If you are writing a paper that cites online sources, you should know what protocol is and how to use it. Protocol is the URL's prefix; it's the "http://" that precedes a World Wide Web address. HTTP stands for hypertext transfer protocol and is how documents are transferred online; without protocol there would be no Internet. According to Capital Community College's website, it is no longer necessary to cite protocol because "most browsers will work without including" one. The "http" is often considered part of the web address, and some professors may require you include it on your works cited page.
Step 1
Write the author's last name, then first name, followed by a period. For example, if John Smith wrote an article, you would type: "Smith, John." Add a space to prepare for the next part of the citation.
Step 2
Press the quotation mark key, type the title of the article, put a period at the end of the title and close the quotation marks. It should look like this: "Emergency Wound Care After a Natural Disaster." Add a space.
Step 3
Type the title of the publication in italics, a comma, the publisher's name and end with a period. The example used by Columbia University's CIAO online is "Columbia International Affairs Online, Columbia University Press." Type the date the article was published, followed by a period.
Step 4
Highlight, copy and paste the address bar. The protocol is the "http://" part of the address. The URL aspect of the Web address begins with "www."
Step 5
Finish the citation by placing the date you accessed the website inside a pair of parenthesis and end with a period.