Library Services

How To Cite Electronic Sources (APA)

For more information on the APA Style, see: American Psychological Association (1994). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (4^th ed.) Washington, DC: Author. Athens Reference BF76.7 .P83 1994. See also: Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association (2000, August 22). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved March 21, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

Citing a Web Site

To direct readers to an entire Web site (but not a specific document on the site), it's sufficient to give the address of the site in the text. For example,

Kidspsych is a wonderful interactive Web site for children ( http://www.kidspsych.org).

No reference entry is needed.

Creating References for Specific Documents

On a Web Site

Web documents share many of the same elements found in a print document (e.g., authors, titles, dates). Therefore, the citation for a Web document often follows a format similar to that for print, with some information omitted and some added. All references begin with the same information in the same format that would be provided for a printed source (or as much of that information as is available). If no publication date is available for a document, use "n.d." (stands for "no date") in its place. The Web information is then placed in a retrieval statement at the end of the reference. It is important to give the date of retrieval because documents on the Web may change in content, move, or be removed from a site altogether.

The basic retrieval statement for databases from the Web is:

Retrieved [month day, year,] from the World Wide Web: [URL]

Example of an article from a journal on a web site:

Jacobson, J. W., Mulick, J. A., & Schwartz, A. A. (1995). A history of facilitated communication: Science, pseudoscience, and antiscience: Science working group on facilitated communication. American Psychologist, 50, 750-765. Retrieved January 25, 1996, from the World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/journals/jacobson.html

Example of an independent document (no author identified):

Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association. (2000, August 22). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved August 29, 2000, from the World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

Creating References for Articles

Obtained From Electronic Databases Like GALILEO & netLibrary

APA's recommendations for citing electronic media have changed substantially since the fourth edition of the Publication Manual was published. They now recommend a retrieval statement that identifies the date of retrieval (omitted for CD-ROMs) and the source (e.g., GALILEO, LEXIS-NEXIS), followed in parentheses by the name of the specific database used and any additional information needed to retrieve a particular item. For Web sources, a URL should be given that points to an "entry page" for the database.

The basic retrieval statement for CD-ROM databases is as follows:

Retrieved from [source] database ([name of database], CD-ROM, [release date], [item no.--if applicable])

Example of an Article from a CD-ROM:

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (1998, March). Encryption: Impact on law enforcement.

Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from SIRS database (SIRS Government Reporter, CD-ROM, Fall 1998 release)

The basic retrieval statement for sources from on-line databases is:

Retrieved [month day, year,] from [source] on-line database ([name of database], [item no.--if applicable])

Example of Periodical Article from GALILEO:

Swibel, M. (2001, March 19). Deans of the dais. Forbes, 167 (7), p. 166. Retrieved March 21, 2001, from GALILEO (Academic Search Elite at EBSCOhost). http://galileo.gsu.edu/Homepage.cgi

Tangum, M. M., & Smelstor, M (1998).

Example of Encyclopedia Article from GALILEO:

Arthritis. Retrieved March 21, 2001, from GALILEO (AccessScience@McGraw-Hill). http://galileo.gsu.edu/Homepage.cgi

Example of Newspaper Article from GALILEO:

Noonan, E. (2001, January 28) Watching those earth moves local students are monitoring quake data. The Boston Globe, p. 1. Retrieved March 21, 2001, from GALILEO (Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe). http://galileo.gsu.edu/Homepage.cgi

Example of an Electronic Book from netLibrary via the ATC Library Catalog:

Schlachter, G. A. (1999). Financial aid for Native Americans, 1999-2001. El Dorado Hills, CA: Reference Service Press. Retrieved March 21, 2001, from the Athens Technical College Library Catalog (netLibrary). http://hornet.athenstech.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi/0/49

Example of the Same Book Retrieved from GALILEO:

Schlachter, G.A. (1999). Financial aid for Native Americans, 1999-2001. El Dorado Hills, CA: Reference Service Press. Retrieved March 21, 2001, from GALILEO (netLibrary). http://galileo.gsu.edu/Homepage.cgi

Example of a Chapter in an Electronic Book:

Arthur, V. (1998) The role of the nurse specialist in rheumatology. In Le Gallez, P. (Ed.), Rheumatology for Nurses: Patient Care (pp. 12-45). London, England: Whurr Publishers Ltd. Retrieved March 21, 2001, from GALILEO (netLibrary). http://galileo.gsu.edu/Homepage.cgi