LibGuides: APA: Web Pages and Documents

Is it a Webpage?

Not every source found online should be cited as a webpage. APA treats a source as a webpage only when it does not fit into another category. Evaluate your material carefully to determine whether it is a blog post, journal article, newspaper article, magazine article, encyclopedia, eBook, etc. Use the format which most accurately describes the source.

Basic Structure

General Rules & Basic Structure

If you mention an entire website without referring to specific information within, you do not list it on the reference page. Instead, you refer to the website in your body's text (in sentence) and include the website URL (in parentheses).

Ex: An excellent source of demographic data is freely available on the Census website (www.census.gov).

Apps, software, and other programs may be treated similarly. For apps and software, you do not have to list the URL.

News Site

Note: Use this format for articles published in online news sources such as BBC News, HuffPost, CNN, etc.

Format

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of News Website. URL

Example

Epstein, D. (2017, February 22). When evidence says no, but doctors say yes. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/when-evidence-says-no-but-doctors-say-yes

In-Text Paraphrase

(Author's Last Name, Year)

Ex: (Epstein, 2017)

Online Newspaper

Note: APA treats online newspaper sites like The New York Times differently than CNN. To us, they might feel the same: news articles in digital format. However, the sources are different: NYT is a long-running newspaper and CNN is a television news network that branched out when the World Wide Web became a common way for people to access information.

Format

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Newspaper. URL

Example

Burbach, C. (2021, March 2). 'This is a good day for us': Omaha-area teachers to get COVID vaccinations on Saturday. Omaha World-Herald. https://omaha.com/news/local/education/this-is-a-good-day-for-us-omaha-area-teachers-to-get-covid-vaccinations-on/article_6142b35a-7b72-11eb-a5f1-df303c0c6291.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

In-Text Paraphrase

(Author's Last Name, Year)

Ex: (Burbach, 2021)

Blog Posts and Personal Sites

Format

Author's Last Name, First initial. Second Initial if Given or Username if real name not provided. (Year blog post was published, Month Day). Title of blog post. Title of Blog. URL

Example

Ouellette, J. (2019, November 15). Physicists capture first footage of quantum knots unraveling in superfluid. Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/11/study-you-can-tie-a-quantum-knot-in-a-superfluid-but-it-will-soon-untie-itself/

In-Text Paraphrase

(Author's Last Name, Year)

Ex: (Ouellette, 2019)

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Online Dictionary, Thesaurus

Note: Dating these sources can be tricky. If a date is provided (usually bottom or top of entry), include it in your citation. If it is continuously updated but does not appear to be archived or stable or list a date, then you will use (n.d.) as the year of publication and your retrieval date.

Format

Known author:

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication).Title of entry. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of encyclopedia or dictionary (edition if given and is not first edition). Retrieved date from URL

Group author:

Name of Group Author. (Year of Publication). Title of entry. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of encyclopedia or dictionary (edition if given and is not first edition). Retrieved from date URL

Example

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Caprice. Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved December 16, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caprice

In-Text Paraphrase

(Group author, Year)

Ex: (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Online Encyclopedia

Format

Author of Entry, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of entry. In B. B. Editor & C. C. Editor (Eds.), Title of encyclopedia (edition). Publisher. URL or DOI

Example

Author, no date:

Zelazko, A. (n.d.). Was Santa Claus a real person? Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 16, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/story/was-santa-claus-a-real-person

No author, no date:

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Santa Claus: Legendary figure. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Santa-Claus

In-Text Paraphrase

(Author's Last Name, Year)

Ex: (Zelazko, n.d.)

Wikipedia

Format

Title of entry. (Year article was edited, Month Day). In Wikipedia. URL for archived version of the article

Example

Archived entry:

Groundhog Day. (2021, February 10). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Groundhog_Day&direction=next&oldid=1005909166

Non-archived entry:

Groundhog Day. (2021, February 10). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 17, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day

In-Text Paraphrase

("Title of entry", Year)

Ex: ("Groundhog Day", 2021)