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Citing Electronic Resources Using APA Style


Why must I cite sources?
You must document full-text electronic resources (including those on the World Wide Web) just as you must document print sources. The reason for documentation is to credit the author and publisher for their original work and to enable your readers to consult the same sources you did. This also helps avoid plagiarism. Refer to The Indiana University Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct for more information on the issue of plagiarism.


Where will I cite my sources in my paper?
You will need to cite your sources in two places—within your paper as an in-text or parenthetical citation and at the end of your paper in a Bibliography or Works Cited list. The in-text citations must clearly direct readers to the sources at the end of your paper.

Examples:
The following Works Cited/Bibliography examples are only guidelines. Not all of your sources will fit the following; therefore, you may need to consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association available in the Information Commons Reference Collection (BF76.7.P83) or Reference Desk. If you have questions about how to cite sources, feel free to ask a Reference Librarian or your instructor.

In-text Citation Examples:
Typically, in-text citations will include an author(s) last name and a source's publication year (Smith 2004). However, some materials, like World Wide Web pages, do not identify an author and/or publication year. An example of how to create an in-text citation for World Wide Web pages is given below. Consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association or a Reference Librarian for help in developing in-text references.



World Wide Web Full-Text Sources:


World Wide Web full-text sources are usually journal, magazine, or newspaper articles found at a specific web address or using a search engine like Google or Yahoo. These articles can come from sources that have a print component (i.e. Time, Newsweek, etc.) or sources that are only found on the Internet (i.e. Journal of Electronic Publishing, Psycoloquy, etc.). The following Works Cited/Bibliography examples are only guidelines; utlize the Publication Manual for the American Psychological Association for additional examples.

Article based on a Print Source:

What you need:

  • Author(s) name
  • Publication date
  • Title
  • Source (magazine, journal, etc. name)
  • Volume & issue number
  • Page number(s) (if available)
  • Date you accessed the information
  • URL

Works Cited/Bibliography Format:

McGinn, D. (2005, June 27). Rewinding a video giant [Electronic version]. Newsweek, 145(26). Retrieved July 12, 2005, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8259044/site/newsweek

Article from an Internet Only Source:

What you need:

  • Author(s) name
  • Publication date
  • Title
  • Source (magazine, journal, etc. name)
  • Volume & issue number
  • Date you accessed the information
  • URL

Works Cited/Bibliography Format:

Siiner, M., & Jesper, H. (2002). An unraveling of principles we all have to use. Psycoloquy, 13. Retrieved July 18, 2005, from http://psycprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archive/00000211

Online Subscription Sources:


Online subscription sources are journal, magazine, or newspaper articles found through a library database. These articles will not be found by searching the World Wide Web using a search engine like Google or Yahoo. Each database may differ slightly; therefore, several examples are provided below. The following Works Cited/Bibliography examples are only guidelines; utilize the Publication Manual for the American Psychological Association for additional examples.

What you need:

  • Author(s) name
  • Publication date
  • Title
  • Source (journal, magazine, newspaper, etc. name)
  • Volume & issue number
  • Page number(s) (if available)
  • Date you accessed the information
  • Database name

LEXIS-NEXIS Academic:

Works Cited/Bibliography Format:

Read, B. (2005, March 18). Seriously, iPods are educational. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 30. Retrieved July 5, 2005, from LEXIS-NEXIS Academic database.

Academic Search Premier on EBSCO:

Works Cited/Bibliography Format:

Quinn, R.G. (2004). Mothers, molls, and misogynists: resisting Italian womanhood in the Sopranos. Journal of American Culture, 27(2), 166-174. Retrieved July 5, 2005, from Academic Search Premier EBSCO database.

ABI/Inform Global Suite:

Works Cited/Bibliography Format:

Ansen, D. (2005, July 11). Is anybody making movies we'll actually watch in 50 years? Newsweek, 146(2), 62+. Retrieved July 12, 2005, from ABI Inform/Global database.

PsycARTICLES:

Works Cited/Bibliography Format:

Reilly-Harrington, N.A., Alloy, L.B., Fresco, D.M., & Whitehouse, W.G. (1999). Cognitive styles and life events interact to predict bipolar and unipolar symptomatology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108(4), 567-578. Retrieved July 14, 2005, from PsycARTICLES database.

Online Encyclopedias:


Online encyclopedias, like Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, can be accessed through the library or the World Wide Web. Many of these sources will provide a suggested citation for each article. However, not all will be adapted to APA style. The following Works Cited/Bibliography examples are only guidelines; utilize the Publication Manual for the American Psychological Association for additional examples.

What you need:

  • Entry name
  • Date of entry
  • Source (encyclopedia name)
  • Date you accessed the information
  • Database name
  • URL

Works Cited/Bibliography Format:

Jazz poetry. (2005). Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved July 12, 2005, from Encyclopaedia Britannica Online at http://search.eb.com/eb/article?tocId=9125209

World Wide Web Sites:


There are many different kinds of web sites, so it is impossible to give just one set of precise instructions for citation format. If you can not find some of the information needed, cite what is available. The following Works Cited/Bibliography examples are only guidelines; utilize the Publication Manual for the American Psychological Association for additional examples.

What you need (at minimum):

  • Site title (if there is no title use a description such as "Home Page")
  • Publication date (use n.d. if no date is specified)
  • Date you accessed the information
  • URL

What you need (if available):

  • Author(s)/Editor(s) name
  • Organization/Institution name associated with the site

In-text Citation Format:

While younger activists admired King, tension was created when he decided not to participate in 1961's Freedom Rides (Carson 2005).


Works Cited/Bibliography Format:

Border, N. (n.d.). Home page. Retrieved July 12, 2005, from http://mypage.iu.edu/~nborder/


Indiana University. (2004). Indiana University fact book 2004-2005. Retrieved July 12, 2005, from http://factbook.indiana.edu/fbook04/enroll/fall.shtml


Carson, C. (Ed.). (2005). The Martin Luther King, Jr. papers project. Retrieved July 14, 2005, from http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/about_king/


Willet, P. (Ed.). (2003). Victorian women writers project. Retrieved July 12, 2005, from http://www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/

The examples in this handout are based on the following texts:

  • Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (5th ed.)(2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.


  • Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association. (2000, October 12). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved August 30, 2001, from http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html


  • Li, X., & Crane, N.B. (1996). Electronic styles: A handbook for citing electronic information. (2nd ed.) Medford, NJ: Information Today.

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