Citing Information: Online Sources

APA: Online Sources

Note: Changes in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association are described below. Further details about  can be found on the APA Style website. 

• The number of authors included in a reference entry has changed. Now include up to 20 author names before omitting names with an ellipsis.  

• For sources with more than 20 authors, after the 19th listed author, any additional authors' names are replaced with an ellipsis (…) followed by the final listed author's name.  

• Do not place an ampersand before the final author's name. 

• Both DOIs and URLs are now presented as hyperlinks.  

• The label “DOI:” is no longer used.  

• The words “Retrieved from” are used only when a retrieval date is also needed. 

• Updated guidance explains when to include DOIs and URLs for works retrieved from most academic research databases as well as from proprietary databases such as ERIC or UpToDate 

• In short, you should end the database/archive portion of the citation entry with a period, then provide the DOI or URL. 

• Note that, though database/archive information is typically not included in citation entries, it should be included when writers need to cite sources that are only available within a certain database. 

If the document is composed of multiple web pages, give the URL of the home page or entry page for the document. If no publication or "last modified" date is apparent, use n.d. in place of the publication date.

Give chapter or section numbers (if available) in place of page numbers. Provide the URL that points to the first page of the chapter or section you are citing.

When citing books or chapters only available online, the electronic retrieval statement replaces the publisher location and name.

Provide the URL of the newspaper home page when the online version of the article is available by search to avoid nonworking URLs.

If the online version refers to an existing print edition, include the edition number of the print version after the title.

For a motion picture, the first executive producer and the first director should be listed as the responsible parties. If one of these parties fulfilled multiple creative roles in the film, all such roles should be listed. If credits for director and producer are not available, provide the name of the individual or organization most responsible for the work.

Do not italicize the names of software, programs, or languages. Include the version number (if any) in parentheses immediately after the title. Also, provide the location and name of the organization that produced the work (if applicable).

NOTE: For the following three entries, Provide the author's full name (if available) in the form of last name followed by first initials. If only a screen name is available, provide the screen name in place of the author. Include the exact date of the posting followed by the subject line of the message or "thread." Also, if available, provide the name of the list to which the message was posted if this information is not already included in the URL.