Citing a cached web page

By Anonymous on Thu, 08/02/2012 - 14:49

Forums

Hi,

I found a newspaper article through a google search.  However, the original link is no longer active, but you can still see the page through google's cache of it.  Are there any things to consider differently when citing this (aside from going to a microfilm of the newspaper and printing the actual article and citing from the original source)?  It's not that old, only from March 2012.  A search of the newspaper's actual website does not bring up the article.  I'm just not sure of the "longevity" of cached pages, and the ability to go back to the record if necessary.  I couldn't find any references to "cache" in EE.

Thanks,

John

Submitted byEEon Thu, 08/02/2012 - 19:20

John,

Can you cite a link to work from?

Submitted byJKleinmannon Thu, 08/02/2012 - 20:20

Sorry about that!  Here it is:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tuu4N9hQHnEJ:www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/lifestyle/century-club-barber-who-started-at-age-12-reaches-a-milestone-494459/%3Fprint%3D1&hl=en&gl=us&prmd=imvns&strip=1

The other funny thing is at the bottom it says:  "First published 2012-03-17."  That can't possibly be true, as Charles turned 101 in 2007, and died at age 102 in 2008.  The facts of the article themselves are consistent with events in his life though.

Thanks for any guidance you're able to provide.

John

Submitted byEEon Fri, 08/03/2012 - 11:06

John,

A “simple” Google Webcache citation to this page would be constructed like the EE 14.22 model for “Newspapers (Online Images).” In short, you are citing the newspaper through online access by a third-part provider. All you would need to do is (1) substitute the specific data for your article and the provider you are using; and (2) change the phrase that links these two parts of the citation (“digital images”) to “cached by."

However, EE would use a Google Webcache citation only as a last resort, especially in your case. The reasons are these:

  1. Google Webcache's search string is so long that it's extremely likely to be mangled by a retyping or a cut and paste.
  2. As you've noted, there is a significant discrepancy between the "First published" date that Google provides and the content of the article. That discrepancy begs us to track down the original publication to analyze what has happened.

If we strip away all the gobbledygook that Google’s webcache has added, we're left with this core URL: www.post-gazette.com. At that site, if we enter the search terms "century club" and "barber," the newspaper site delivers the article at /www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/century-club-barber-who-started-at-age-12-reaches-a-milestone-494459/. However, a test of that URL in a different browser delivered a page with no content. The URL to the actual page appears not to be stable.

EE would recommend citing the newspaper's home page, using the standard format for online newspaper archives at 14.22. Because the URL to the actual page does not deliver that page, EE would cite only the home page and then add the search terms used to access the page. (EE 2.70, p. 83, ref. note 3 gives an example of citing search terms; EE 2.37 discusses general principle involved.)

After that core citation you should, of course, add your own caution that a date discrepancy exists, along with your analysis of what may be the cause.