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APA 7th Style:  Web resources

UON Library guide for the APA 7th referencing style

Resources found on the web

 

Please note that there are different forms of web content (blog posts, press releases, etc.) with differing formatting rules under APA - refer to the appropriate tab for the resource you are referencing.

 

General guidelines
  • Title capitalisation may change depending on the resource you're quoting. Be sure to check the correct tab for the online material you've found.
  • Some online resources may require the use of a month and day in addition to the year.
  • Some online resources may require a Description be added in square brackets to assist with resource-type identification.
Author/s
  • Many online resources are authored by organisational departments, units or agencies - if so, include them as 'corporate authors' as the first element in the reference.
  • Some online resources may require the use of a screen name as the author (e.g. YouTube videos).
  • The author/s should be recorded as they appeared when the online resource was published – not amended to their current name (e.g. a professional group).
Access URLs
  • Always include an access URL (unless the material has an assigned DOI).
  • APA allows for links to be either plain text or 'active'. See the official APA Style Blog for more information.
  • Do not include a full-stop after the URL at the end of the reference.
A note about retrieval dates for web sources

For APA 7 retrieval dates are only required if a web source can be expected to change over time.  Therefore most websites (and all documents) accessed online do not require a retrieval date as they are unlikely to change (without being replaced by new material with different citation information).

Some web sources, however, are not static and could be expected to be updated (e.g. wikis, certain online health resources). Under this guideline, such sources would need a retrieval date to show when they were accessed. The formatting examples in this guide will detail when a retrieval date is required.

Citing websites versus web pages

There is often confusion when referencing websites in assignments.

To talk about a website in general terms, refer to the Websites section at the bottom of the page.

If you are referencing information from a web page see the information directly below.

For documents from the web see the tab for Online documents.


Web pages

 

General Notes:

  • The title of web pages should now be italicised.  This is a major revision for APA 7.
  • The name of the hosting site is required to be added before the access link.  This is a major revision for APA 7.
  • The words 'Retrieved from' are no longer required before an access link unless a retrieval date is required for the source.  This is a major revision for APA 7.
  • The year of publication may not be obvious - check for a posting, creation or update date. Include the Month and Day in your reference list entry where available. The copyright date from a repeated web page footer is not acceptable to use as a creation date.
  • For in-text citations, use only the Year of the web page, do not include the Month and Day.
  • Do not insert a hyphen if you need to break a URL across lines. Break the URL before a slash or dash or at another logical division point.
  • Do not include a full-stop after the URL at the end of the reference.
  • APA allows for links to be either plain text or 'active'. See the official APA Style Blog for more information.
  • Need to direct quote from a web page? See the section below.
Web page authored by a person

Author Surname, Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of page: Subtitle. Title of Website. http://www...

Web page with a corporate author

Corporate Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of page: Subtitle. http://www...

Where the author is the same as the title of the website, do not repeat the website title

Web page with no date

Follow the above patterns but replace (Year, Month Day) with (n.d.).  See the example below.

 

Examples:

Australian College of Midwives. (n.d.). Midwifery practice review. https://www.midwives.org.au/mpr

Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association. (n.d.). What is CPD? http://www.apna.asn.au/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=APNA/ccms.r?PageId=11140

Forward, D. (2020, January 28). How Deadpool 3 could be rated R under Disney, according to writer Rhett Reese. Screen Rant. https://screenrant.com/deadpool-3-rated-r-disney-20th-century-studios/

HealthTimes. (2015, May 27). The future of aged care nursing in Australia. https://healthtimes.com.au/hub/aged-care/2/news/nc1/the-future-of-aged-care-nursing-in-australia/495/

Palmer, L. F. (2008, July 17). Insufficient milk syndrome: A fallacy becomes a reality. Baby Reference. http://babyreference.com/insufficient-milk-syndrome-a-fallacy-becomes-a-reality/

 


In-text

Every time you paraphrase, or use an idea from another source you must include an in-text citation to that source.
Follow the general patterns:  (Author Surname, Year)  or  (Corporate Author, Year)

Example:

Australian education providers will need to address a number of challenges to ensure standards of special education are fully supporting students with special needs and their families (University of Melbourne, 2012).


