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How to Cite a Website in APA Style | Format & Examples

Published on November 5, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.

APA website citations usually include the author, the publication date, the title of the page or article, the website name, and the URL. If there is no author, start the citation with the title of the article. If the page is likely to change over time, add a retrieval date.

If you are citing an online version of a print publication (e.g. a newspaper , magazine , or dictionary ), use the same format as you would for print, with a URL added at the end. Formats differ for online videos (e.g. TED Talks ), images , and dissertations .

Use the buttons below to explore the format, or use our free APA Citation Generator to automatically create citations.

Cite a website in APA Style now:

Table of contents, citing an entire website, how to cite online articles, websites with no author, websites with no date, how to cite from social media, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.

When you refer to a website in your text without quoting or paraphrasing from a specific part of it, you don’t need a formal citation. Instead, you can just include the URL in parentheses after the name of the site:

One of the most popular social media sites, Instagram (http://instagram.com), allows users to share images and videos.

For this kind of citation, you don’t need to include the website on the reference page . However, if you’re citing a specific page or article from a website, you will need a formal in-text citation and reference list entry.

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Various kinds of articles appear online, and how you cite them depends on where the article appears.

Online articles from newspapers, magazines, and blogs

Articles appearing in online versions of print publications (e.g. newspapers and magazines) are cited like their print versions, but with an added URL.

The same format is used for blog posts. Just include the blog name where you would usually put the name of the magazine or newspaper.

Articles from online-only news sites

For articles from news sites without print equivalents (e.g. BBC News, Reuters), italicize the name of the article and  not  the name of the site.

When a web page does not list an individual author, it can usually be attributed to an organization or government . If this results in the author name being identical to the site name, omit the site name, as in the example below.

If you can’t identify any author at all, replace the author name with the title of the page or article.

In the in-text citation , put the title in quotation marks if it is in plain text in the reference list, or in italics if it is in italics in the reference list. Note that title case is used for the title here, unlike in the reference list. Shorten the title to the first few words if necessary.

When a web page or article does not list a publication or revision date, replace the date with “n.d.” (“no date”) in all citations.

If an online source is likely to change over time, it is recommended to include the date on which you accessed it.

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As social media posts are usually untitled, use the first 20 words of the post, in italics, as a title. Also include any relevant information about the type of post and any multimedia aspects (e.g. videos, images, sound, links) in square brackets.

On some social media sites (such as Twitter ), users go by usernames instead of or in addition to their real names. Where the author’s real name is known, include it, along with their username in square brackets:

In some cases, you’ll want to cite a whole social media profile instead of a specific post. In these cases, include an access date, because a profile will obviously change over time:

When citing a webpage or online article , the APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and year of publication. For example: (Worland & Williams, 2015). Note that the author can also be an organization. For example: (American Psychological Association, 2019).

If you’re quoting you should also include a locator. Since web pages don’t have page numbers, you can use one of the following options:

• Paragraph number: (Smith, 2018, para. 15).
• Heading or section name: ( CDC, 2020, Flu Season section)
• Abbreviated heading:  ( CDC, 2020, “Key Facts” section)

When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a source, you need to indicate the location of the passage in your APA in-text citation . If there are no page numbers (e.g. when citing a website ) but the text is long, you can instead use section headings, paragraph numbers, or a combination of the two:

(Caulfield, 2019, Linking section, para. 1).

Section headings can be shortened if necessary. Kindle location numbers should not be used in ebook citations , as they are unreliable.

If you are referring to the source as a whole, it’s not necessary to include a page number or other marker.

When no individual author name is listed, but the source can clearly be attributed to a specific organization—e.g., a press release by a charity, a report by an agency, or a page from a company’s website—use the organization’s name as the author in the reference entry and APA in-text citations .

When no author at all can be determined—e.g. a collaboratively edited wiki or an online article published anonymously—use the title in place of the author. In the in-text citation, put the title in quotation marks if it appears in plain text in the reference list, and in italics if it appears in italics in the reference list. Shorten it if necessary.

APA Style usually does not require an access date. You never need to include one when citing journal articles , e-books , or other stable online sources.

However, if you are citing a website or online article that’s designed to change over time, it’s a good idea to include an access date. In this case, write it in the following format at the end of the reference: Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.uva.nl/en/about-the-uva/about-the-university/about-the-university.html

Instead of the author’s name, include the first few words of the work’s title in the in-text citation. Enclose the title in double quotation marks when citing an article, web page or book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books, and reports.

