How do I reference social media… in the NLM style?
04/12/2025
Although it’s not considered to be scholarly material, you may find information on social media useful for a piece of academic work. It may be that a particular post on X or Facebook illustrates or contextualises your argument. This blog post will show you how to reference an example of each in the NLM (numbered) style.
X
For individual X posts create a reference for the whole X profile and provide the post details after the date.
What you need to include:
- Author/Group author @username
- Title of X Profile followed by [Internet]
- Place of publication or Author’s City: Publisher Name.
- Date of publication of first post.
- Content of the post up to the first 20 words.
- Date posted and [date cited].
- Available from: URL.
A reference for an X post
Marketing Week @MarketingWeekEd. X posts [Internet]. San Francisco: X. 2011 Feb – . Boots CMO Pete Markey appointed ISBA president. Marketing Week’s 2023 Marketer of the Year takes over the role from Natwest; 2024 Jul 10 [cited 2024 Jul 11]. Available from: https://x.com/MarketingWeekEd/status/1811057220294955101
For individual posts or updates you will need to create a reference for the whole profile and provide the post details after the date.
What you need to include:
- Author/Group Author/Username
- Title of Facebook page followed by [Internet]
- Place of publication or Author’s City: Publisher Name.
- Date of publication of first post.
- Content of the post up to the first 20 words.
- Date posted and [date cited].
- Available from: URL.
A reference for a Facebook post
BAE Systems. Facebook posts [Internet]. San Francisco: Facebook. 2009 May 5 – . The rapid evolution of uncrewed aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones is changing the way that we do things; 2024 Jun 20 [cited 2024 Jul 11]. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=772903175029765&set=a.564421215877963&locale=en_GB
For all your referencing questions – please contact Cranfield Libraries.
Please note: Cranfield supports two different referencing styles – APA7 (Author-date) and Numbered (NLM). Please make sure you use the style preferred by your supervisor or lecturer.
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Getting started on your Master’s thesis
Please note: This post is intended to provide advice to all students undertaking a thesis in engineering or applied sciences. There is separate advice for business and management students. Choosing your thesis topic Your course ...
Systematic literature review – Identifying your search terms and constructing your search strings
Our previous posts on the systematic review have looked at getting started and selecting your sources. In this post we will look at the next fundamental stage: Identifying your search terms and constructing your search ...
The importance of metadiscourse in academic writing
Metadiscourse (or ‘metatext’) is a key feature of academic writing. Hyland (2019) describes it as the writer's “interpersonal communication” and it refers to the parts of your text that talk about your argument in order ...
Systematic literature review – Selecting your sources
In our previous systematic literature review post we identified some background reading for getting started, explained how to find other systematic literature reviews to help you understand what is required, and how reviews should be structured and written ...
Systematic literature review – Where do I begin?
Undertaking a systematic literature review can seem a bit daunting so breaking it down into separate stages is a good way to begin. In this blog post we’re going to identify some background reading and ...
Bank holiday hours for Library Services: Monday 4 May
Library Services staff will be taking a break on Monday 4 May for the early May bank holiday. You will still be able to access all the online resources and help you need via our ...
Comments are closed.