A citation is a route back to evidence. A link alone may stop working, and a collection title alone may cover thousands of items. A useful archival reference gives another reader enough information to locate the particular record and understand the version you used.
Capture the reference when you find the item
Record the creator, document title or description, date, collection, series, box or folder, repository and item identifier where available. Include page or image numbers for the passage you discuss. Do this during research, before a downloaded file loses its connection to the catalog.
If an item has no title, supply a brief description in brackets rather than inventing a formal title. If the date is uncertain, preserve that uncertainty. A precise-looking citation should not imply information the repository does not provide.
Describe the version consulted
Say whether you read an original, digital scan, transcription, translation or quotation in a later publication. If only a secondary quotation was available, cite that publication and explain the limitation. Do not imply that you examined an original record you could not access.
For translations, identify the translator or state that the translation is your own. Keep the source-language passage in your private notes so that wording can be checked later. Romanization variants should help retrieval without silently changing a person’s name.
A practical citation pattern
Creator, “item title or description,” date, collection and series, item/box/folder identifier, repository, page or image number, stable catalog URL, accessed date.
Adapt the pattern to the repository. Some collections use a record-group number; others use an accession or item code. The goal is retrieval, not forcing every archive into one style.
Keep a separate evidence note
Alongside the citation, write the claim it supports and any caveat. Note missing pages, uncertain handwriting or a disputed attribution. The citation identifies the item; the evidence note explains how you used it. Keeping those tasks distinct makes revision easier when new material appears.
Explore collection descriptions through the National Archives Korean War research guide. Before reproducing an image or extended passage, check the holding institution’s rights and access information; the existence of an online copy does not by itself settle reuse permissions.