No publication date

If the publication date is unknown , use “n.d.” (no date) instead. For example: (Johnson, n.d.).

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Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to Cite a Website in APA Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 7, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/website/

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Journal Articles

Online news articles, case studies.

• Blogs, Forums, Podcasts
• Interviews & Emails
• Company, Industry, Market, Financial Reports

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*Cite and Analyze Business Information: Cite Online Sources in APA Format

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THIS CITATION GUIDE:

• This guide reflects the most current version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7 , published October 2019). 
• The citation examples on this guide are for electronic sources only . For tips on print materials, see Purdue University's Online Writing Lab for APA guidelines .
• APA 7 no longer requires the use of "Retrieved from" in front of URLs or DOIs , unless the resource is unarchived. Citations for unarchived materials should include a retrieval date to indicate that the version of the work cited may be different than what was originally used. 

Basic format for a journal article in an electronic journal (or from a database) Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Year). Article title. Periodical Title, volume number (issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy 

Notes about DOIs and URLs:

• If the article is assigned a DOI ( digital object indicator ), include it after the page numbers of the article.
• If the online scholarly article is published on a website and no DOI is assigned, indicate the URL of the website you retrieved the article from.
• If the online scholarly article is published in a database and no DOI is assigned, do not include a URL or any database information. 

Citation example: Hendrikx, A., & Castro, D. (2022). Netflix’s community relationship management: An analysis of its Facebook-USA page.  Journal of Media Business Studies ,  19 (2), 108–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2021.1932396 Intext citation:  (Hendrikx & Castro, 2022 )

Webpage or Piece of Online Content

Formats With or Without an Author: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year, Month Date).  Title of page . Site Name. URL

Group or Organization Name. (Year, Month Date). Title of page . Site Name. URL

Citation Examples: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (2018, September 5). Using EDGAR to research investments. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  https://www.sec.gov/filings/edgar-guide Intext citation:  (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2018)

Federal Trade Commission. (2014, March 27).  FTC proposes changes to fuel rating rule [Press Release]. Federal Trade Commission.  http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2014/03/ftc-proposes-changes-fuel-rating-rule Intext citation:  (Federal Trade Commission, 2014)

Brown, A. (2014, March 3). Forbes billionaires: Full list of the richest Americans . Forbes.com.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2014/03/03/forbes-billionaires-full-list-of-the-richest-americans/ Intext citation: (Brown, 2014)

• If no date is given on the website, use [n.d.], which stands for "no date."

Basic Format: Author, A.A. (Year, Month Date). Title of article. Title of Publication . URL

Citation Example: Scheiber, N. (2023, August 16). From Detroit to Hollywood, New union leaders take a harder line. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/business/economy/union-leaders-teamsters-uaw-hollywood.html   Intext citation:  (Scheiber, 2023)

• If the business case is published in a journal, follow the guidelines for journal article citations.
• If the business case is published as a case document, include the publisher name and a DOI or URL.

Citation example for a case study published in an academic article or journal (such as in Harvard Business Review): Gino, F., Klesyk, A., & Hartman, M. (2013). Fighting a government threat. Harvard Business Review , 91 (3), 123-127.  Intext citation: ( Gino, Klesyk & Hartman, 2013)

Citation example for a case study published as a business case document (such as in Sage Business Cases): Kimball, D. C., (2016). Corporate social responsibility at Starbucks: 2016–2017 issues for discussion. In  Sage Business Cases . SAGE Publications, Ltd., https:// doi. org/10.4135/9781473972261 Intext citation: ( Kimball, 2016)

Blogs, Discussion Forums, & Newsgroups

Basic Format: Author, A.A. (Year, Month Date). Title of posted item. Publisher Name . URL

• If no author name, use screen name, if no screen name, use the title.
• Try to use a permanent link (aka permalink), if available.

