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Citation Help: Web Sources

Overview

This page covers some basic examples of APA citations for web sites.  For more complete information, see the resources listed in the box to the right. 

In each box below you will see a list of the elements you need to gather to create the citation. Where you find the elements, will depend on how the website is organized.  You may have to go to the homepage of an institution to find publication data. To cite subscription databases, such as Academic Search Complete, CountryWatch, Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch, LitFinder Literature Resource Center, use the links to examples in the Reference, Periodicals and Electronic Print Resources, or Book Review sections.  Then you will see the formatting to use to put the elements in the proper format.  Last, you will see an example of a citation in APA format.

Also note that the citation examples should be double spaced with a hanging indentation, which are not always displayed correctly online.  To view a paper formatted for APA, including the reference list at the end, see the APA Sample Paper from the OWL at Purdue.

 

Elements, Format, & Examples

Elements Needed (in order given) -

  • Author, A.A. Start with title if no author is listed.
  • (Date). Or last revision. Put date after title if there is no author listed.
  • Title of Article or Document. Only first word, proper nouns and first word after a colon capitalized.
  • Document format, if something unusual like a blog or lecture materials.
  • Title of Complete Work or Homepage italicized and all important words capitalized.
  • Retrieved date, from URL

Format - 

 Author, A. (date). Title of document [Format description]. Title of Complete Work or Homepage. 

         Retrieved from URL

Example Page from a Website -

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014, September 2). Asthma: Data, statistics,

         & surveillance, asthma surveillance data. Retreived from http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthmadata.htm

 

 

More In-Depth Help

This guide is meant as a general overview.  For more in-depth help, please use the following resources, review the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, or contact an LPC librarian.