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PSAs (public service announcements) are loaded with facts that you might want to use in a research paper. To cite a PSA as a source, you roughly follow the same format as any other television or online video. While any citation includes the same basic information, the specific punctuation and format will differ depending on whether you're using the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), or Chicago citation style.[1]
Steps
Method 1
Method 1 of 3:
MLA
Start your Works Cited entry with the name of the institution. A Works Cited entry typically starts with the author or producer of the work. PSAs are typically produced by a nonprofit organization or government institution, so that name goes first. Follow the name with a period.[2]- Example: National Crime Prevention Council.
Add the title of the PSA in quotation marks. Type the official title of the PSA in title case, capitalizing the first word plus any nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, and verbs. Put a period at the end of the title, inside the closing quotation marks.[3]- Example: National Crime Prevention Council. "Take a Bite out of Crime."
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Provide the name of the source where the PSA appeared in italics. If you watched the PSA on TV, use the name of the TV network. For PSAs that are available online, provide the name of the website where the PSA can be viewed. Place a period at the end.- Example: National Crime Prevention Council. "Take a Bite out of Crime." YouTube.
List the date the PSA was created or viewed. Type your date in day-month-year format, using a 3-letter abbreviation for a month with more than 4 letters in its name. If your source indicates the date the PSA was created, use that. Otherwise, provide the date you saw it. Place a period at the end of the date.- Example: National Crime Prevention Council. "Take a Bite out of Crime." YouTube. 18 July 2020.
Close with the URL if the PSA is available online. Copy and paste the direct URL for the PSA video without the "http://" portion. Place a period at the end of the URL. Try to use a video posted by the institution that produced the PSA, if possible, because it's less likely to be changed or removed.- Example: National Crime Prevention Council. "Take a Bite out of Crime." YouTube. 18 July 2020. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzyTarwYaM0.
Include the institution's name and a time-stamp in your in-text citation. When you mention the PSA in the text of your paper, add a parenthetical citation that points the reader to the full entry in your Works Cited. The citation goes at the end of the sentence, inside the closing punctuation for the sentence. Include the name of the institution and the time-stamp for the material you've mentioned.- For example, you might write: McGruff the Crime Dog taught children not to get into cars with strangers (National Crime Prevention Council 0:04).
- Just include the name of the institution in your parenthetical citation if you don't have a time stamp, such as if there's no video of the PSA available online.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:
APA
Open your Reference List entry with the name of the institution. The nonprofit organization or institution that sponsored the PSA is considered the author and named first. After the full name of the institution, add a period.[4]- Example: Ad Council.
Add the year the PSA was posted or produced in parentheses. If you have the year the PSA was originally produced, use that year — even if it was posted online at a later date. If you don't have the year the PSA was originally produced, use the year it was posted online. Place a period at the end, outside the closing parenthesis.[5]- Example: Ad Council. (1985).
Provide the title and medium of the PSA. Type the title of the PSA in sentence case, capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns in the title. Type "PSA" in square brackets after the title. Place a period at the end, after the closing brackets.[6]- Example: Ad Council. (1985). You could learn a lot from a dummy [PSA].
Close your entry with a direct URL if you have one. If you found the PSA online, include the full direct URL for the PSA in your citation. Do not place a period at the end of the URL. Use an official URL of the PSA posted by the institution that produced it where possible.[7]- Example: Ad Council. (1985). You could learn a lot from a dummy [PSA]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANAlT4pjRDI
Use the name of the institution and the year for in-text citations. In any sentence where you mention the PSA, add a parenthetical citation with the name of the institution, followed by a comma, then the year the PSA was produced or posted. The parenthetical citation goes inside the closing punctuation for the sentence.[8]- For example, you might write: Lovable crash test dummies proved effective at encouraging people to wear seat belts in cars (Ad Council, 1985).
- If you use the name of the institution in the text of your paper, simply add the year in parentheses after the name of the institution. For example, you might write: Because low seatbelt usage was concerning, the Ad Council (1985) launched a series of PSAs with crash test dummies to emphasize the importance of wearing seat belts in cars.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:
Chicago
Start your Bibliography entry with the name of the institution. Because the nonprofit organization or government agency that produced the PSA is considered the author, it's listed first. Place a period after the name.[9]- Example: Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
Add the title of the PSA in quotation marks. Type the title of the PSA in title case, capitalizing the first word plus any nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. Place a period at the end of the title, inside the closing quotation marks.[10]- Example: Partnership for a Drug-Free America. "This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain on Drugs."
Provide the date and source of the PSA. If you watched the PSA on TV, type the word "Aired" followed by the date in month-day-year format. Then type "on" followed by the name of the network. If you found the PSA online, type the word "Accessed" followed by the date in month-day-year format, then the word "on," then the name of the website. Don't abbreviate the names of months. Place a period at the end.[11]- Example: Partnership for a Drug-Free America. "This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain on Drugs." Accessed July 18, 2020 on YouTube.
Include a direct URL if one is available. If the PSA is available online, close your bibliography entry with the full, direct URL so your readers can view it themselves. Place a period at the end of the URL.[12]- Example: Partnership for a Drug-Free America. "This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain on Drugs." Accessed July 18, 2020 on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0kCYP_iPtg
Adjust the punctuation and capitalization for footnotes. Your first footnote citing the PSA in the text of your paper includes the same information as your Bibliography entry. However, it's formatted as a sentence with commas between elements rather than periods. The only period in a footnote is at the end.[13]- Example: Partnership for a Drug-Free America, "This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain on Drugs," accessed July 18, 2020 on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0kCYP_iPtg.
- If you mention the PSA in your paper again, you can use a shortened footnote format that includes only the name of the institution and the title of the PSA. For example: Partnership for a Drug-Free America, "This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain on Drugs."
- Because the Chicago Manual doesn't specifically address PSAs and other advertisements, you might not need a Bibliography entry in addition to your footnote. Ask your instructor or supervisor to be sure.[14]
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References
- ↑ https://www.usf.edu/gcp/faculty-staff/edg-public-service-announcement.pdf
- ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
- ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html
- ↑ https://library.csp.edu/c.php?g=982644&p=7132575
- ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/apa#ImageorAdvertisement
- ↑ https://library.csp.edu/c.php?g=982644&p=7132575
- ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/apa#ImageorAdvertisement
- ↑ https://library.csp.edu/c.php?g=982644&p=7132575
- ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/chicagonotes-bibliography#ImageorAdvertisement
- ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/chicagonotes-bibliography#ImageorAdvertisement
- ↑ https://libguides.williams.edu/citing/chicago-notes#s-lg-box-21699937
- ↑ https://libguides.williams.edu/citing/chicago-notes#s-lg-box-21699937
- ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/chicagonotes-bibliography#ImageorAdvertisement
- ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/chicagonotes-bibliography#ImageorAdvertisement
About this article
Jennifer Mueller, JD
Doctor of Law, Indiana University
This article was co-authored by How.com.vn staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD. Jennifer Mueller is a How.com.vn Content Creator. She specializes in reviewing, fact-checking, and evaluating How.com.vn's content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. Jennifer holds a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006. This article has been viewed 6,054 times.
Co-authors: 3
Updated: February 5, 2023
Views: 6,054
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 6,054 times.
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