APA 7 Style: Citing Electronic Sources - Academic Skills

Citing Websites and Digital Media

Web page - Individual or Group Author Listed
Web page – Group Author with The Same Name as the Website
Web page - Author not listed
Report by a Government Agency
Report by an Nongovernmental or Organizational Author
Lecture notes posted to Blackboard
E-book
Blog post
Podcast
1. Podcast Episode
YouTube Video
TED Talk
Computer Software
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Generator (like OpenAI ChatGPT)
Social Media Posts
Copyrighted digital image found on a public website

Sample reference entry in APA formatted with a hanging indent.

Web page - Individual or Group Author Listed

References

Agency Author or Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of page. Site Name. URL

Example:

Ontario Seniors' Secretariat. (2015). A guide to programs and services for seniors in Ontario. Government of Ontario. https://collections.ola.org/mon/10000/252666.pdf

Web page – Group Author with The Same Name as the Website

If the author of the website has the same name as the website itself, do not include the name of the site in the references.

Notice:

The name of an organizational author, in this case the Registered Nurses of Ontario, can be abbreviated after the first in-text citation, but it is not abbreviated in the reference list.

Web page - Author not listed

In-Text Citation

Cite the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year.

("Diet for Stress Management", 2012)

References

Title. (Year of Publication). URL

Example:

Diet for stress management slideshow: Stress-reducing foods. (2012). http://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-diet-for-stress-management

Notice:

Double quotation marks are used around the shortened title of the web page in the in-text citation only.
In the in-text citation, the words of the shortened title in quotation marks are capitalized. In the Reference list, only the first word and proper names are capitalized.
Move the title to the first position of the reference when there is no author listed.
When a URL is too long to fit on one line, create a break where there is punctuation (period, slash, dash); the punctuation starts the next line. Do not end the URL with a period if it is not in the original.

Report by a Government Agency

In-Text Citation

(Public Health Agency of Canada, 2018).

(Canadian Wildlife Service, 2004).

(Canadian Council of Refugees, 2019).

Reference

Name of Agency or Organization. (Year of Publication). Title of report (Series or Paper number). Publisher Name (if different from organization). Web address

Examples

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2018). Key health inequalities in Canada: A national portrait. Ministry of Health, Canada. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/publicati...

Canadian Wildlife Service. (2004). The 1995 peregrine falcon survey in Canada (Occasional Paper no. 110). Environment Canada. http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/AbstractTemplate.cfm?lang=e&id=...

Notice:

In the Public Health Agency of Canada example, the author was the same as the publisher, so the publisher was not included in the reference.
In the Canadian Wildlife example, the name of the specific agency that authored the report (Canadian Wildlife Agency) was different from its parent organization (Environment Canada), so Environment Canada is listed as the publisher.
When a URL is too long to fit on one line, create a break where there is punctuation (period, slash, dash). As you can see in the example, the punctuation starts the next line. Do not end the URL with a period if it is not in the original.

Report from Nongovernmental Organization (NGO)

In-Text Citation

(Kenney et al., 2009)

(Canadian Council of Refugees, 2019)

References

Name of Individual or Organizational Author. (Year of Publication). Title of report. Publisher. Web address

Example:

Kenney, G. M., Cook, A., & Pelletier, J. (2009). Prospects for reducing uninsured rates among children: How much can premium assistance programs help? Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/prospects-reducing-uninsured-rates-among-children-how-much-can-premium-assistance-programs-help

Canadian Council of Refugees. (2019). Report: National forum on human trafficking. https://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/trafficking-forum-report-2019_fi...

Notice:

If a document from an NGO has no author, follow the rules for a corporate author.
If the document is in print, follow the rules for print publications, including the publishing information (city and publisher).
When a URL is too long to fit on one line, create a break where there is punctuation (period, slash, dash); the punctuation starts the next line. Do not end the URL with a period if it is not in the original.
In Canadian Council of Refugees example, the author was the same as the publisher, so the publisher was not included in the reference.

Lecture notes posted to Blackboard

References

Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Lecture title [Type of resource (lecture notes, PowerPoint Slides etc)]. Name of Site. Web address

Example:

Aigh, P. U. (2010). Did George Berkley die when his girlfriend stopped seeing him? [PowerPoint slides]. Trent University Blackboard. http://www.trentu.cas/admin/it/webct/

Notice:

APA 7 (2020) provides a specific example of how to cite lecture notes or slides posted to a course site. See example 102 (p. 347) for more examples.
When a URL is too long to fit on one line, create a break where there is punctuation (period, slash, dash). As you can see in the example, the punctuation starts the next line. Do not end the URL with a period if it is not in the original.

Blog Post

References

Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of blog post.Title of Blog. URL

Example:

Wood, B. (2012, June 28). Love in a dangerous time. PCVS Corner Stone. http://pcvscornerstone.blogspot.ca/2012/06/love-in-dangerous-time.html

Notice:

Always make sure the blog is an academic source or fits into your academic work. You might, for example, cite a blog post in a culture paper or cite a debate between two academics. The title of the blog post is not italicized.
The title of the blog post is not italicized but the title of the entire blog is italicized.

Podcast

References

Producer's last name, first initial. (Producer). (Year, Month Date). Title [Audio podcast]. Website. URL

Example:

O'Brien, L. (Producer). (2012, April 3). Special: 20 years after the Siege of Sarajevo [Audio podcast]. CBC. http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent

Notice:

When a URL is too long to fit on one line, create a break where there is punctuation (period, slash, dash); the punctuation starts the next line. Do not end the URL with a period if it is not in the original.

Podcast Episode

References

Host Last name, Host First Initial (Host). (Year, Month Day). Title of episode [Audio podcast episode]. In Title of podcast. Production Company. Web Addresss

Example:

Goldstein, J., & Smith, R. (Hosts). (2020, July 1). Inflation, deflation [Audio podcast episode]. In Planet Money. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/01/886036317/inflation-deflation

YouTube Video

Author Listed

References

Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Date of Publication). Title [Video]. YouTube. URL

Example:

Lotus, N. (2009, April 19). Birmingham apostrophe [Video]. YouTube. http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=NePs85mcvLc

Only Username Available

In-Text Citation

(RegisteredNurseRN, 2020)

References

Username. (Year, Month Day). Title [Video]. YouTube. URL

Example:

RegisteredNurseRN. (2020, June 24). How to walk with a cane: Nursing skill demonstration [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlWvkykfxok

Username Different from Author’s Real Name

In-Text Citation

(Spangler, 2014).

References

Author Last Name, First Initial. [Username]. (Year, Month Day). Title [Video]. YouTube. URL

Example:

Spangler, S. [Sick Science]. (2014, December 23). Thermite reaction [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcyXGtsX7j8

Notice:

Always make sure the video is an academic source or fits into your academic work. You might, for example, cite an advertisement in a visual culture paper or cite a debate between two academics. Remember, a professor's first instinct might be to cringe at a YouTube reference. However, if it is a legitimate source and fits with your work, there may be no problem.

TED Talk

TED Talk from the TED Website

If you access a TED talk from the TED website, use the speaker as the author of the.

Reference

Speaker's Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month). Title of talk [Video]. TED Conferences. Web address

Example:

Cathcart, W. (2020, June). The future of digital communication and privacy [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/will_cathcart_the_future_of_digital_communicat...

TED Talk from YouTube

If you access a TED talk from YouTube, list TED as the author as it is the organization that uploaded the talk.

In-Text Citation

(TED, 2020).

Reference

TED. (Year, Month Day). Speaker: Title of talk [Video]. YouTube. Web address

Example:

TED. (2020, July 8). Al Gore: The new urgency of climate change [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQeok_5j2So

Computer Software

Do not cite common software programs, such as Word or Excel. However, if you used specialty software in completing an assignment, include a reference.

Reference

Author or Name of Group. (Year). Title of software (Version Number) [Computer software]. Publisher (if different from author). Web address

Example

Autodesk, Ltd. (2020) AutoCAD LT 2020 (Version Q.47.0.0) [Computer software]. https://www.autodesk.ca/en/products/autocad-lt/overview?plc=ACDLT&term=1...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Generator (like OpenAI ChatGPT)

On the APA Style Blog, McAdoo (2023) recommends citing an AI generator such as ChatGPT as a personal communication. In some cases, it may be better to treat it like computer software (see format above).