Where a corporate author's name is known by a common acronym (e.g. AIHW for Australian Institute for Health and Welfare) and you will be using this author multiple times in your text, you can use the following pattern.

For the first in-text citation, include the full name plus the acronym in square brackets, in the format:  (Corporate Author [CA], Year)

Example:

"Over half of people aged 15 years and older (56%) considered their overall health to be very good or excellent, and 29% stated that their health was good" (Australian Institute for Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2018, para. 3).

In subsequent in-text citations, include just the acronym:  (CA, Year)

Example:
... 19% of people aged 18 years and over were current daily smokers (AIHW, 2018).


Direct quoting from web pages

If you include a direct quote, that is word-for-word from an online source without pages, count the paragraphs and use that number in place of pages:  (Author Surname, Year, para. X)

Clark and Brown (2012) suggest "that all those in powerful positions in organizations display similar traits" (para. 12).

If the source includes section headings, you can include the heading and the number of the paragraph following it to assist the reader in locating the information. For example:

James (2012) concludes "bullying is at epidemic levels in organizations which do not display strong leadership at the top" (Discussion section, para. 3).

NOTE: Use "para." when quoting from one paragraph - for example (Acciari, 2014, para. 14), and "paras." when quoting across more than one paragraph - for example (Wessel, 2015, paras. 3-4).

 


Discussing a website in general terms

 

To cite a website as a whole or to discuss it in general terms in your assignment using APA, it is sufficient to give the site URL as part of the text, inside round brackets. There is no need for a reference list entry.

 

In-text reference

The WHO website (http://www.who.int/) is accessible in six languages and ...

Reference list

No entry needed.

Documents found online

This information is for general documents found online, that are not covered elsewhere in this guide.

N.B. For the following document types, refer to their specialist pages:

General Notes:

  • Titles of online documents should always be italicised.

  • Provide a description of kind of document in square brackets after the title to assist the reader in identifying less-typical types of sources (e.g., brochures, pamphlets, press releases, policy briefs or directives, fact sheets). If the type of resource is obvious from the title, then leave these descriptions out.

  • If you cannot locate a date on the document use the abbreviation (n.d.) in place of the year.

  • Online documents are considered 'static' by APA standards and therefore do not require the words 'Retrieved from' before an access link.  This is a major revision for APA 7. 

  • Do not include a full-stop after the URL at the end of the reference.

  • APA allows for links to be either plain text or 'active'. See the official APA Style Blog for more information.

  • For print pamphlets and brochures, refer to the specialist tab on the Health Resources page.
Online document authored by a person

Author Surname, Initial. (Year). Title of document: Subtitle [Description]. Title of Source Website. http://www...

Online document with a corporate author

Corporate Author. (Year). Title of document: Subtitle [Description]. http://www...

Where the author is the same as the title of the website, do not repeat the website title

Online document with no date

Follow the above patterns but replace (Year) with (n.d.).  See the example below.

 

Reference list examples:

 

Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation. (2015). Promoting breastfeeding [Policy brief]. http://anmf.org.au/documents/policies/P_Promoting_Breastfeeding.pdf

Bedford Medical Center. (2011). Transforming emergency care for seniors [Brochure]. http://www.uhhospitals.org/~/media/UH/documents/services/bedford-senior-er-services-brochure.pdf

Department of Health and Ageing. (2010). Patients benefit from nurse practitioner’s access to Medicare [Pamphlet]. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/ Content/A4DC43812EBEC15CCA257BF000209CA4/$File/Nursprac.pdf

Hand Hygiene Australia. (n.d.). Hand hygiene [Fact sheet]. http://www.hha.org.au/UserFiles/ file/Hand%20Hygiene%20Fact%20Sheet%284%29.pdf

International Council of Nurses. (2012). The ICN code of ethics for nurses. http://www.icn.ch/images/stories/documents/about/icncode_english.pdf

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2018). Code of conduct for nurses. http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Professional-standards.aspx

 

 

The final two examples don't require the additional description information in square brackets as it is obvious from their titles.

