This handout is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition, 2001 and on APAStyle.org.

The APA citation for a document obtained over the Internet, whether it is a web site or a document from a library-based electronic resource, will be similar in format to a comparable print source with some elements added and some omitted. You should include as many of the following available elements in the order given. For some web sites you may only have a title, a date of access and an address to cite.

1. The author(s) last name and initials, if available. If not available, start with the title.
2. The date of publication, in parentheses, if available. The date should be expressed as either a year, a year and month, or a year, month and date depending on what information is available from the web site or what type of library-based electronic resource you use and the frequency of publication.
3. The title of the web site, italicized. If the source is a periodical article, include the title of the article in regular type, and then the name of the periodical, italicized, followed by a volume number, also italicized, if available.
4. Pagination information, if available. More often than not, this will not be available for web sites.
5. Retrieval information which includes the date of retrieval as well as the unique URL of a web site. This should be expressed as follows:
   Retrieved February 22, 2004, from http://edie.cprost.sfu.ca/ gcnet/ISS4-21c.html
6. If the source is from a library-based electronic resource the retrieval information will include the date of retrieval and the proper name of the database. This should be expressed as follows:
   Retrieved February 1, 2004, from Academic Search Premier database.

Parenthetical Documentation or Citing Sources in the Text

Use the following examples as a guide for referencing sources in the body of your paper.   APA uses the author(s) and date of the source.  For direct quotations, also site the page number, if available. Note the placement of the period in each example.

Site with one author:
    "LifeMap is a guide to help students realize their educational and career goals" (Jones,
    2002, p. 22).                      OR
    Jones (2002, p. 22) stated that "LifeMap is a guide to help students realize their
    educational and career goals."

Site with two to five authors:
    The LRC has electronic resources to support the curriculum (Delisle, Johnson, Smith,
    and Kimble, 2004).            OR
    DeLisle, Johnson, Smith and Kimble (2004) found that the LRC has electronic
    resources to support the curriculum.

Site with more than five authors:
    "Online courses provide a way for students to use their time wisely" (Eger et al., 2004,
    p. 145).                               OR
    Eger et al. (2004, p. 145) stated that "online courses provide a way for students
    to use their time wisely."

Site with no author; use the first two to three words of the title:
    Valencia has a vital workforce development program ("More companies," 2003).

Site with a corporate author:
    Television habits of young children directly relates to their reading proficiency
    (American Psychological Association, 2002).
 

As in all cases, if you have any questions, ASK YOUR PROFESSOR. Printable versions of the documentation handouts may be viewed by clicking on the .

Copyright @ 1997-2004
Last revised 21 December 2004
Valencia Community College
West Campus LRC
This handout was prepared by Judi DeLisle with input from the following professors:
Dr. Karen Borglum, Bill Snider, and Mary Sugeir
The handout follows the recommendations of the APA provided in APAStyle.org
http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html