APA Examples for Specific Types of Sources

Revised Fall 2017

Websites

Website with Named Author(s)

If you can identify the name(s) of the individual author(s) of the material on the website, list the

name(s) as the authors.

Example:

Porter, M.E. & Kramer, M.R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(2),

62-77. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/creating-shared-value

Website with Known Source but No Named Author

This is a website where you know the company or entity who owns it, but you don’t know the

name of the person who wrote the material, such as a company’s website or Biography.com. Use

the name of the entity that created the site as your author.

Example:

Biography.com Editors. (n.d.). Mark Cuban biography. Retrieved from

http://www.biography.com/people/mark-cuban-562656

Another Example:

The Walt Disney Company. (2016). Recent news. Retrieved from

https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/?ppLink=pp_wdig

Website with Unknown Author

Occasionally you may find a source that does not have an author. When that happens, use the

title in place of the author. For example, you might find a news story written by an unknown

Associated Press author, in which case the reference page entry would look like this:

All 33 Chile miners freed in flawless rescue. (2010, October 13). Retrieved from

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39625809/ns/world_news-americas/

The in-text citation that corresponds with this reference would look like this:

(“All 33 Chile miners,” 2010).

NOTE:

If it is unclear

when website

content was

published, use

(n.d.) in place of a

date in your in-text

citations and

reference entries.

Revised Fall 2017

Journal Articles

Journal Article (electronic-no doi: digital object identifier)

Format: Author, A. (publication date). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume

number(issue number), page numbers of the article. Retrieved from

https://URL

Example Reference Page Entry:

Porter, M.E., & Kramer, M.R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business

Review, 89(2), 62-77. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-idea-

creating-shared-value

Journal Article (electronic with doi)

Format: Author, A. (publication date). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume

number(issue number), page numbers of the article. doi: 7. 1234/123456

*When citing the doi, there is no need to include a URL.

Example Reference Page Entry:

Porter, M.E., & Kramer, M.R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business

Review, 89(2), 62-77. doi: 10.3692/72004

Journal Article (print)

Format: Author, A. (publication date). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume

number(issue number), page numbers of the article.

Example Reference Page Entry:

Porter, M.E., & Kramer, M.R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business

Review, 89(2), 62-77.

Revised Fall 2017

Books

Book (print)

Format: Author, A. (publication date). Title of work. Publication location: publishing

company.

Example Reference Page Entry:

Skloot, R. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York, NY: Random

House, Inc.

Book (electronic)

Format: Author, A. (publication date). Title of work. Available from https://URL

Example Reference Page Entry:

Skloot, R. (2010, February). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. Available from

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-

lacks-1#readThisOn

Videos

Format: Author, A. (date). Title of document [Format description]. Retrieved from

https://URL.

*This example also shows how to use a video timestamp in an in-text citation to cite a

direct quote from a video.

Example In-text Citations:

(Liotta, 2016) paraphrase

(Liotta, 2016, 3:03) direct quote

3:03 is the video timestamp at which the cited information begins. A range may

also be used, e.g. 3:03—3:45.

Example Reference Page Entry:

Liotta, D. (2016, February 11). How to fight Zika and other neglected diseases

[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4kE

8C_YhSQ

Revised Fall 2017

Personal Communication

(Interviews, phone conversations, letters, e-mails, etc.)

Personal interviews, whether conducted in person, by e-mail, or by telephone, need to be cited

within the text of your paper. However, because the information cannot be found later by a

reader, personal communication is NOT included on your References page.

There are two ways to cite a personal interview, depending on whether the name of the person

being interviewed is mentioned in your writing:

1. If you do not use the name of the person you interviewed in your writing, include it in

your citation. Note that only the first initial and last name are necessary.

Example:

After interviewing my grandfather, I learned that starting a new business can be very

expensive (G. Robertson, personal communication, September 28, 2015).

2. If you do use the name of the person you interviewed in your writing, you do not need

to include it in your citation.

Example:

According to Gordon Robertson (personal communication, September 28, 2015), starting

a new business can be very expensive.

** Please note that the APA recommends keeping all notes and e-mail correspondence from

personal interviews in case your accuracy is questioned.

APA formatting is very complicated!

If you need help citing wikis, blogs, podcasts, lecture notes, online discussion boards, software,

presentation slides, graphic data, etc.: Make an appointment with the BBCC by visiting the

website: www.montana.edu/business/bracken/bbcc.

Consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.), which can

be found online or in the BBCC, 110 Jabs Hall.