 


In-text

Every time you paraphrase, or use an idea from another source you must include an in-text citation to that source.
Follow the general patterns:  (Author Surname, Year)  or  (Corporate Author, Year)

Example:

Australian education providers will need to address a number of challenges to ensure standards of special education are fully supporting students with special needs and their families (University of Melbourne, 2012).

 

Where a corporate author's name is known by a common acronym (e.g. AIHW for Australian Institute for Health and Welfare) and you will be using this author multiple times in your text, you can use the following pattern.

For the first in-text citation, include the full name plus the acronym in square brackets, in the format:  (Corporate Author [CA], Year)

Example:

"Over half of people aged 15 years and older (56%) considered their overall health to be very good or excellent, and 29% stated that their health was good" (Australian Institute for Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2018, p. 3).

In subsequent in-text citations, include just the acronym:  (CA, Year)

Example:
... 19% of people aged 18 years and over were current daily smokers (AIHW, 2018).

 

Direct Quotations

If you include a direct quote, that is word-for-word from a source, add a page reference to your in-text citation, e.g.:

“These films absorb, through a collage of images, traces of the Italian inheritance of neo-realist cinema” (Acciari, 2014, p. 14).

NOTE: Use "p" when quoting from one page - for example (Acciari, 2014, p. 14), and "pp" when quoting from more than one page - for example (Wessel, 2015, pp. 53-54).

Press releases

 

General Notes:

  • Titles of press releases should always be italicised.

  • Provide a description of [Press release] in square brackets after the title.

  • Include the full date of publication (Year, Month Day). If you cannot locate a date on the document use the abbreviation (n.d.) in place of the year.

  • Press releases are considered 'static' by APA standards and therefore do not require the words 'Retrieved from' before an access link.  This is a major revision for APA 7. 

  • Do not include a full-stop after the URL at the end of the reference.

  • APA allows for links to be either plain text or 'active'. See the official APA Style Blog for more information.

Press release authored by a person

Author Surname, Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of press release [Description]. Title of Source Website. http://www...

Press release with a corporate author

Corporate Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of press release [Description]. http://www...

Where the author is the same as the title of the website, do not repeat the website title

 

Reference list examples:

Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation. (2015, June 11). Nurses and midwives excluded from expert health groups [Press release]. http://anf.org.au.tmp.anchor.net.au/media-releases/entry/media_150611

Tehan, D. (2020, January 24). Funding innovative research that creates jobs [Press release]. Ministers for the Department of Education Media Centre. https://ministers.education.gov.au/tehan/funding-innovative-research-creates-jobs

 


In-text

Every time you paraphrase, or use an idea from another source you must include an in-text citation to that source.
Follow the general patterns:  (Author Surname, Year)  or  (Corporate Author, Year)

Example:

Australian education providers will need to address a number of challenges to ensure standards of special education are fully supporting students with special needs and their families (University of Melbourne, 2012)

Direct quoting

If you include a direct quote, that is word-for-word from an online source without pages, count the paragraphs and use that number in place of pages:  (Author, Year, para. X)

Clark (2012) suggests "that all those in powerful positions in organizations display similar traits" (para. 12).

If the source includes section headings, you can include the heading and the number of the paragraph following it to assist the reader in locating the information. For example:

James (2012) concludes "bullying is at epidemic levels in organizations which do not display strong leadership at the top" (Discussion section, para. 3).

NOTE: Use "para." when quoting from one paragraph - for example (Acciari, 2014, para. 14), and "paras." when quoting across more than one paragraph - for example (Wessel, 2015, paras. 3-4).

Blog posts

 

General Notes:

  • Provide the exact date of the post in the form Year, Month Day.
  • Do not italicise the title of the post.
  • The name of the blog site is required to be added before the access link.  This is a major revision for APA 7.
  • The words 'Retrieved from' are no longer required before an access link unless a retrieval date is required for the source.  This is a major revision for APA 7.
  • For in-text citations, use only the Year of the posting, do not include the Month and Day.
  • Do not insert a hyphen if you need to break a URL across lines. Break the URL before a slash or dash or at another logical division point.
  • Do not include a full-stop after the URL at the end of the reference.
  • APA allows for links to be either plain text or 'active'. See the official APA Style Blog for more information.
  • To talk about a blog in general terms, refer to the section at the bottom of the page.
Blog post authored by a person

Author Surname, Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of post. Title of Blog Site. http://www...

