Websites
Script of Video:
In this tutorial, we’ll address how to cite websites and webpages in APA format, including:
- Websites
and
- Webpages
Please note, all information mentioned is based on the 6th edition of the APA style guide.
To properly cite these sources in APA, you must first understand the difference between a webpage and a website.
A webpage is a file on the web which may provide text, pictures, or other types of data.
A website is a collection of webpages provided by one person or organization. All of the webpages share a common URL and are linked to each other.
When citing an entire website, it is sufficient to give the address of the site in the text and leave it off of the references list.
[On screen: The Western Libraries website can be used to find amazing resources for your assignment (https://www.lib.uwo.ca/).]
This kind of citation is meant for examples such as this when you are simply mentioning a website in passing. If you are quoting or paraphrasing information from individual pages on a website rather than making reference to the website more generally, you need to follow the rules for citing each webpage.
To properly cite a webpage, you reference section entry should follow this basic format:
Authors are written as last name followed by initials.
[Type on screen: Author, A. A. ]
The author is followed by publication date, which goes in brackets, followed by a period. Depending on the source, you may find the exact date of publication or just the year. Choose the exact date if it is provided.
[Type on screen: Author, A. A. (date). ]
The title of the article is in sentence-case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. Follow the title with a format description in square brackets only if the format is something out of the ordinary, such as a blog post or lecture notes.
[Type on screen: Author, A. A. (date). Title of document [Format description].
Finally, include “retrieved from” and the URL.
[Type on screen: Author, A. (date). Title of document [Format description]. Retrieved from http://URL ]
So, your completed reference entry might look like this:
[On screen:
Lee, S. (2017, May 11). How to take selfies that don’t look like selfies [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://lifehacker.com/how-to-take-selfies-that-dont-look-like-selfies-1795097973 ]
If there is no date listed, insert “n.d.” in the place where the date should go in the reference list entry and the in-text citation.
[Type on screen:
Eire, G. (n.d.). 10 facts about baby owls you never knew before [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.littlethings.com/facts-about-owl-babies/
(Eire, n.d.)]
If the webpage does not have an author, substitute the title of the page for the author in the in-text citation and reference list entry.
[Type on screen: ]
Please note that the author of a webpage is often a group or agency rather than an individual. In that case, include the group or agency name in your citation.
[Type on screen:
Canadian Nurses Association. (2012). Direct-to-consumer advertising [Position statement]. Retrieved from https://www.cna-aiic.ca/~/media/cna/page-content/pdf-en/ps120_direct_to_consumer_advertising_2012_e.pdf?la=en ]
You will also need to cite the webpage in the body of your text. An in-text citation for a webpage must include the author and the year of publication, like this:
[On screen: Audiences can look forward to a film adaptation of the classic television show, Fraggle Rock (Wood, 2016).]
When quoting directly from a webpage, you must include the paragraph number with the in-text citation.
[On screen: “Following successful screenings of both The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth at the Moscow Film Festival, Henson was able to sell Fraggle Rock to Russian television, making it the first American series to be broadcast there” (Wood, 2016, 4).]
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