- Electronic Databases
To cite a full-text article you found on one of our electronic databases through the web, such as the JSTOR or Social Sciences Index, follow this guideline:
Author Last, A. A., Author Last, B. B., & Author Last, C. C. (Year). Title of
article [Electronic version]. Title of Periodical, xx, xxx-xxx. Retrieved month
day, year, from database
Date of retrieval indicates the date you visited the site. This information is important, as online information changes frequently.
Example of an article retrieved from the Journal of Bibliographic Research:
Borman, W.C., Hanson, M. A., Oppler, S. H., Pulakos, E. D., & White, L. A.
(1993). Role of early supervisory experience in supervisor performance.
of Applied Psychology, 78, 443-449. Retrieved October 23, 2000, from
PsycARTICLES database.
- World Wide Web
To cite a web site, use the structure you would use for print, but attach the web information in a retrieval statement at the end of the reference. For a website maintained by an organization, use the following format:
Organization. (Date). Title of article [important nonroutine information]. Retrieval
date, access information.
Example of an web site by an organization action alert on the APA web site:
American Psychological Association. (1995, September 15). APA public policy
action alert: Legislation would affect grant recipients [Announcement].
Retrieved January 25, 1996, from http://www.apa.org/ppo/istook.html
As time progresses, more documents are offered via the internet only. For an internet only periodical, the procedure is essentially the same, except that in such a periodical, volume and issue numbers are often irrelevant. If they are not used , the name of the periodical is all that can de provided in the reference.
The following is the format for such a periodical found online:
Author Last, A. A., Author Last, B. B., & Author Last, C. C. (Year). Title of
document. Title of Periodical, xx, xxx-xxx. Retrieved month day, year, from
URL
Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize
health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3, Article 0001a. Retrieved
November 20, 2000, from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/
pre0030001a.html
For a nonperiodical document, use the following guide:
Author Last, A. A., Author Last, B. B., & Author Last, C. C. (Year). Title of
work. Retrieved month day, year, from URL.
Example of the citation of a nonperiodical work:
Maida, Xavier. (2000). The cuteness of children as related to the propagation of
the human race. Retrieved, April 2, 2002 from http://nlc-lbc.nd.pm/psychology/
child.html
- CD-ROMs
The APA no longer differentiates between forms of electronic media in citation, except that a small note is required detailing the medium. Follow the guidelines just as you would for a website, but change the available from line. Follow the general guideline:
Author Last, A. A., Author Last, B. B., & Author Last, C. C. (Year). Title of
article [Electronic version]. Title of Periodical, xx, xxx-xxx. Retrieved month
day, year, from database on CD-ROM, release Date, item number.
An example of a citation for a CD-ROM:
Halamandaris, K. F. & Power, K. G. (1999, April). Individual differences, social
support and coping with the examination stress: A study of the psychosocial and
academic adjustment of first year home students [Abstract]. Personality and
Individual Differences, 26. Retrieved from SilverPlatter PsycLIT database on
CD-ROM, June 1999 release, 1999-10573-005.
- Email message and Listserv message
To document an e-mail message, listserv message, or message from an electronic bulletin board, cite it as a personal communication (p. 214). Personal communications are not cited in the reference list – cite them in text only. The format is as follows:
Chris Spatz (personal communication, August 16, 2001)
or
(Nayeenanajar, Samir, personal communication, September 14, 1999)
- FTP site