Prefabrication is a wonderful concept. Like most concepts, it has its uses—as well as undesirable consequences. In a recent thread on EE's Facebook page, a commenter writes: “It’s best to go with the citation any site recommends at [as] it will most likely lead to continuous access no matter how the site changes over time.” For the record ...

How do we cite a Facebook post? “QuickTips” tackled this topic a couple of years ago in answer to a reader’s query. It’s time to revisit it.

The email began as many do, with a generous supply of kind words about the research published at my personal website. Then came the paragraph that laid out the actual reason for writing ...

"[XYZ] actually said 'Facts can be debated.' Think about that for a moment!" With these words, a meme in current circulation takes to task a public statement by a public figure.  So, let's do “think about that for a moment.”  Are facts debatable?

What was the last book you bought—and why? A friend raised this question on social media yesterday—right after Amazon’s delivery left a new book on my doorstep. Nancy Isenberg’s White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America. My friend’s why? question triggered a memory. ...

We’re studying Benjamin S. Anybody. We find his photograph online. Well, we find a photograph that is said to be him. What do we do now?

Someone just challenged me to explain the difference between "a reasonably exhaustive search" and "reasonably exhaustive research"—and to do so in 150 words or less.

In another forum that will go unnamed, a writer declared: “I like MLA better than CMOS because MLA doesn’t require us to cite page numbers.” ... Whoa! Back up a moment. Somebody took a wrong turn here. ...

Reader pbaum has raised an issue often faced by those who comb history's nooks and crannies: Say I have 10 or more land entries mentioned in the main text, but ....