APA Style
for
Electronic Sources
The APA
style of writing was developed by the American Psychological Association to
provide writers with standard writing guidelines. A complete APA stylebook,
like the 5th edition Publication
manual of the American Psychological Association (2001) provides a
comprehensive guide to writing according to APA style.
This handout offers help
for APA documentation of electronic sources. Documentation provides information
about the outside sources that writers have consulted for their papers.
Electronic sources may be individual or corporate web sites, online databases,
online photographs, E-mail messages, etc. The main purpose of documentation is
not only to credit the original author(s) but also to help readers locate and
judge the original source(s) of information. To avoid plagiarism it is very
important to correctly document, using the exact punctuation within each
specific source. Two different types of documentation are required when writing
from outside sources, citing sources within the paper and citing sources in the
separate References page at the end of the paper. Below you will find brief
explanations of each type of documentation and citation examples for the most
commonly used electronic sources.
For a more complete version of APA
documentation of electronic sources see the fifth edition Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, located in the Coconino
Community College Library (IRLS).
Or see:
APA online American
Psychological Association. (2004).
In-Text Citations
An in-text (within the
paper) citation identifies where another’s words, facts or ideas are being
used; along with the page number (if there is one) or section of the cited
source. In-text citations include only what is necessary to identify a source
that appears in the list of references. In-text citations are put within
parenthesis. Electronic sources are cited the same as print sources, author and
date are put in parenthesis; however, there are a couple of considerations when
citing electronic sources:
·
The author’s last name is included in the citation if it can
be found. It is sometimes challenging to locate an author or underwriter of a
web page or electronic document, try scrolling to the end of the home page.
The page number(s) or
chapter(s) where the cited information can be located is sometimes included in
the print citation but electronic sources often do not have page numbers, they may
have paragraphs. If there is no page number(s) include only the author’s name.
If there are paragraphs, include the paragraph number(s) preceded by the symbol
for paragraph or the abbreviation para.
NOTE: Titles of books and
periodicals are italicized when referred to in-text or in a reference page. For
examples of how to cite print sources see the APA Style Guide handout.
References
The Reference list is
a list of works cited within your paper and is on a separate page that is
located at the end of a paper. Here are some things to remember about a reference
section:
·
The list should be on a separate page entitled References (Consult
the APA Manual for the correct format
for a reference page).
·
Citations are listed alphabetically according to the
author’s last name.
·
In the case of no author, titles are listed among the
alphabetical author list and entered into the list alphabetically, according to
the first significant word in the title.
·
Only the first word and any proper nouns and adjectives in
the title of the work are capitalized. Within the title, words after a colon
are also capitalized.
·
If there is more than one work by the same author, the
author’s name is repeated and titles are ordered according to their dates;
earliest date first.
·
Electronic sources are included among the print sources and
alphabetized accordingly.
·
When citing electronic sources, the URL address may be lengthy; it
is fine to use a shortened version. The reader may also locate the document if
the URL citation is shortened to the original search page as retrieved from
your keyword search. The reader can find the document by clicking on
links--include the word "Path," followed by a colon and the names of
the links, separated by a semicolon.
<http://www.iloveanimals.org> Path: Animals; Dogs; Mutts
NOTE: See an example of a Reference
page (including print and electronic citations) at the end of this handout.
1.
Encyclopedia or Dictionary, No Author (or
Corporate Author)
Examples:
Accessed through a search engine:
Elk. (2003). Encyclopedia Britannica online. Retrieved
Accessed through
Impressionism.
(2004). msn Encarta, Microsoft corporation. Retrieved
Deforestation. (2004). Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved
Collins, F. and Jordan, E.
(2003). Human genome project. McGraw-Hill
encyclopedia of science & technology. Retrieved
NOTE: If
an author is listed, the author's name will precede the title.
2.
Online Subscription Database
Electronic
database citations begin exactly like print citations: Author’s last name,
Author’s first initial. (Date).Title of article. Title of Journal or Periodical, volume #, date of publication,
pages. Then add: Retrieved date, from the name of the database (ex. Academic
ASAP).
NOTE:
For further variations see electronic citations for subscription databases in the fifth edition
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association.
