How to Cite Artifacts
When you discuss your visit to the museum, you
need to provide a reference for every
object you discuss, as well as
any information
you mention (either in your own words or in exact quotes) from the
exhibits or gallery notes.
Failure to provide proper references for items seen in a museum,
or for information obtained from a museum, represents plagiarism. You
must include a reference for the object both in your text in
parentheses and at the end of your paper in a reference list. Here is
a format to use to avoid plagiarism.
Every item in the museum has an accession number. This unique
number can be found on the object, and on the title card for the
object in or near its case.
Full citation format for objects and gallery notes
For objects:
- "name of the object." object's accession number. University of
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
- "name of the object." object's accession number. "title of the
gallery notes (if any)." Gallery notes. University of Pennsylvania
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
For general gallery notes (not attached to any one object):
- "title of the gallery notes (if any), or title of exhibition."
Gallery notes. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology
and Anthropology.
Examples
In the body of your paper
To refer to gallery notes when you take the exact words of the
notes:
To refer to gallery notes when you put the ideas of the notes
into your own words:
To refer to an artifact:
In your reference list
To refer to an artifact:
To refer to gallery notes on an artifact:
To refer to general gallery notes:
