Recommended APA Electronic Reference Formats



Citing Electronic References – APA Style

Compiled by Catherine Troy, MDiv, MLIS

Librarian II, Gaylord Library

Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication

Citing Email Communications

Email communications from individuals should be cited as personal communications, as noted in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The format in text (personal communications are not cited in the reference list) is as follows:

L. A. Carter (personal communication, March 28, 1997).

Citing a Non-Periodical Web Site

Author or sponsoring organization. (Date). Document title or name of Web page. Retrieved [date] from [pdf page—if available] at [URL]

Global Advertising Strategies, Inc. (2004). 10 reasons to enter ethnic markets. Retrieved July 31, 2006 from

To cite an entire Web site (but not a specific document on the site) within a paper, it's sufficient to give the address of the site in the text. No reference entry is needed.

According to the web site, NAJA is the official name for the Native American journalists Association ().

Citing Specific Documents from a Web Site

Web documents share many of the same elements found in a print document (e.g., authors, titles, dates). Therefore, the citation for a Web document often follows a format similar to that for print, with some information omitted and some added. Here are some examples of how to cite documents posted on Web sites.

NOTE: for all references, indent the first line but not successive lines. All lines are double-spaced.

1. An article from a print magazine or journal found online:

Smolkin, R. (2006, June/July). Adapt or die [Electronic version]. American Journalism Review, 28 (3), 16-23.

Beaudoin, C. E., & Thorson, E. (2004). Social capital in rural and urban communities: Testing differences in media effects and models [Electronic version]. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 81 (2), 378-399.

2. An article from an e-journal:

Brewer, H. A. (2004, July 31). Analysis of scholarly journals. Communication & Research, 72-83. Retrieved August 1, 2005, from

3. A magazine or journal article from a database:

Author(s). (Date). Title. Magazine or Journal Title, volume (issue), paging. Retrieved [date], from [database], Article No. (if given).

Blackburn-Brockman, E. & Belanger, K. (2001, January). One page or two? A national study of CPA recruiters' preferences for resume length. Journal of Business Communication, 38 (1), 29. Retrieved February10, 2003, from InfoTrac database, Article No. A713273.

4. A newspaper article:

Author(s). (Date). Title. Name of Newspaper. Retrieved [date] from [URL]

Dean, B. (2006, July 28). City workers make efforts to beat heat. The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 31, 2006 from

5. The basic retrieval statement for on-line databases is:

Author (s). (Date). Title. Name of Source. Retrieved [month day, year] from [source] on-line database ([name of database], [item no.—if applicable]).

Bowie, L. (March 31, 2006). U. S. education secretary applauds state move. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 1, 2006 from Quick News from LexisNexis Academic on-line database.

6. The basic retrieval statement for databases accessed via the Web is:

Author(s). (Date). Title. Name of Source, Volume number (issue), page number(s). Retrieved [month day, year] from [source] database ([name of database], [item no.—if applicable]) on the World Wide Web: [URL]

Fisher, H. (April 2006). Strong cover letter, resume keys to getting noticed. Quill, 94 (3), 45. Retrieved August 1, 2006 from EBSCO database (Academic Search Elite) on the World Wide Web:

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