Examples
of electronic database citations:
Using EBSCO
Service
Austin, J., Miller, J. A., & Rohn, D. (2004,
May). Teaching pedestrian safety skills to children. Environment and Behavior 36, 368-385. Retrieved
Using Gale
Group Service
Ries, M. (2002, Winter).
Andre Masson: Surrealism and his
discontents. Art Journal 61, 4 -86.
Retrieved
Lexis-Nexis
Service
Swarns, R. L. (2004, March 11). Ashcroft weighs
the granting of political asylum to abused women. New York Times, p. 20. Retrieved
NOTE:
If a newspaper is retrieved directly from its online site (e.g., New York Times online) then it is cited the same,
except that after “Retrieved” is the date, from and then the <url>.
Example: Bacon, J. (2004, May 18). Feeding
off of reading.
Using ProQuest
Service
Hennenberger, M. (1999, Dec. 6). Author reveals much
about others and little of herself. New
York Times, East Coast late ed., A16. Retrieved
3.
Professional Web Page or Internet Site
Example:
4.
Personal
Web or Home Page
Example:
Sammy,
H. Hipster gal. (2003). Retrieved
NOTE: If the author of the Web site or page is
not identified, begin the reference with the title of the site, page, or document.
5.
Book or Pamphlet
Author(s). (Date of
publication). Book title. [Electronic
version]. City of
publication: Publisher. Retrieved date, from <url>.
Example:
One author
Austen,
J. (1917). Pride and prejudice. [Electronic
version].
Artist's
last name, Artist’s first initial. Title.
(Date). Institution that houses the work or individual who owns it. City.
Retrieval date, from <url>.
Example:
Van
Gogh, V. Cypresses. (1889). The
7. Personal Photograph
Author last name. Author first initial. (Date).
Brief description of the photograph. Retrieved date, from <url>.
Example:
Jones, M. (
Example:
9 CD-ROM or Diskette
Citations are similar to those for a book but
include "CD-ROM" or "Diskette" after title.
Examples:
Where in
the world is Carmen Sandiego?
CD-ROM.
GEAR: Grassroots
exercises and review. Diskette.
Example:
Lear,
W. (
Examples:
Home Page for a Course
Holbrook, P. (2004). ECN 205 Micro economics principles.
Retrieved May 20, 2004, from Coconino
Community College, course home page Web site: <http://www.coconino.edu/pholbrook/ecn_205/ECN_205_current_student_guide.
html>.
Home Page for a Department
Fine
arts department. (2004). Retrieved May 20, 2004, from Coconino Community
College, Fine Arts Dept. home page Web site: <http://www.coco.cc.az.us/finearts//>.
More resources for APA Style Documentation
Website:
APA online
American Psychological Association. (2004).
These texts are available in the
American
Psychological Association. (2001). Publication
manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.).
Gibaldi, J. (2003). MLA handbook
for writers of research papers (6th ed.).
Hacker, D. (1997). A pocket style manual
(2nd ed.).
Kennedy, X. J. & D.M., &
Stull, A. (2000). 1999/2000 English
on the Internet: A Prentice Hall guide.
References
Atwood, M. (1979). Life before man.
Atwood, M. (1982). Second words.
Atwood, M. (1983). Murder
In the dark.
Bass, E. (1978). For my mother. Tangled vines. (pp. 36 - 42).
Cahill, S. (Ed.). (1975). Women and fiction: Short stories by and about women.
Chopin, K. (1975). The story of an hour. In S. Cahill
(Ed.), Women and fiction: Short stories by
and about women. (pp. 1 - 5).
Olsen,T.
(1983, November 10). Lament for the lost. Literature and language department lecture
series,
Women and birth control. (1929,
May). The North American, 227, 529-534.
Ries, M. (2002, Winter). Andre Masson: Surrealism and his
discontents. Art Journal 61, 4-86.
Retrieved May 20, 2004, from Academic ASAP, Gale
Group database.
Sitwell, N.
(1984, Sept.). Our trees are dying. Science
Digest , 39-48.
Smith, F. (1998, Sept. 4). Re: Opinions on the new work. Online posting.
Retrieved from <http://www.newsgroupalt.poetry.dickinson>.
Willett, P. (1997). Victorian women
writers project.
Prepared by: Sarah Jasper, Dan
Crawley, and
November, 1999
Revised by: Mary Grove, October, 2002
Revised by: