How would I cite IMDb if I use some of the information in a paper?

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I'm writing a paper on the history of film and I want to use some of the information that IMDb provides but I'm not sure how I would cite it. Any ideas?
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Mackenzie Blumhagen

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Posted 7 years ago

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Emperor, Champion

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I'd assume you use the same citation system that you'd use for online sources - if you've been given a style guide it'll be in there somewhere (or if you use a standard referencing system, like the Harvard one, then they'll presumably have the relevant information in the style guide).

I don't know what level this paper is for, but it might be worth checking to see if it is an appropriate source because it is largely based on user-contributed data so is about as reliable as a Wikipedia article (who, themselves, don't allow IMDB as a source). So it'd be good for release dates, for example, but for something else (like the trivia or connections) you might want to look for a better source (which these days might be interviews, books on the topic or the director's commentary).
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Giancarlo Cairella, Official Rep

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When data from IMDb.com is quoted in print form our preferred acknowledgment format is:

Information courtesy of The Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com). Used with permission. 


To the best of my knowledge, we don't have a preferred citation style in Modern Language Association format, if that's what you are looking for. The correct style probably varies depending on the type of data/info being quoted. Please note that portions of the database are constantly updated, so we can't really supply a version number or a date of the last update of a specific page or section.

I would suggest you refer to any of the numerous MLA-style citation guides/handbooks available on the web (like http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/res... ) for more information/guidance. Please also make sure that you are aware of our terms and conditions of use before using data from IMDb.com for any purpose.

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