APA

Citing Electronic Resources: APA Style

Introduction
APA style is the preferred writing style of The American Psychological Association. It is widely used by scholars, researchers, and students of Psychology, Sociology, Education, Political Science, and History in researching, recording, documenting, and writing research papers.
The following recommendations for citing electronic resources are based on the 6th edition of Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2010) and selective Web publications on APA electronic citations. A copy of the manual should be available at the reference desk of your academic or public library in the United States. For more online instructions and examples of APA general writing format, parenthetical reference, Reference List of various sources, and notes, please go to Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University (at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/research/r_apa.html).

Guidelines for Reference List

Center References on the top of a new page at the end of the research paper
Double space between References and the first citation
Flush to the left to type each entry
Indent five to seven spaces (Tab) after the first line in each entry if the entry runs more than one line
Double space all reference entries.
Double space lines between and within entries
Put a period at the end of each field (e.g. author, publication year, title, etc.)
An online periodical citation may include the following:

Author's name if known
Date of publication
Article title (Capitalize only the first word of the title and of the subtitle and proper nouns)
Name of the periodical (Italicize the periodical title and capitalize important words)
Italicize volume number which is immediately followed by the issue number which is not italicized but put in parentheses, comma, and page number if given
Web address (URL) if applicable

An online book citation may include the following:

Author's name if known
Date of publication
Book title (Italicize the title)
Web address (URL)

Journal Article from an Internet-Only Publication:

Author's last name, First name initial, and Middle name initial. (Publication year). Article title. Journal Title,

volume number(issue number), page number. Retrieved from the URL of the journal home page

Vetter, R. (2001). Kissing bugs and the skin. Dermatology Online Journal, 7(1), 6. Retrieved from

http://dermatology.cdlib.org/issuesindex.html

Journal Article from a Subscription Online Database:

Note: To cite a journal article from one of your library's subscription online databases, you may omit access date and the database name according to the latest edition of Publication Manual of the American Pscyhological Association if it is available in print format and easily located in the online databases . In other words, cite it as if it is a print source if it can be easily located electronically.

Author's last name, First name initial, and Middle name initial. (Publication year, Month). Article title. Journal Title,

volume number(issue number), the beginning page number followed by a plus sign if the original publication

has more than 1 page.

Norwood, V. L. (1987, Summer). The nature of knowing: Pachel Carson and the American environment. Signs,

12(4), 740-760.

Lamontagne, N. D. (2010, September). How green is my vehicle? Plastics Engineering, 66(8), 22+.

Magazine Article from a Subscription Online Database:

Note: To cite a magazine article from one of your library's subscription online databases, you may omit access date and the database name according to the latest edition of Publication Manual of the American Pscyhological Association if it is available in print format and easily located in the online databases . In other words, cite it as if it is a print source if it can be easily located electronically.

Author's last name, First name initial, and Middle name initial. (Year, Month). Article title. Magazine Title, Volume number,

Page number.

McKoon, K. (2009, Spring). College speak 101: Words, phrases, and what to know when embarking upon the 'College Game'.

Careers & Colleges, 30+.

Chapter of an Edited Book from a Subscription Online Database

Note: For books or chapters that are available in print format, cite them as if they are print sources even though you have retrieved them from subscription online databases.

Author's last name, First name initial, and Middle name initial. (Year). Article title. In Book title, (edition, Volume number,

Page number range). Publication Pace: Publisher.

Sullivan, T. (2001). Bankruptcy and Credit. In Encyclopedia of sociology, (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 201-208). New York:

Macmillan Reference USA.

For books or chapters available only online, the electronic retrieval statement takes the place of publisher location and name.

If it is from a subscription online database, list the database name.

Tran, M., & Odle, T. G. (Jan 1, 2006). Nutrition. Gale encyclopedia of medicine. Retrieved from Academic

OneFile via Gale.

If it is from a website, list the URL.

Austen, J. (1996). Pride and prejudice. Retrieved from http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/pridprej.html

If it is a chapter without an author, begin the citation with the chapter title.

Bankruptcy. (2006). In J. Wilson (Ed.), Gale encyclopedia of everyday law, (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 283-287).

Retrieved from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale.

Online Newspaper Article from a Subscription Online Database:

Author's last name, First name initial, and Middle name initial. (Year, Month Date). Article title. Newspaper Title. Retrieved

from Database Name.

Freeman, L. (2010, December 1). Nurses discuss how to improve health care. Naples Daily News (FL).

Retrieved from NewsBank America's Newspapers.

Online Newspaper Article from a Website:

Author's last name, First name initial, and Middle name initial. (Year, Month Date). Article title. Newspaper Title. Retrieved

from the main URL

Hatfield, L. D. (2001, November 7). FBI frustrated in pursuit of anthrax perpetrators: Few answers found

in probe of mail terrorism. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com

Article from a Website with a Corporate Author:

Corporate Author's Name. (Publication Year). Article title. Retrieved from URL

The Vitamins & Nutrition Center. (2010). Vitamin B12. Retrieved from

http://www.vitamins-nutrition.org//vitamins-guide/vitamin-b-12-cyanocobalamin.html

Message Posted to an E-Mail List:

(E-mail or messages from a discussion groups or electronic mailing list)

Author's last name, First name initial, and Middle name initial. (Year, Month Date). Title of the e-mail as listed in the subject field

[Specific type of message]. Retrieved from the URL

Doe, J. (2010, December 2). How to use Bing: Instructions [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved

from http://www.ehow.com/message/10

For instructions on how to cite books and articles in print format in References and how to do in-text citations in APA style, please visit the following website:
Purdue University Online Writing Lab

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Last updated: 6 December 2010