Where the author is using a screen name, use that in place of the standard naming.

Blog post with a corporate author

Corporate Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of post. http://www...

Where the author is the same as the title of the website, do not repeat the website title

 

Reference list examples:

Annoyed Librarian. (2008, July 21). User generated idiocy. http://annoyedlibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/07/user-generated-idiocy.html

Smith, R. (2019, April 5). 11 things really annoying people do in libraries. Rachel’s List. https://www.rachelslist.com.au/blog/11-things-really-annoying-people-do-in-libraries/

 


In-text

Every time you paraphrase, or use an idea from another source you must include an in-text citation to that source.
Follow the general patterns:  (Author Surname, Year)  or  (Corporate Author, Year)

Example:

Australian education providers will need to address a number of challenges to ensure standards of special education are fully supporting students with special needs and their families (University of Melbourne, 2012).

 


Direct quoting from blogs

If you include a direct quote, that is word-for-word from an online source without pages, count the paragraphs and use that number in place of pages:  (Author Surname, Year, para. X)

Clark and Brown (2012) suggest "that all those in powerful positions in organizations display similar traits" (para. 12).

If the source includes section headings, you can include the heading and the number of the paragraph following it to assist the reader in locating the information. For example:

James (2012) concludes "bullying is at epidemic levels in organizations which do not display strong leadership at the top" (Discussion section, para. 3).

NOTE: Use "para." when quoting from one paragraph - for example (Acciari, 2014, para. 14), and "paras." when quoting across more than one paragraph - for example (Wessel, 2015, paras. 3-4).

 


Discussing a blog in general terms

 

To cite a blog as a whole or to discuss it in general terms in your assignment, it is sufficient to give the blog URL in text, inside round brackets. There is no need for a reference list entry.

 

In-text reference

 

The Unpretentious Librarian blog (http://unpretentiouslibrarian.blogspot.com.au/) posts a number of entries that the professional librarian may find interesting.

Reference list

No entry needed.

Twitter and Instagram posts

 

General Notes:

  • For X/Twitter and Instagram, include the username in square brackets after the author's name.

  • Include up to the first 20 words of the post as the title.  Titles of posts should always be italicised

  • After the title, include a description of the post in square brackets, e.g. [Tweet] for X/Twitter;  [Photograph] or [Video] for Instagram.

  • Retain all nonstandard spelling / capitalisation, hashtags, links, etc.  Keep emojis intact if possible - if you cannot recreate the emoji, provide the emoji's name in square brackets from the list here.

  • Include the full date of publication (Year, Month Day).

  • Social media posts are considered 'static' by APA standards and therefore do not require the words 'Retrieved from' before an access link.  This is a major revision for APA 7. 

  • Do not include a full-stop after the URL at the end of the reference.

  • APA allows for links to be either plain text or 'active'. See the official APA Style Blog for more information.

Posts authored by a person

Author Surname, Initial [@username]. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [Description]. Hosting Site. https://...

Posts with a corporate author

Corporate Author [@username]. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [Description]. Hosting Site. https://...

Tweets including an image, a video, or a retweeted comment Add an additional description of any attached media in another set of square brackets before the standard description of [Tweet].  See the UON Library and Reynolds entries below for examples.

 

Reference list examples:

HBO [@hbo]. (2020, February 1). Explaining to coworkers why I need a vacation after I get back from vacation [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7_W6yxnCqw/

Reynolds, R. [@VancityReynolds]. (2020, January 29). Well, we’re here now. And we have to make the most of our time before that window never closes [Retweet attached] [Tweet]. X. https://x.com/VancityReynolds/status/1222161630814883841

Rihanna [@badgalriri]. (2020, January 21). Limited edition #Rihannazine 🖤 @i_d i-dstore.co [Photographs]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7kHFSGnNG7/

UON Library [@uonlib]. (2020, February 6). Stay connected stay informed https://t.co/tvgSu0L59K?amp=1 [Image attached] [Tweet]. X. https://x.com/uonlib/status/1225208827039166472

 


In-text

Every time you paraphrase, or use an idea from another source you must include an in-text citation to that source.
Follow the general patterns:  (Author Surname, Year)  or  (Corporate Author, Year)

Do not include the @username in the in-text citation.