Citation example of blog post : Ritholtz, B. (2010, October 20). Darwin's law of maladaptive corporate behavior (or, why bailouts are nearly always a terrible idea). The Big Picture . http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/10/darwins-corporate-survival Intext citation: (Ritholtz, 2010)

Citation example of blog comment: Cherub96. (2010, October 20). Re: Darwin's law of maladaptive corporate behavior (or, why bailouts are nearly always a terrible idea) [Blog Comment].  The Big Picture . http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/10/darwins-corporate-survival Intext citation: (Cherub96, 2010)

Basic Format: Host, A. (Host). (Year, Month Date). Title of episode (No. if provided). [Audio podcast episode]. In Name of Podcast . Publisher Name. URL

Citation Example of Podcast using the host's name: Beard, A. (Host). (2023, July 18). In defense of middle management (923). [Audio podcast episode]. In HBR IdeaCast . Harvard Business Review.  https://hbr.org/podcast/2023/07/in-defense-of-middle-management Intext citation:   (Beard, 2018)

Emails and Interviews

Personal Communications (e.g., interviews, emails): When personal communications such as interviews or emails are not recoverable by readers, they are not included in the references unless the instructor requires it. However, they must be cited intext.

Recorded Interviews (e.g., audio or video)   Citation Example: UW Bothell. (2014, March 20). UW Bothell Icons of Retail Conversation with Erik Nordstrom  [Video]. YouTube.  http://youtu.be/taAWMIRsEx4

Citation for an interview from a journal or magazine: Published interviews are cited according to the print or online journal format.

If you have questions:

• check with the UWB Writing and Communication Center
• consult the Purdue OWL APA website

Online Abstract

Basic Format: Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Article title [Abstract].  Periodical Title, volume (issue), pages. 

NOTE: If you are unable to obtain the full article, instructors may allow use of information from an abstract; however, the citation must indicate the information came from an abstract. Include "[Abstract]" after the article or source name, as shown in the citation format example above. Information from abstracts should not be used for material being published.

Example Citation for an Abstract: Mehra, A., & Floyd, S.W. (1998, July-August). Product market heterogeneity, resource imitability and strategic group formation [Abstract].  Journal of Management, 24 (4), 511-512.  Intext Citation: (Mehra & Floyd, 1998)

Company, Industry, Market, and Financial Reports

Basic formats for company, industry, marketing, and financial reports:

Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Year, Month Date). Title of report. Publisher Name.   DOI or URL 

Name of Group. (Year, Month Date). Title of report. Publisher Name.   DOI or URL 

NOTES: For school assignments :

• When citing reports found in a database, list the DOI (if there is one) but do not list the URL. 
• When citing reports found on a free website (such as a company website), list the URL at the end of the citation.

Reporting the database name is not standard procedure for published articles and reports.

Company report

Citation examples: MarketLine. (2023).  Costco wholesale corporation MarketLine company profile. MarketLine.  Intext citation:  (MarketLine, 2023)

D&B Hoover's, Inc. (2009).  International Business Machines: company profile: Index.  D&B Hoover's. Intext citation: (D&B Hoover's, 2009)

Mergent. (2013). Nike, Inc. company details report . MergentOnline. Intext citation: (Mergent, 2013)

Industry reports

Citation Example: Kaczanowska, A. (2012, June).  IBISWorld industry report OD4302. Craft beer production in the US . IBISWorld.  Intext citation:   (Kaczanowska, 2012)

Market reports

Citation Example: Mintel. (2023). Cannabis retail: Positioning and marketing US, 2023 . Mintel Group Ltd.  Intext citation:   (Mintel, 2023)

Financial reports

When citing financial reports, following the report title, include any file name or number (if available) and any other identifying information needed to trace the report.

Citation Examples: General Electric Company. (2011).  United States Securities and Exchange Commission form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 2010.  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/40545/000119312511047479/d10k.htm   Intext citation:  (General Electric Company, 2011)

Texas Instruments. (2010).  2010 annual report to shareholders.  Texas Instruments.  http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/investor/ar10/index.html Intext citation:  (Texas Instruments, 2010)

For more in-depth details about citing SimplyAnalytics, including screenshots showing how to retrieve citation data, see the SimplyAnalytics user guide .

Basic format: Variable One With Year, Variable Two With Year, and Variable Three With Year. Data Source. SimplyAnalytics.

Citation example with one variable: Median Household Income 2020. US Census Bureau American Community Survey. Census 2009 Estimate. SimplyAnalytics. Intext citation: (Median Household Income, 2020)

Citation example with two variables: Make of Vehicle- Most Recently Acquired- Toyota 2019 and Gasoline Household Average 2020. SimmonsLOCAL and SimplyAnalytics Consumer Expenditure Estimates. SimplyAnalytics. Intext citation: (Make of Vehicle-Toyota 2019 and Gasoline Household Average 2020)

NOTE:  List all major variables used (i.e. income, automotive sales, etc). 

General formats for eBooks

Basic Formats: Author, A.A. (Year). Book title . Publisher Name. URL Author, A.A. (Year).  Book title [eBook edition]. Publisher Name. URL Author, A.A. (Year). Book title (N. Narrator, Narr). [Audiobook]. Publisher Name. URL 

NOTES: APA 7 does not require you to note that you have used an eBook if the content is the same as a physical book. As such, if the eBook is retrieved from a database, it is not always necessary to include the database URL in the citation. If an eBook is fond on the free Web, include a URL or DOI.

Citation Example: Kolb, R.W. (Ed.). (2008). Encyclopedia of business, ethics and society . SAGE Publications.  Intext citation: (Kolb, 2008)

eBooks on the free Web

Basic Format: Author, A.A. (Year). Book Title. Publisher Name.   DOI or URL

Citation Example: Weathington, B. L., Cunningham, C. J. L., & Pittenger, D. J. (2012). Understanding business research . John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781118342978.  Intext citation: (Weathington, Cunningham, & Pittenger 2012)

eBook chapter

Citation Format: Author, A.A., & Author B.B. (Year). Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp.xxx-xxx). Publisher. .

Citation Example: Anicama, C. (2011). Business responsibilities and human rights in Latin America: Lessons and inspiration for the future. In K. Bhuman, L. Roseberry, & M. Morsing (Eds.), Corporate social and human rights responsibilities (pp.185-201). Palgrave Macmillan. Intext citation: (Anicama, 2011)

Example of Work Cited in Another Work

Boxall, P. & Purcell, J. (2008). Strategy and human resource management . Palgrave Macmillan. In Budhwar, P. S. & Bhatnagar, J. (Eds). (2009). The changing face of people management in India . (p. 162). Routledge.  Intext citation: (Boxall & Purcell, 2008)

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Apa quick citation guide.

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Note: Citations with more than one line of text should have a hanging indent of 1/2 inch or 5 spaces.

Important Elements:

• Author (last name, initials only for first & middle names)
• Date of publication of article (year and month for monthly publications; year, month and day for daily or weekly publications)
• Title of article (capitalize only the first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns)
• Title of publication in italics (i.e.,  Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Newsweek, New York Times )
• Volume number in italics and issue number, if given
• Page numbers of article, if given
• For articles retrieved online, include DOI, if available. Includes URLs only if they will work for readers. For articles retrieved through a database, do not include the database information or URL in the reference. For more information, see the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines pages on databases and DOIs and URLs.  

For more examples, see the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines entries for magazine , newspaper, and scholarly journal articles. 

Magazine article:

Swedin, E. G.  (2006, May/June). Designing babies: A eugenics race with China? The Futurist , 40, 18-21.

Will, G. F. (2004, July 5). Waging war on Wal-Mart.  Newsweek ,  144 , 64.

Duhigg, C. (2019, October 10). Is Amazon unstoppable? The New Yorker.   https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/21/is-amazon-unstoppable

Newspaper article:

Dougherty, R. (2006, January 11). Jury convicts man in drunk driving death. Centre Daily Times , p. 1A.

Laber-Warren, E. (2019, October 17). You're only as old as you feel. The New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/well/mind/age-subjective-feeling-old.html

Scholarly journal article:

Blattner, J., & Bacigalupo, A. (2007). Using emotional intelligence to develop executive leadership and team and organizational development. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 59 (3), 209-219. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1065-9293.59.3.209

Book Review:

Rifkind, D. (2005, April 10). Breaking their vows. [Review of the book The mermaid chair, by S.M. Kidd]. Washington Post , p. T6.

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MyBib supports the following for APA style:

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APA Style (7th Edition) Citation Guide: Journal Articles

• Introduction
• Journal Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Biblical Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Films/Videos/TV Shows
• How to Cite: Other
• Additional Help

Table of Contents

Journal article from library database with doi - one author, journal article from library database with doi - multiple authors, journal article from a website - one author.

Journal Article- No DOI

Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

This Microsoft support page contains instructions about how to format a hanging indent in a paper.

• APA 7th. ed. Journal Article Reference Checklist

If an item has no author, start the citation with the article title.

When an article has one to twenty authors, all authors' names are cited in the References List entry. When an article has twenty-one or more authors list the first nineteen authors followed by three spaced ellipse points (. . .) , and then the last author's name. Rules are different for in-text citations; please see the examples provided.

Cite author names in the order in which they appear on the source, not in alphabetical order (the first author is usually the person who contributed the most work to the publication).

