Source: APA Citation Guide, UC Berkeley Library / Publication Manual of the APA
Tags: APA style, electronic citations, online sources, reference list rules, capitalisation, italics, punctuation, publisher format, URL citation, database citation, APA formatting rules
Online sources in APA follow the same core structure as print (author, date, title, source) but add a "Retrieved" statement at the end specifying when and where you accessed the material. The general rules governing all reference list entries cover capitalisation, punctuation, italics, author formatting, dates, and publisher details. Knowing these rules means you can construct a correct entry for almost any source type, even uncommon ones.
Retrieved statement
The closing element of an electronic reference that tells the reader when you accessed the source and where (URL or database name). Format: Retrieved Month day, year, from [source].
DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
A persistent link assigned to a digital publication. Where available, a DOI is preferred over a URL because it does not break over time. (Note: this UC Berkeley guide pre-dates widespread DOI adoption, so its examples use URLs and database names.)
Electronic version tag
The notation [Electronic version] appended to an article title when the online version is an exact reproduction of the print version (e.g., from JSTOR or as a PDF). Signals that print page numbers are reliable despite online access.
Corporate author
An organisation, institution, or committee listed as the author of a work. Written out in full with significant words capitalised. A parent body precedes a subdivision.
n.d.
"No date." Placed in parentheses where the publication year would normally go when no date is available for the source.
The general template is:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume, page-numbers. Retrieved Month day, year, from source.
Page numbers may be irrelevant for online-only articles.
The "source" can be a URL or the name of a database (e.g., Expanded Academic ASAP, JSTOR).
For well-known journal databases, provide the database name rather than the full URL.
Example with URL: Fredrickson, B. L. (n.d.). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3, Article 0001a. Retrieved February 9, 2004, from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html
Example with database: Hopkins, N., & Moore, C. (2001). Categorizing the neighbors: Identity, distance, and stereotyping. Social Psychology Quarterly, 64, 239–252. Retrieved February 9, 2004, from the JSTOR database.
The general template is:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of book. Retrieved Month day, year, from source.
The publisher and location may still appear if relevant (particularly for books that also exist in print).
Example: Goldman, E. (1914). The social significance of the modern drama. Boston: Richard G. Badger. Retrieved February 9, 2004, from University of California Berkeley Digital Library Sunsite website: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Drama/index.html
The general template is:
Author. (Year). Title of webpage: Subtitle if needed. Retrieved Month day, year, from URL.
If there is no personal author, the corporate body or organisation serves as author.
If no date is available, use (n.d.).
Example: NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. (n.d.). Operations plan 2001–02 and 2002–03: Strategic planning and budgeting for the 2002–03 and 2003–04 Academic Years. Retrieved February 9, 2004, from http://www1.ncaa.org/membership/governance/assoc-wide/sportsmanship_ethics/index.html
Omit the final period. This prevents the reader from mistakenly including the period as part of the web address.
These rules apply across every source type, print and electronic.
Periods end each major element of a reference (author block, date block, title block, source block).
Commas separate items within an element.
A colon sits between the publication location and the publisher for books.
Parentheses enclose the year of publication, (Eds.), and page numbers for book chapters.
Use the ampersand (&) before the final author, not the word "and."
Article, book, and chapter titles use sentence case: capitalise only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns.
Published periodical titles (journals, newspapers, magazines) use title case: capitalise all significant words.
This distinction is one of the most frequently tested points in academic writing courses.
Italicise titles of books and periodicals (journals, newspapers, magazines).
Italicise the volume number of periodicals.
Do not italicise article titles, chapter titles, or issue numbers.
All author names are inverted: Surname, Initial(s).
For one to six authors, list every author.
For seven or more authors, list the first six followed by a comma and et al.
Corporate authors are written out in full.
For edited books with no named author, treat the editor(s) as the author and add (Ed.) or (Eds.) after the last editor's name.
When there is no author or editor at all, the title moves to the author position.
The year is enclosed in parentheses and placed after the author(s).
For magazines, newsletters, and newspapers, include the month (and day or season where applicable) after the year: (2004, March 24) or (2003, Spring).
If no date is available, use (n.d.).
For journals with continuous pagination across a volume, give only the volume number (italicised), a comma, and page numbers.
Include the issue number in parentheses only when each issue begins at page 1: 38(2), 12–17.
Precede page numbers with p. or pp. only for book chapters, newspaper articles, and cases where clarity demands it.
Give the city and state (or country) if the city is not well known for publishing or could be ambiguous.
Use two-letter state abbreviations (US states).
Do not abbreviate "University" in publisher names.
Drop superfluous terms like "Publishers," "Co.," or "Inc." but keep "Press" or "Books."
If multiple publisher locations are listed, give the first one or the home office.
⚠️ For electronic sources, the "Retrieved" statement is mandatory. Omitting it is a common error in student papers.
⚠️ Do not provide the full URL for sources found through well-known databases (e.g., JSTOR, ProQuest). Give the database name instead.
⚠️ Drop the final period when a reference ends with a URL. This is a small rule that markers look for.
⚠️ Sentence case for titles vs. title case for periodical names: getting this wrong is the fastest way to lose marks on a reference list.
⚠️ The ampersand (&) is used in reference list entries and parenthetical citations. The word "and" is used in running prose. Mixing these up is a frequent slip.
Q: When citing an article found through JSTOR, should you provide the full URL?
A: No. For well-known databases like JSTOR, provide the database name rather than the URL. Example: Retrieved February 9, 2004, from the JSTOR database.
Q: What does "sentence case" mean in the context of APA titles?
A: Capitalise only the first word of the title, the first word after a colon or en-dash in the title, and any proper nouns. Everything else is lowercase.
Q: How do you cite a website with no personal author and no publication date?
A: Use the corporate body or organisation as the author, and place (n.d.) where the date would normally go. Example: NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. (n.d.). Title...
Q: For a source with seven or more authors, how many names do you list in the reference entry?
A: List the first six authors, followed by a comma and et al.
Q: Why is the final period omitted when a reference ends with a URL?
A: To prevent the reader from treating the period as part of the web address, which would create a broken link.
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