Example:

... including pithy retorts to fan-generated posts (for an example, see Reynolds, 2020).

Direct quoting

As social media posts are short, follow the basic pattern:  (Author, Year)

Where possible, you could make reference to the fact that the source was social media, e.g.:

Clark (2019) stated in the social media post that "it was the worst day of [his] life".

Facebook posts

This format can be used for other social media services, such as Tumbler, LinkedIn, etc.

For Twitter and Instagram, see the previous tab on this page.

General Notes:

  • For Facebook, you generally do not need to include the username.

  • Include up to the first 20 words of the post as the title.  Titles of posts should always be italicised

  • After the title, include a description of the type of Facebook post in square brackets, e.g. [Video], [Infographic], etc.  'Standard' posts (including those with images) should be described as a [Status update].

  • Retain all nonstandard spelling / capitalisation, hashtags, links, etc.  Keep emojis intact if possible - if you cannot recreate the emoji, provide the emoji's name in square brackets from the list here.

  • Include the full date of publication (Year, Month Day).

  • Social media posts are considered 'static' by APA standards and therefore do not require the words 'Retrieved from' before an access link.  This is a major revision for APA 7. 

  • Do not include a full-stop after the URL at the end of the reference.

  • APA allows for links to be either plain text or 'active'. See the official APA Style Blog for more information.

Posts authored by a person

Author Surname, Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [Description]. Hosting Site. https://...

Posts with a corporate author

Corporate Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [Description]. Hosting Site. https://...

Posts including additional media Add an additional description of any attached media in another set of square brackets before the standard description.  See the Reynolds entry below for an example.

 

Reference list examples:

Reynolds, R. (2019, August 26). Happy birthday Blake [Images attached] [Status Update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/VancityReynolds/photos/pcb. 1735196549957793/1735196203291161/

United Nations. (2020, February 6). Benefits of reducing your food waste [Video]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/unitednations/videos/515406312440039/

 

 

In-text

Every time you paraphrase, or use an idea from another source you must include an in-text citation to that source.
Follow the general patterns:  (Author Surname, Year)  or  (Corporate Author, Year)

Example:

... including pithy posts about his wife (for an example, see Reynolds, 2019).

Direct quoting

As social media posts are short, follow the basic pattern:  (Author, Year)

Where possible, you could make reference to the fact that the source was social media, e.g:

Clark (2019) stated in the social media post that "it was the worst day of [his] life".

News sites

 

NOTE: APA 7 treats news sites differently to online newspapersWhen in doubt, look to see if the news site started as a newspaper.  If it did, reference as an online newspaper.  For general news sites (such as ABC News, CNN, etc.), reference using the patterns below - note that the italics are the opposite to an online newspaper.
Article authored by a person

Author Surname, Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of news item. Title of News Site. http://www...

Article with a corporate author

Corporate Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of news item. http://www...

 

Reference list examples:

ABC News. (2003, September 22). $250m funding boost for malaria vaccine. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-09-22/250m-funding-boost-for-malaria-vaccine/1482220

Weule, G. (2020, February 6). Gwion paintings in the Kimberley were created around 12,000 years ago, wasp nests suggest. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-02-06/gwion-rock-art-in-kimberley-dated-using-wasp-nests/11924584


In-text

Every time you paraphrase, or use an idea from another source you must include an in-text citation to that source.


For these articles, follow the author formatting for the type/number of authors involved - for example, for 1 author, see the tab for that number.

 

Direct Quotations

Where the article is online and has no pagination, count the paragraphs and use that instead of pages, e.g. (Seber, 2019, para. 3).

Images taken from the web

 

See the page for Web images

Statistics (ABS)

 

See the page for Other source types

YouTube and Streaming video

 

See the page for Video & audio

Podcasts and Streaming music

 

See the page for Video & audio

NSW Health forms and screening checklists

 

See the page for Health resources

This video will show you the basics of how to create in-text and reference list citations for web pages using APA7th style.

 

Help and Information