Italicize titles of journals, magazines and newspapers. Do not italicize or use quotation marks for the titles of articles.

Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the article title. If there is a colon in the article title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.

If an item has no date, use the short form n.d. where you would normally put the date.

Volume and Issue Numbers

Italicize volume numbers but not issue numbers.

Retrieval Dates

Most articles will not need these in the citation. Only use them for online articles from places where content may change often, like a free website or a wiki.

Page Numbers

If an article doesn't appear on continuous pages, list all the page numbers the article is on, separated by commas. For example (4, 6, 12-14)

Library Database

Do not include the name of a database for works obtained from most academic research databases (e.g. APA PsycInfo, CINAHL) because works in these resources are widely available. Exceptions are Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, ERIC, ProQuest Dissertations, and UpToDate.

Include the DOI (formatted as a URL: https://doi.org/...) if it is available. If you do not have a DOI, include a URL if the full text of the article is available online (not as part of a library database). If the full text is from a library database, do not include a DOI, URL, or database name.

In the Body of a Paper

Books, Journals, Reports, Webpages, etc.: When you refer to titles of a “stand-alone work,” as the APA calls them on their APA Style website, such as books, journals, reports, and webpages, you should italicize them. Capitalize words as you would for an article title in a reference, e.g., In the book Crying in H Mart: A memoir , author Michelle Zauner (2021) describes her biracial origin and its impact on her identity.

Article or Chapter: When you refer to the title of a part of a work, such as an article or a chapter, put quotation marks around the title and capitalize it as you would for a journal title in a reference, e.g., In the chapter “Where’s the Wine,” Zauner (2021) describes how she decided to become a musician.

The APA Sample Paper below has more information about formatting your paper.

• APA 7th ed. Sample Paper

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/doi number

Smith, K. F. (2022). The public and private dialogue about the American family on television: A second look. Journal of Media Communication, 50 (4), 79-110. https://doi.org/10.1152/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02864.x

Note: The DOI number is formatted as a URL: https://doi.org/10.1152/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02864.xIf. 

In-Text Paraphrase:

(Author's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Smith, 2000)

In-Text Quote:

(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number)

Example: (Smith, 2000, p. 80)

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given., & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/doi number

Note: Separate the authors' names by putting a comma between them. For the final author listed add an ampersand (&) after the comma and before the final author's last name.

Note: In the reference list invert all authors' names; give last names and initials for only up to and including 20 authors. When a source has 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors’ names, then three ellipses (…), and add the last author’s name. Don't include an ampersand (&) between the ellipsis and final author.

Note : For works with three or more authors, the first in-text citation is shortened to include the first author's surname followed by "et al."

Reference List Examples

Two to 20 Authors

Case, T. A., Daristotle, Y. A., Hayek, S. L., Smith, R. R., & Raash, L. I. (2011). College students' social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 3 (2), 227-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.010

21 or more authors

Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M., Saha, J., Mo, K. C., Ropelewski, C., Wang, J., Leetma, A., . . . Joseph, D. (1996). The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , 77 (3), 437-471. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1996)077<0437:TNYRP>2.0.CO;2

In-Text Citations

Two Authors/Editors

(Case & Daristotle, 2011)

Direct Quote: (Case & Daristotle, 2011, p. 57)

Three or more Authors/Editors

(Case et al., 2011)

Direct Quote: (Case et al., 2011, p. 57)

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any.  Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number if given). URL

Flachs, A. (2010). Food for thought: The social impact of community gardens in the Greater Cleveland Area.  Electronic Green Journal, 1 (30). http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6bh7j4z4

Example: (Flachs, 2010)

Example: (Flachs, 2010, Conclusion section, para. 3)

Note: In this example there were no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, in this case you can cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from. If there are no page or paragraph numbers and no marked section, leave this information out.

Journal Article - No DOI

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any.  Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. URL [if article is available online, not as part of a library database]

Full-Text Available Online (Not as Part of a Library Database):

Steinberg, M. P., & Lacoe, J. (2017). What do we know about school discipline reform? Assessing the alternatives to suspensions and expulsions.  Education Next, 17 (1), 44–52.  https://www.educationnext.org/what-do-we-know-about-school-discipline-reform-suspensions-expulsions/

Example: (Steinberg & Lacoe, 2017)

(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page number)

Example: (Steinberg & Lacoe, 2017, p. 47)

Full-Text Available in Library Database:

Jungers, W. L. (2010). Biomechanics: Barefoot running strikes back.  Nature, 463 (2), 433-434.