In-text citation

When asked why bees swarm, ChatGPT replied “Bees swarm as a natural part of their reproductive and survival instincts” (OpenAI, 2023).

Reference

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model].

Social Media Posts

APA 7 (2020) provides extensive direction on how to cite information from a social media site, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. These posts may contain a combination of text, images, and audiovisual files. Your reference should indicate the content of both text and multimedia posts, using up to the first 20 words of text in place of a title and a description of multimedia files in square brackets following the posts.

If the poster has a username different from their real name, include the username in square brackets following their name.

In-Text Citation

(Ontario Community and Social Services, 2020)

Reference

Author’s Last name or Group Name [@username]. (Year, Month Day). Up to first 20 words of the post [Description of multimedia] [Tweet]. Twitter. Web address

Example

Ontario Community and Social Services [@ONSocialService]. (2020, July 8). #DYK that @211Ontario provides referrals to counseling services and other mental health programs across the province? [Image attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/211Ontario

Notice:

Hashtags or symbols (even emoji’s) from the original text should be preserved in the reference.

Facebook Post

In-Text Citation

(Black Lives Matter: Chicago, 2020)

(Elliot, 2020)

Reference

Author (Last name, First Initial) or Name of Group. (Year, Month Day). Up to first 20 words of the post [Description of multimedia] [Status update]. Facebook. Web address

Examples:

Black Lives Matter: Chicago. (2020, July 8). Over 2,000 people have been arrested since Saturday and so many have been beaten, slammed to the ground, had guns [Thumbnail with link] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/BlackLivesMatterChicago

Elliott, C. [@ChristineElliotON]. (2020, July 8). Proud that The Connecting People to Home & Community Care Act received royal assent today. Patients will benefit from primary [Image] [Status Update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ChristineElliottON/posts/3051020184934130

Notice:

If the author also has a username, put that name in square brackers after their name.

Instagram Image or Video

In-Text Citation

(World Health Organization, 2020)

Reference

Author [@username]. (Year, Month Day). Up to first 20 words of the post [Description of multimedia]. Instagram. Web address.

Example:

World Health Organization. [@who]. (2020, June 27). WHO’s dedicating a month to #SelfCare and it starts now! We want to make sure quality Self-care interventions [Video]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CB8NHU7jLNm/

Notice:

Include the username in square brackets following the author’s name.
Hashtags or symbols (even emoji’s) from the original text should be preserved in the reference.

Digital image (photograph, picture, drawing, artwork, infographic etc.) found on a public website

In-text Citation

When discussing an image or piece of art, include a citation to the artist/creator:

(Kennedy, 1973)

(Cullen, 1996)

References to the title of the image are italicized:

Marilyn Diptych

Figure with Copyright Attribution

Rather than using an in-text citation, create a figure and insert what is called a copyright attribution in the note field below the figure. Before the attribution put the word ‘From’ or the words “Adapted from”. Use the latter if you have changed or altered the item in any way.

From Name of Webpage, by A. A. Author, and B. B. Author, year, Site Name (DOI or URL).

Omit the site name if the site name and the author are the same.

Example:

Figure 1

Image from Marilyn Diptych, 1962 by Andy Warhol

References

The format of a reference list entry for copyrighted images are determined by its source (webpage, book, journal article etc.). Include a descriptor in square brackets after the title of the image.

Author name. (Year). Image title [Format]. Organization. URL

Example of copyrighted image from a museum webpage:

Warhol, A. (1962). Marilyn Diptych [painting]. POP goes the AGO on July 21 with the blockbuster exhibition Andy Warhol. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario. https://ago.ca/agoinsider/were-re-opening

Examples from a digital archives:

Kennedy, M. (1973). Archie [Image]. Trent University Archives. https://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/artcollection/2001.031.2

Cullen, M.S. (1996). T.H.B. Symons [Photograph]. Trent University. https://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/artcollection/2001.182.1