Websites and Webpages
Websites and Webpages
Below are some best practices for citing websites and webpages (10.16):
- Use the webpages and websites category if there is no other reference category that fits, and if the work has no parent or overarching publication, like a journal.
- When citing multiple pages from the same website, create a separate reference list entry for each.
- If a website is mentioned but information from that website is not quoted or referenced, do not create a reference list entry. Instead, include the name of the website in the text of the assignment or essay, followed by the URL in parentheses.
- The author of a webpage or website may need to be determined from context. Look for an “About” page or the acknowledgements page. If you cannot determine the author from context, consult your instructor or library.
- Provide the most specific date possible.
- When the name of the author and the site are the same, omit the site’s name from the source element of the reference list entry.
- Include a retrieval date only when the content of the website or webpage is designed to change over time, and the page is not archived.
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Webpage on a News Website
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Remember! Newspapers and news websites are different. If you are unsure about the source you’re looking at, check with your instructor or your library. This format is used for articles published in online news sources, e.g.: CBC, HuffPost, BBC, etc.
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Reference List Entry: Format (10.16)
Author, A. (Date). Title of article. Site name. Retrieval date, if applicable. URL
Reference List Entry: Example
Watters, H. (2020, May 17). She spent 10 days in hospital during Walkerton’s tainted water scandal. Now she’s studying to be a doctor. CBC.ca. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/walkerton-20-anniversary-ecoli-1.5573287
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Hint! Information may be found in multiple locations on a website or webpage. Look at the page or site carefully to find all information required for the reference list entry. For example, the URL for the article above does not appear in the image, but it is located at the top of the website.
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Parenthetical Citation
(Author, Date), e.g.: (Watters, 2020)
Narrative Citation
Author (Date), e.g.: Watters (2020)
Webpage on a Website with an Individual Author
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Reference List Entry: Format (10.16)
Author, A. (Date). Title of article. Site name. Retrieval date, if applicable. URL
Reference List Entry: Example
Stiepan, D. (2024, April 16). Mayo Clinic minute: The vital role of phlebotomists in blood collection. Mayo Clinic News Network. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-minute-the-vital-role-of-phlebotomists-in-blood-collection
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Hint! Information may be found in multiple locations on a website or webpage. Look at the page or site carefully to find all of the information required for the reference list entry.
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Parenthetical Citation
(Author, Date), e.g.: (Stiepan, 2024)
Narrative Citation
Author (Date), e.g.: Stiepan (2024)
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Webpage on a Website with a Group Author
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Reference List Entry: Format (10.16)
Author, A. (Date). Title of page. Site name. Retrieval date, if applicable. URL
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Remember! An author can be a person or multiple people, or a group or organization.
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Reference List Entry: Example
World Health Organization. (n.d). Food safety. https://www.who.int/health-topics/food-safety/
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Remember! If the date does not appear on the page and cannot be determined from context, use “n.d.”, for “no date”.
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Remember! When the name of the author and the site are the same, omit the site’s name from the source component of the reference list entry.
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Parenthetical Citation
(Author, Date), e.g.: (World Health Organization, n.d.)
Narrative Citation
Author (Date), e.g.: World Health Organization (n.d.)
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Webpage on a Website with a Retrieval Date
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Reference List Entry: Format (10.16)
Author, A. (Date). Title of page. Site name. Retrieval date, if applicable. URL
Reference List Entry: Example
Statistics Canada. (May 18, 2020). Canada’s population clock (real-time model). Retrieved April 18, 2024, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2018005-eng.htm
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Remember! Sometimes, the name of the author and the name of the publisher are the same, i.e.: when a government department publishes a resource. According to the Publication Manual, “when the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher from the source element” (p. 324). Keep the name of the author, as in the example above.
Remember! A retrieval date is included if the contents of a page are designed to change over time.
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Parenthetical Citation
(Author, Date), e.g.: (Statistics Canada, 2024)
Narrative Citation
Author (Date), e.g.: Statistics Canada (2024)
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Sources
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style. (7th ed.).
Citing is the process of acknowledging the sources of information and ideas. This takes the form of a citation. Citations must include specific pieces of information and must follow a consistent format. There are two parts of a citation – the in-text citation, and the reference list entry.
A webpage (or web page) is a document that can be displayed in a web browser likeFirefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Apple Safari. A website is a collection of web pages that are grouped together and usually connected in some day. A website is sometimes called a site.
A reference list entry is the information in a reference list at the end of an assignment or essay. An APA Style reference list entry includes author(s), a date, a title, and a source.
To quote means to copy “word for word” from a resource, including original spelling and punctuation. Direct quotations appear in quotation marks and end with an in-text citation.
A reference is a group of details about one specific resource, arranged in a consistent way. These are sometimes called citations, but this is not correct.
URLs are persistent links to information on the Internet. URLs can be found in the address bar of the web browser.
In an APA Style citation, the author is the person or people, or the group responsible for creating the work. An author can be a single person, multiple people, a group like an institution or a government agency, or a combination of individuals and groups.
In an APA Style citation, the date refers to the date of publication.
In an APA Style citation, the source refers to where the information was found. The source includes - but is not limited to - the names of publishers, URLs and DOIs.