Example: (Jungers, 2010)

Example: (Jungers, 2010, p. 433)

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• Plagiarism and grammar
• Citation guides

Cite a Journal

Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper, citing journal articles in apa.

A journal is a scholarly periodical that presents research from experts in a certain field. Typically, but not always, these journals are peer-reviewed in order to ensure that published articles are of the highest quality. That is one reason why journals are a highly credible source of information. 

Journal articles in print:

Author Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year Published). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume (Issue), page range.

Gleditsch, N. P., Pinker, S., Thayer, B. A., Levy, J. S., & Thompson, W. R. (2013). The forum: The decline of war. International Studies Review, 15 (3), 396-419.

Journal articles online:

• If your source is found online, but there is no DOI provided, you can include the URL instead.
• A DOI (digital object identifier) is basically a number that links a source to its location on the Internet. This number isn’t always provided, but if it is, you should include it in your citation rather than including a URL.
• Unlike previous editions, the current edition does not require including a retrieval date or date accessed for online sources. A retrieval date is only necessary if the source is likely to change (ex. Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry, Facebook homepage, etc.).

Author Last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year Published). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume (Issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxx or URL

Burnell, K. J., Coleman, P. G., & Hunt, N. (2010). Coping with traumatic memories: Second World War veterans’ experiences of social support in relation to the narrative coherence of war memories. Ageing and Society, 30 (1), 57-78. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X0999016X

If you need additional help, the Citation Machine APA reference generator will cite your sources automatically for you.

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Research Guides

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APA Style 7th Edition Tutorials for Students in Psychology and Social Work

What is apa style.

• The Importance of Citing

Why is APA Style needed?

How do i get started with apa style, let us practice what we have learned, attribution and acknowledgement.

• Basics of APA Style Tutorial
• Reference Entry Elements
• Reference Examples
• Reference List
• In-Text Citations
• Student Paper Format
• Managing References - Zotero

Origination of APA Style

• Where did APA Style come from?

Commonly Used APA Related Terms

Abstract : Abstract is a brief synopses of article. It provides a brief but comprehensive summary of the article. 

Citing : In the context of academic writing, citing is the act of acknowledging the sources of information you have used when writing your work.

Citation:  A citation gives credit to a source, and contains publication information such as author(s), title and date.

DOI (digital object identifier): It is a unique alphanumeric string assigned to a digital object, mainly a scholarly article, to provide a persistent link to its location on the internet. 

In-Text Citation : It is a brief note that appears within the body of the paper and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication. An in-text citation should always match the corresponding entry in the reference list at the end of paper.

Paraphrasing : A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words. 

Plagiarism : It is the act of presenting the words, ideas, or images of another as your own; it denies creators of content the credit they are due. 

Quoting : It is the act of reproducing the exact wording used by the original author. Direct quotations appear within quotation marks and end with a citation.

Reference : It contains details about one cited work, generally including four elements:  author, date, title, and source.  

Reference List : It identifies all the sources you cited in the text of your paper. It generally is at the end of the paper and definitely on a new page after the text of your paper. 

APA Style is the most common writing style used in college and career. Its purpose is to promote excellence in communication by helping writers create clear, precise, and inclusive sentences with a straightforward scholarly tone. It addresses areas of writing such as how to

• format a paper so it looks professional;
• credit other people’s words and ideas via citations and references to avoid plagiarism; and
• describe other people with dignity and respect using inclusive, bias-free language.

APA Style is primarily used in the behavioral sciences, which are subjects related to people, such as psychology, education, and nursing. It is also used by students in business, engineering, communications, and other classes. Students use it to write academic essays and research papers in college, and professionals use it to conduct, report, and publish scientific research.

In addition, APA Style provides you with a powerful tool that will hep you avoid deliberate or unintentional plagiarism. Please review the Avoiding Plagiarism Guide created by the APA experts to understand what two common types of plagiarism are and how to avoid them. 

Why is learning citations important? Citations help readers understand where the information used in your paper comes from, enabling them to trace the path of that information. When readers wish to explore a specific point or reference cited in the text, citations make it easier by providing information about your sources in a standardized format.

Besides showing readers where you obtained information, using citations also has a strong ethical purpose. In academic writing, it is important to credit ideas that are not your own. Citations allow you to integrate the ideas of others with your own thoughts in a fair and honest way.

