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Guide to Archival Research

A guide on conducting archival research. Includes instructions on finding archival material at the Dalhousie University Archives.

About Chicago Manual of Style citation for archival material

Chicago Manual of Style has two systems for citing course: Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date. Check your assignment or ask your professor if you are uncertain about which citation style you should use.

Be sure to consult The Chicago Manual of Style or the online quick guide for detailed standards and procedures. Most of the guidelines for citing archival material can be found in the Chicago Manual of Style under sections for “Manuscript Collections.”

Notes and Bibliography

In the Notes and Bibliography system, sources are cited at the bottom of the page in numbered footnotes, or at the end of each section or chapter in numbered endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. In some cases, sources are then listed in a separate bibliography at the end of the paper.

Notes

1. Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Reference code, Collection name, Repository name, Location of repository. URL if applicable.

In a note, the title of the item should be cited first. Use quotation marks only for specific titles, not for generic terms like report or letter. Capitalize generic terms if they are part of the heading appearing on the manuscript. Generic terms should be lowercased if they are only used as descriptors.

Subsequent citations for the same document, or if using other documents from the same collection, may be shortened. The shortened form is added in parentheses at the end of the first citation.

First Citation

Typescript of short story Brothers and Sisters by Budge Wilson, 2000, MS-2-650.2013-070, Box 3, Folder 9, Budge Wilson fonds, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (hereafter cited as Typescript, Budge Wilson fonds).

Subsequent Citation

Typescript, Budge Wilson fonds.

Bibliography

Last Name, First Name of author. Collection name. Repository name, Location of Repository.

In a bibliography, the citation usually begins with the name of the collection or the last name of the author. List citations alphabetically. Only cite individual items when you have referenced only a single item from a collection. 

Examples

Wilson, Budge. Budge Wilson fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Wilson, Budge. Typescript of short story Brothers and Sisters, 2000, Budge Wilson fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.


I'm citing a...

Letter

Notes

Correspondence from Henry Davies Hicks to the Annapolis County electorate, 24 October 1956, MS-2-511, Box 15, Folder 9, Henry Davies Hicks fonds, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Bibliography

Henry Davies Hicks fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.


Textual document

Notes

Typescript of short story Brothers and Sisters by Budge Wilson, 2000, MS-2-650.2013-070, Box 3, Folder 9, Budge Wilson fonds, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Bibliography

Budge Wilson fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.


Photograph

Notes

Photograph of Andy McKay's installation as Dalhousie president, February 1981, MS-4-250, Box 74, Folder 7, Wamboldt-Waterfield Photographic Collection, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Bibliography

Wamboldt-Waterfield Photographic Collection. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.


Graphic material

 

Some examples of graphic material can include: drawings, posters, paintings, cartoons, comics, prints, and broadsides.

Notes

Costume design for Andromache and son, 1992, MS-3-18, Box 6, Folder 5, Item 5, Robert Doyle fonds, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia. https://findingaids.library.dal.ca/costume-design-for-andromache-and-son

Bibliography

Robert Doyle fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.


Ephemera

Some examples of ephemera can include: postcards, posters, pamphlets, and broadsides.

Notes

Poster for Dalhousie Student Union event, "In Search of the Supernatural," 1986, MS-1-Ref, Box 16, Folder 27, Dalhousie University Reference Collection, Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Bibliography

Dalhousie University Reference Collection. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Author-Date

In-text Citation

Basic Format: (Collection Title Date)

Dates of individual items should be mentioned in the text, when applicable. In such cases, it is not necessary to add the date along with the collection title in parentheses.

Bibliography

Basic Format: Collection Name. Repository Name, Repository Location. URL.


I'm citing...

Multiple items from one collection

In-text citation

Hicks outlined his position in a letter to the Annapolis County electorate dated October 24, 1956 (Henry Davies Hicks fonds).

Bibliography

Henry Davies Hicks fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.


Single item from one collection

In-text citation

Hicks outlined his position in a letter to the Annapolis County electorate dated October 24, 1956 (Henry Davies Hicks fonds).

Bibliography

Hicks, Henry Davies. 24 October 1956. Letter from Henry Davies Hicks to the Annapolis County electorate. MS-2-511, Box 15, Folder 9, Henry Davies Hicks fonds. Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia.