Begin your citation with the author's last name followed by initial(s) of the author's first name and middle name, if applicable. If no author is available, begin your citation with the title of the encyclopedia entry.
Example: Doe, J. T.
Include the year the online encyclopedia was published.
Example: Doe, J. T. (2010).
Place the title of the encyclopedia entry after the year of publication.
Example: Doe, J. T. (2010). Sea Mammals.
Include the name(s) of the online encyclopedia's editors.
Example: Doe, J. T. (2010). Sea Mammals. In B. Crimson & J. McCoy (Eds.),
Italicize the name of the encyclopedia you are citing. If the information is available, include edition, volume and page numbers in parentheses. Close your citation by noting the website from which you accessed the encyclopedia. If a full URL is available, APA style requires you list it.
Doe, J. T. (2010). Sea Mammals. In B. Crimson & J. McCoy (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the Sea (3rd ed., Vol 2, pp. 123-45). Retrieved from http://www.fullurl.com/mustbeincluded
Follow the example below, as adapted from the Northern Michigan University Library website, for citing online encyclopedias in APA format where the entry does not have an author. Be certain to italicize the title of the encyclopedia.
Major League Baseball. (2009). In H. Johnson & T. Small (Eds.), Encyclopedia of professional sports. Retrieved from http://www.fullurl.com/ofthepage/whereyouaccessed/theinformation
Use the following example when citing multi-volume online encyclopedias with a known author and no direct link available. When you access an online encyclopedia through a research database, you may be unable to provide a direct URL.
Reynolds, T. (2010). World Series Champions. In R. Jamison (Ed.), Encyclopedia of baseball (4th ed., Vol. 12, pp. 2210-2212). Retrieved from http://name.of.database/include/full/url