8 Things to Know about Citing Online References in APA Style

APA Style can be difficult to understand, especially those pesky reference entries that can get pretty complicated. Professors can be sticklers for correct references, so get all the help you can. Reference entries (known elsewhere as Bibliography entries) are designed to make it possible for the reader of your paper to find the material you cite in your paper.

Online references can be extra complicated, because you have to include information about where you found the material online. The APA Manual presents examples, but there are still a lot of possibilities that leave the writer wondering how to handle certain references. The good news is that there are several excellent software products that will take care of these details for you, and that there are numerous web sites dedicated to teaching you about APA Style.

And here are some handy tips, which are basically distilled information that might simplify APA online references for you:

1. When you read about electronic references or electronic sources in APA Style, you’re really reading about online reference or sources; for some reason, the APA chose to call them electronic references.

2. A basic online reference looks like this:

Mill, D. (2008, May 12). Title. Retrieved July 28, 2008, from http://www.web.sfx

3. Notice that the online access part of the reference entry starts with a prefix like Retrieved, includes the retrieval (or access) date, and includes the web page. There are other optional things you might need to add, but basic online access includes these elements.

Online references can be tricky because online material can change or disappear rapidly, and because web pages can change locations. To help with this, APA Style requires an access date in most online reference entries; the theory is that if a reader knows when you accessed a certain web page, s/he can find the exact material you used.

But, if the material is in final format and has a stable online address, then APA Style says you can leave the date out of your reference. Since this is a judgment call that could cost you points, we recommend always including you access date (unless citing material that has a DOI or is in a database, as described later on this page.

4. If you’re citing an online source that you found on a named web site, you can add the site’s name to help your reader recognize the source. For example:

Mill, D. (2008, May 12). Title. Retrieved July 28, 2008, from Famous Web site: http://www.web.sfx

5. Some online material, particularly scholarly journal articles, has been assigned unique identifiers, called Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs). Each DOI identifies a very specific source that will not change. It’s much like an ISBN barcode for specific book in a bookstore.

If the material you are citing has a DOI, you don’t need to provide any other online access information in APA Style. That’s because the DOI is so specific. For example:

Mill, D. (2008, May 12). Title. doi:1234567.8901.2345

6. You don’t always use the prefix Retrieved from for online material, although that’s the most common one. For example, use Message posted to for a blog or wiki posting. And if you’re citing a source that you access through another web site, use available from. For example, if you’re citing a file you downloaded by clicking a link on a web page, you would use something like:

Mill, D. (2008, May 12). Title. Available from http://www.someplace.com

7. Entries in online databases are considered to be in final, stable form in APA Style, so you don’t include an access date with these either. For example

Some Agency. (2003). Title [Data file]. Retrieved from ShrinkWrap Database. (1234)

The (1234) in the example is the ID of the data file in the named database, sometimes called an accession number.

8. For most traditional material that you find online, like an online newsletter, an online copy of a book, an online movie, and so on, you cite the online version just like you would the traditional version. And you add the online retrieval information at the end of the reference. You might be citing an online version of a traditional (printed) source, such as an online copy of a book, then you refer to the book exactly as you would for the printed version, and then add the online access information. For example:

Mill, D. (2002). Article. In Book (p. 2). Retrieved May 4, 2008, from http://www.sfx

About APA Style

APA is the common acronym for the American Psychological Association, which is a professional organization that represents psychologists in the United States. The APA publishes the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, which defines APA Style.

APA Style specifies how a paper should look, how to specify your bibliography, and how to cite your references in the body of your paper.

The most recent edition of the Publication Manual is the 5th Edition, published in July of 2001. Last summer, the APA issued an update, in PDF format only, that describes how to cite online references.

APA Style is the style of choice for numerous professional journals, especially those in the social sciences. Many institutions require that students prepare term papers, theses, and dissertations in APA Style.

Most students and professionals now use software to help them prepare documents in APA Style. There are a number of programs you can buy to help you with creating and editing documents, and to help in preparation of reference entries and citations, including StyleEase for APA Style.

About Academic Writing Styles

Writing papers for a class or for submission to a journal can mean putting in a lot of research and sweating out the content. But you’ve also go to worry about the formatting of your paper (or thesis or dissertation). Many papers need to be written in one of the major standard formats:

• APA Style is typically used for behavioral science, business, and history documents.
• Chicago/Turabian Style is required by many religious schools and courses.
• MLA Style is typically used for humanities.
• AMA Style is used for medical and other health-related documents.
• Seminary StyleEase is a variation of Chicago/Turabian style, customized for Seminary students.

There are several important aspects to writing your papers in accordance with a specific standard. You need to make sure that:

• Your page layout matches the standard’s specifications. This includes the physical appearance of the your pages and paragraphs, including font usage, spacing, margins, and correct ordering of your document’s components.
• Your references (bibliography entries) are properly formatted and include all required information.
• Your citations – footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical citations – are correctly formatted and include all required information.