The following information and examples about citing electronic sources, are taken from the 7th edition 2020 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. If you don't find the information and/or examples you need here, consult the print publication manual (print copies of 7th edition are available in all APU libraries). If needed, see the APA 6th edition 2010 LibGuide or consult the publication manual for 6th edition (copies of 6th edition are available in all APU libraries).
Because electronic media are changing rapidly, the APA’s 7th edition website is the most up-to-date source of information on how to correctly cite electronic sources.
General Guidelines
In the text of your paper, you must document the source from which you are paraphrasing or quoting. When paraphrasing, cite the author and date of the work. For quotations, cite the author, date and page number. Use "p." for single pages (Smith, 2001, p. 143) and "pp." for multiple pages (Smith, 2001, p. 143-144). For electronic sources with no page numbers use paragraph numbers and the abbreviation "para." If paragraph numbers are not provided, cite the heading title and the number of the paragraph to help the reader locate the original information (Martin, 2020, Methodology section, para. 3). If a work has no author, you must use the title for the in-text citation.
Also, APA 7th edition no longer requires the use of “Retrieved from” before URLs or DOIs.
Two Basic Methods for In-Text Citations:
1. Integrating the authors' names into the sentence:
“as Parker and McKinney (2003) demonstrated in their study . . .”
2. Including the author's name in a parenthetical citation:
“The current system of managed care and the current approach to defining empirically supported treatments are shortsighted” (Beutler, 2012, Conclusion section, para. 1).
Note: The Publication Manual recommends authors of scholarly papers use past tense or present perfect tense for important phrases occurring in the literature review and procedure entries (example:, Smith (2018) found or Smith (2018) has found).
Ebooks Without Page Numbers
PDF versions of books are fairly straightforward and usually include all information needed for an in-text citation, especially page numbers. Kindle, Nook, and iPad books usually do not have page numbers, which makes direct citations difficult.
General consensus is to cite the chapter and paragraph number where your direct quote appears, rather than the "location number" assigned to the ebook. Location numbers can be arbitrary and can vary depending on which version of the book you're viewing. Also, location numbers are meaningless to anyone wanting to look up your citation who does not have access to the same version you've used.
Example:
"The home study is the step in the adoption process where the potential adoptive family gets a visit from the adoption agency in which the agency assesses the house and gets to know the prospective parents" (Kluck, 2010, Chapter 1, para. 33).
This in-text citation refers back to this entry in the References list:
Kluck, T. (2010). Hello, I love you: Adventures in adoptive fatherhood [Kindle iPad version]. http://www.amazon.com/
Start the Reference List on a new page. Type the word References (Reference, if there is only one) in uppercase and lowercase letters, centered at the top of the page. Double-space all reference entries. Entries that are more than one line long should have a hanging indent. To indent a second line, put your cursor to the left of the second line. Press Enter once. Press Tab once. For any lines after the second just place the cursor to the left of the line and press Tab. Do not include a period at the end of URLs or DOIs.
Note: Not all title words are capitalized; see examples below. Generally, only the first word of the title, the first word of the subtitle, acronyms, and proper nouns are capitalized.
Citing an Electronic Journal Article with a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), Found in an Online Library Database:
Note: Use this format whenever a DOI is provided (you may have to look closely at the database record to find the DOI). The DOI is the most stable way to ensure that readers of your paper will be able to retrieve the original source. APA 7th edition requires that the DOI be formatted with a beginning of https://
Format:
Author’s last name, Initials. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page numbers. https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxx.xxxx
Example:
Atkins, D. C., & Kessel, D. E. (2018). Religiousness and infidelity: Attendance, but not faith and prayer, predict marital fidelity. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70(2), 407-418. https://doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00490.x
Citing an Electronic Journal Article Without a DOI, Found in an Online Library Database:
Note: Database information is no longer required for article citations found in library databases. If an online scholarly journal article has no DOI and is published on a website, include the URL. If an online scholarly article has no DOI and is published on a database, do not include a URL or any database information. The only exception is for databases that publish articles that are in limited circulation (like ERIC) or that are only available on that particular database (like UpToDate). You should also include the date that you accessed the article.
Format:
Author’s last name, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page numbers. Retrieved [Date retrieved], from [URL]
Example (found in Education Full Text):
Glanzer, P. L. (2008). Rethinking the boundaries and burdens of parental authority over education: A response to Rob Reich's case study of homeschooling. Educational Theory, 58(1), 1-16.