The reference formats for APA Style manuals are as follows:

APA Style provides a foundation for effective scholarly communication because it helps authors present their ideas in a clear and concise, and organized manner.  Uniformity and consistency enable readers to (a) focus on the ideas being presented rather than formatting and (b) scan works quickly for key points, findings, and sources. When style works best, ideas flow logically, sources are credited appropriately, and papers are organized predictably and consistently. 

Students are encouraged to first learn about APA Style by reading works written in APA Style. A couple of guides created by APA experts from the American Psychological Association can help you with that:

Anatomy of a Journal Article   https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/anatomy-journal-article.pdf

Scholarly journal articles share a common anatomy or structure. Each part of an article serves a specific purpose. The handout of  Anatomy of a Journal Article explains how journal articles are structured and how to become more efficient at reading and understanding them. Understanding the structure of a scholarly article and the purpose of each part helps you grasp a strategy called targeted reading. Targeted reading means to read specific sections of research articles first to determine if the article seems useful for your research topic. This way you will save time, find useful article faster, and choose which articles to read in full.

Reading and Understanding Abstracts https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reading-abstracts.pdf

Abstracts are short summaries of scientific research articles. The handout of Reading & Understanding Abstracts explains the definition and purpose of abstracts and the benefits of reading them, including analysis of a sample abstract. The skill of reading and understanding abstracts of scholarly articles not only saves time but also helps you conduct better research and write more effectively.

APA Style Writing Principles https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/writing-principles.pdf

The poster created by APA experts shows the three main principles of APA Style: clarity, precision, and inclusion and lists steps on how to achieve them. As a student writer, you always should write your academic paper with clarity, precision, and inclusion. 

Research Article Activity https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/apa-style-research-activity.pdf

Reading research articles is not an easy task for you as a student. The Research Article Activity designed by APA Style experts aims to make it easy to read and understand a scholarly article. This activity worksheet helps you find, cite, analyze, and summarize a research article. Completing this activity breaks down a lengthy research article into easily understandable chunks. This way helps you better understand the study in the article before you write about it. 

The information in this Guide   is courtesy of   the official APA Style website by the American Psychological Association.

Source Credit: Information on this LibGuide comes from APA Style website https://apastyle.apa.org/ This website has a wealth of free and authoritative resources designed to help anyone new to APA Style.

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• Last Updated: Apr 6, 2024 12:06 PM
• URL: https://research.ewu.edu/APAStyleTutorial

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Reference List: Articles in Periodicals

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Please note: the following contains a list of the most commonly cited periodical sources. For a complete list of how to cite periodical publications, please refer to the 7 th edition of the APA Publication Manual.

APA style dictates that authors are named with their last name followed by their initials; publication year goes between parentheses, followed by a period. The title of the article is in sentence-case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. The periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized. If a DOI has been assigned to the article that you are using, you should include this after the page numbers for the article. If no DOI has been assigned and you are accessing the periodical online, use the URL of the website from which you are retrieving the periodical.

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article.  Title of Periodical , volume number (issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Article in Print Journal

Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening.  The New Criterion, 15 (3), 5 – 13.

Note: APA 7 advises writers to include a DOI (if available), even when using the print source. The example above assumes no DOI is available.

Article in Electronic Journal

As noted above, when citing an article in an electronic journal, include a DOI if one is associated with the article.

Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-oriented digital research with service-learning.  Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement ,   6 (1), 11 – 16.  https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979

DOIs may not always be available. In these cases, use a URL. Many academic journals provide stable URLs that function similarly to DOIs. These are preferable to ordinary URLs copied and pasted from the browser's address bar.

Denny, H., Nordlof, J., & Salem, L. (2018). "Tell me exactly what it was that I was doing that was so bad": Understanding the needs and expectations of working-class students in writing centers. Writing Center Journal , 37 (1), 67 – 98. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26537363

Note that, in the example above, there is a quotation in the title of the article. Ordinary titles lack quotation marks.

Article in a Magazine

Peterzell, J. (1990, April). Better late than never.  Time, 135 (17), 20 –2 1.

Article in a Newspaper

Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies.  The Country Today , 1A, 2A.

Baumeister, R. F. (1993). Exposing the self-knowledge myth [Review of the book  The self-knower: A hero under control , by R. A. Wicklund & M. Eckert].  Contemporary Psychology , 38 (5), 466–467.