How To Cite Internet Sources

(To find out whether a website is an appropriate source, see the "Evaluating Web Sources" part of this list and the links given in section 4 of my General Reference Links.)

Please follow the following modified APA Guidelines.

Online periodical:

Author's family name, first name(s). (Year). [Or (Year, month) if appropriate]. Title of article. Title of  Periodical, xx, xxxxxx.  Retrieved month day, year, from http://xxxxx.

Online document:

Author's family name, first name(s). (Year). [Or (Year, month day) if appropriate].Title of work. Individual or organisation responsible for the site.  Retrieved month day, year, from http://xxxxx.

You must make sure that the url is correct, for example by copying and pasting it onto your text. When you cite the article or document in the text, you should give author(s) + date as usual. There may be no page numbers. In that case, give the paragraph number if that is specified ('para. x'), or the title of the section.

These patterns will work in cases where it is clear who has written the document. In other cases, give the title of the document.

The reason for giving the organization when the document is not from an online newspaper or journal is to ensure that your article or document comes from a reputable source. If an individual is responsible for the site, you should only be using it as a source a) if the individual is one of the subjects of your study, or b) if s/he is likely to be a reputable source. An example of a) would be someone who believes in UFOs if you are doing research into people who believe in UFOs; an example of b) would be a specialist employed by a university or belonging to a professional organization if the content is related to their field of specialst expertise. In other words, an economist studying the Japanese economy would be a reliable source for information about the Japanese economy but not necessarily for information about UFOs.

An example would be:

Electronic References. The American Psychological Association. Retrieved 13 July, 2005 from http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html