How Do I Cite an Internet Reference Per APA?

Students in the social sciences, such as sociology and psychology, use American Psychological Association style when writing papers. These style guidelines direct students in everything from how to format figures and tables to how to create a list of references. With many reputable sources on the Web, students need to understand how to cite Internet references in APA style in their papers. How they cite the Internet reference depends on the type of reference.

Instructions

  1. Online Journal Article

    • 1

      List the author's last name and first initial, separated by a comma -- for example, "Smith, K."

    • 2

      Include the year that the online journal article was published in parentheses followed by a period.

    • 3

      Write the title of the online article in sentence case, where you should capitalize only the first word of the article and any proper nouns. End the article title with a period.

    • 4

      List the online journal in italics in title case. End with a period.

    • 5

      Write "Retrieved from" followed by the full URL for the online article, beginning with the "http://". Do not end the URL with a period.

    Electronic Book

    • 6

      Write the author's last name, followed by his first initial. End the name in a period.

    • 7

      Include the year of publication in parenthesis, followed by a period outside the closed parenthesis. If the electronic book is only produced online, and there is no hard-copy version, there might not be a publication date. In that case, include "(n.d.)" instead.

    • 8

      Include the title of the electronic book in italics. End the title in a period.

    • 9

      Write "Retrieved from" followed by the full URL for the electronic book, beginning with the "http://". Do not end the URL with a period.

    Online Encyclopedia

    • 10

      List the name of the encyclopedia's entry -- for example, "Barack Obama" -- followed by a period.

    • 11

      Provide the publication date in parentheses with the period outside the closed parenthesis. If there is not a date listed, include "(n.d.)." instead.

    • 12

      Provide the name of the encyclopedia in italics, preceded by the word "In" -- for example, "In ABC Encyclopedia." End with a period.

    • 13

      Include "Retrieved from" followed by the full URL of the encyclopedia entry. Do not end the URL in a period.

    Other Website

    • 14

      List the author name if available in the Last Name, First Initial format. Look for a byline at the start of the text, or check the bottom of the webpage for an author's name. End the author's name with a period.

    • 15

      Provide the year of publication for the website in parenthesis, followed by a period. Not every website will include a date, but check the copyright information at the bottom of the page for a date.

    • 16

      List the title of the document in sentence case, and end with a period.

    • 17

      Write "Retrieved from" followed by the full URL of the website. Do not end the URL with a period.

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