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APA

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 Technicahttps://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)

 

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