First-- Is what you are citing a webpage?
- If you are citing content from an actual webpage (not on online book, article, report) you need to include the following information:
Author, A. (date). Title of webpage. Retrieved from url.
- More information about website components
- Author—include the named author of the content if available, if there is no named author, use the person or group responsible for the content. For websites you may have to look at the bottom of the home page to see which group is actually responsible for the content. (More information here - APA Style Blog Post - "The Generic Reference: Who?").
- Date—look for an actual date the content was created, updated, reviewed, etc. Do Not use the copyright date at the bottom of a website, that date is for the website in general and is not related to the date the content was created. If you cannot find a date, use n.d. for the date, both in the reference list and in-text citations.
- Title of webpage. In general, cite the specific webpage used and not the entire site, therefore in the reference list, use the title of the specific page and not the title of the entire website. (more information here, APA Style Blog Post - "How to Cite Multiple Pages From the Same Website")
- URL - use the specific url for the webpage being cited.
- Example: (note that examples only reflect content of citation, an actual citation should be double spaced with a hanging indent.)
Is what you are citing a journal article, report, book or book chapter which you simply accessed online?
- For journal articles accessed online, you include a doi if one is available (see the separate doi tab for more information about doi’s). If there is no doi and you are able to access the journal on the open internet, you use Retrieved from the exact url. If there is no doi and you accessed the article through a database or other subscription, you include a url for the home page of the journal (see page 189-192 of the APA book for more information).
- For books, book chapters, reports, etc, accessed online, you cite it just as you would a print copy except you replace the publisher information with Retrieved from url. The url is the exact url you used to access the item.
- Examples: (note that examples only reflect content of citation, an actual citation should be double spaced with a hanging indent.)
- Online book
- Institute of Medicine. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209880/
- More examples of online books on pages 202-205 of the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the APA
- Online book chapter
- Mitchell, P. H. (2008). Defining patient safety and quality of care. In R. G. Hughes (Ed.) Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. (pp. 1-1 – 1-5). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2681/
- Online report [with report number]
- Journal article with doi
- Franklin, H. Rajan, M., Tseng, C., Pogach, L., & Sinha, A. (2014). Cost of lower-limb amputation in U. S. veterans with diabetes using health services data in fiscal years 2004 and 2010. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 51(8), 1325-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2013.11.0249
- Journal article with no doi, available on open internet
- Li, R., Shrestha, S. S., Lipman, R., Burrows, N. R., Kolb, L. E., & Rutledge, S. (2014). Diabetes self-management education and training among privately insured persons with newly diagnosed diabetes – United States, 2011-2012. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 63(46), 1045-1049. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6346a2.htm
- Journal article with no doi, not available on open internet
- Duong, D. N., Smith, K. K., Ross, M. C., & Kim, M. T. (2004). Cardiovascular risks in a military health care beneficiary population with high blood pressure. Military Medicine, 169(10), 777-780. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/milmed/issue
