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McKendree Writing Center's Resources
OWL's Using APA Style

The following is excerpted from the 5th edition of the APA Publication Manual. The material provided covers commonly asked questions regarding how to cite electronic media. Please note that there have been changes in APA's style guidelines for electronic resources with the publication of the 5th edition of the Publication Manual. (The Manual BF 76.7 .P83 2001 is always on reserve at the Circulation Desk.)

Because electronic media change rapidly, we will update this page regularly as there are additions, changes, or clarifications to APA style.

Basic Reference Format for Online Journals
from the EBSCO Databases:

Author (date of original source). Article title. Original source of article, page numbers. Retrieved [month day, year,] from [source] database ([name of database]).

For example:

Tator, C., Carson, J. D., & Cushman, R. (2000). Hockey injuries of the spine in Canada, 1966 - 1996.
     CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 162(6), 787+. Retrieved November 15, 2000,
     from EBSCOhost database (Academic Search Elite).

Instead of footnote or endnote, the author's last name and the publication year (original source / date of visit to site) are placed in parentheses within the body of the text.

For example: (Tator, Carson & Cushman, 2000)

The examples shown above are basic examples of the APA style. For more information, see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). For more information on electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association, see www.apa.org/journals/webref.html.

Note: When citing EBSCOhost, EBSCO is always uppercase, host is always lowercase, italicized.

Electronic Media and URLs

General Forms for Electronic References

Reference Examples for Electronic Source Materials

Citations in Text of Electronic Material


Citing Legal Materials in APA Style

Documenting Online Resources