Example (found in UpToDate):
Perreault, L. (2019). Obesity in adults: Role of physical activity and exercise. UpToDate. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/obesity-in-adults-role-of-physical-activity-and-exercise
Citing an Electronic Journal Article Without a DOI, Found via Web Search (e.g., Google Scholar):
Note: Cite an article without a DOI article the same way you would cite a print article, and add the URL for the journal's home page. You may need to search Google for the journal in order to find its home page.
Format:
Author’s last name, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page numbers. Retrieved [Date you retrieved it], from [URL]
Example (found in Google Scholar):
Chandra, A. (2017). Geopolitics of central Asian energy resources and Indian interest. Journal of Peace Studies, 16(1-2). Retrieved August 28, 2020, from http://www.icpsnet.org/seCoPu.php?type=ED
Citing an Online News Article:
Note: Determine if the sources comes from an associated newspaper. If the source does come from a site with an associated newspaper, leave the title of the article unformulated, but italicize the title of the newspaper.
Format:
Author’s last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day if provided). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. [URL]
Examples:
Goodstein, L., & Kirkpatrick, D. D. (2005, May 22). On a Christian mission to the top. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/on-a-Christian-mission-to-the-top
Yousafzi, S., & Moreau, R. (2009, September 26). The Taliban in their own words. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/The-Taliban-in- their-own-words
Moreland, J. P. (2004, December 16). Why happiness isn't a feeling. Boundless Webzine. http://www.boundless.org/Why-happiness-isn't-a- feeling
Note: If the source doesn't come from a site with an associated newspaper, italicize the title of the article, but leave the name of the site unformatted.
Format:
Author's last name, Initials. (Year, Month, Day if provided). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. [URL]
Example:
Jones, J. (2020, May 10). Why flats dominate Spain's housing market. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200506-why-do-flats-dominate-spains-housing-market
Citing an eBook:
Note: If the text has been converted to HTML, include the version (e.g., EBSCO eBook, eBrary, Kindle DX, Kindle iPad). If it has been scanned in its original format (e.g., Google Books), omit the version information but include the publication information and the URL. If a DOI is given, use the DOI instead of the URL.
Format:
Author’s last name, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of book [version]. [Permalink URL if possible]
Example:
Kent, K. W. (2019). Rest: Living in Sabbath simplicity [EBSCO eBook version]. https://0-web.ebscohost.com.patris.apu.edu/
Kluck, T. (2010). Hello, I love you: Adventures in adoptive fatherhood [Kindle iPad version]. https://www.amazon.com/
Bunyan, J. (1918). The pilgrim's progress from this world to that which is to come (W. D. Howe, Ed.). Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books
Citing a U.S. Government Report Available on Government Agency Website, no Publication Date Indicated:
Format:
Government Agency. (Year of publication). Title of report (Report No. xxx, if given). [URL]
Example:
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). America's children and the environment (ACE). http://www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children/
Citing a Report from a Private Organization, Available on Organization Website:
Format:
Organization Name. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of online publication. [URL]
Example
Barna Group, Ltd. (2015, May 17). What is a purpose-driven life to Americans? http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=188
Citing a Non-Government ERIC Document:
Note: See the "Citing Dissertations and Government Documents" tab for information on citing government documents found in ERIC.
Format:
Author's last name, Initials. (Publication year). Title of ERIC document. ERIC database. (ERIC document number).
Example
Kubota, K. (2017). "Soaking" model for learning: Analyzing Japanese learning/teaching process from a socio-historical perspective. ERIC database. (ED498566).
Citing an Online Video:
Format:
Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Film]. Production company.
Loyd, P. (Director). (2008). Mamma mia! [Film]. Universal Pictures.
Citing a Podcast Episode:
Format:
Author's or Host's last name, Initials [or organization name]. (Host, or Producer). (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of podcast episode [Audio podcast episode]. In Name of podcast. Publisher. URL
Example
Focus on the Family. (Producer). (2010, January 20). 105: The Boundless podcast [Audio podcast episode]. In Focus on the Family. FOF Studios. http://boundless.typepad.com/podcast/
Citing a Blog Post:
Format:
Author's last name, Initials [or organization name; this can also be a user name. If no author is identified, begin with the title]. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of blog post. Publisher. URL
Example
Black, S. (2009, December 16). On the job: Design vs. content (ding, ding!) Azusa Pacific University. http://www.apu.edu/blog/?p=496