Bibliography and citation method
A bibliography is more than a list at the end of a paper. In a documentary archive, it is the map that shows how treaties, decisions, reports and commentary relate. A well-built entry lets another reader identify the same source, understand its role and retrieve the version you used.
Describe the source by type
Begin each record with the correct document category. For an instrument, capture the adopting body, title, date and treaty or resolution information. For a case, record the issuing body, document type, identifier and date. For a report, add the mandate, document symbol and reporting period. For commentary, include the author, title, publication, year and persistent identifier where available.
Prefer durable identifiers
Interfaces change, but document symbols, case numbers and publication identifiers often remain searchable. Keep both the official URL and the stable identifier. For scholarly materials, a persistent identifier can be useful, but it should still resolve to a record that matches the title and author. The global library catalog can help verify editions and publication metadata, while institutional repositories may hold open copies.
Record language and version
A citation should reveal which language and version were consulted. Note revised rules, corrected reports and consolidated instruments. If a later edition changes pagination, a paragraph, article or section reference may be more reproducible than a page number. Where only a scan exists, note that fact and check whether optical character recognition has introduced errors.
Link claims to exact locations
In working notes, place the paragraph or article beside the proposition it supports. Avoid collecting quotations in an unlabeled file. Include a short explanation of source role: governing text, procedural history, finding, interpretation, methodology or commentary. This makes it easier to see when a draft assigns too much weight to a secondary source.
Use citation chains carefully
Older scholarship often points to a web copy that has disappeared. Do not copy the citation without checking it. Follow the document title or identifier to an official repository, confirm that the content matches, and preserve the legacy URL separately if it matters to web history. The restored HRNi records follow that model: the old path is retained, while current authority is found elsewhere.
Build a bilingual vocabulary list
When research crosses English and French, maintain a small table of official terms as used by each institution. Do not assume a literal translation will match database indexing. Record variant titles and abbreviations, but choose one consistent form in the bibliography. The French reading room offers a parallel method overview.
A practical note template
- Source type and issuing body
- Full title and short title
- Date, identifier and language
- Official repository URL
- Relevant article, paragraph or section
- One-sentence relevance note
- Version, correction or translation note
- Legacy URL, if web history matters
Review the bibliography as evidence
Before publication, test every link and identifier, remove duplicates and check that each source supports the statement attached to it. Mark inaccessible material rather than pretending it was read. Separate primary material from commentary so readers can see the evidentiary chain at a glance.
The strongest bibliography is not necessarily the longest. It is the one whose entries are precise, whose source roles are clear and whose retrieval path can be repeated.
Maintain the trail
Bibliographic work is most durable when each entry can be checked without relying on memory. Record editions, translators, editors and persistent identifiers where available, then note whether access came from a publisher, library catalogue or repository. Periodic link review can update the route without silently changing the work that the original entry identified.
A brief review date also tells future readers when catalogue links and edition details were last checked.