readers (and reviewers) can access the exact content you referenced, even if the source changes or is removed.

5. Follow style manual guidance

Most citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) include options for citing sources that may change over time. This may include retrieval dates or links to archived versions. Refer to the relevant style guide for specifics.

Why this matters

Citing and archiving web sources is a small but powerful step toward preserving the scholarly record. It protects your work against link rot and ensures future readers can trace sources accurately, regardless of future changes to online content.

We encourage faculty to model these practices in their own work and incorporate them into student instruction, especially for theses, dissertations and other long-term research projects.

For assistance with using the Wayback Machine or integrating these practices into your classes or research workflows, please contact your WMU subject librarian.