Citing Sources from Online Databases Using APA Style

A note on APA 6th ed.

The style of citations for online sources has changed substantially with the sixth edition of the Publication manual. The most important change is in how the access information is cited. Articles or other materials found in a database are not cited with the name of the database in which it was found. When possible, a DOI, or Digital Object Identifier, is given. In practice DOIs are mainly available for scholarly journal articles, and not always then. When no DOI is present, the home page of the source publication, not the database, is given.

Another change relates to multiple authors. Up to seven authors are named individually. If there are more than seven, the first six authors and the last author are named, with an ellipsis (...) in between. See the second journal article example, below.

Where to find the DOI

As mentioned above, the DOI is available mainly for scholarly journals. That means that a database that includes magazines or reference books as well as scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals may have some articles with DOI and some without.

The DOI is sometimes given as part of the text of an article, above or below the abstract. See also under PDF files, below.

Gale databases (aka Infotrac)

Many, but not all, Gale databases give a DOI where one is available. Click the title of the article to display the abstract/full text page. Click Show details under the journal title. It will be shown in the form

	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2009.02.046

Remove the http://dx.doi.org/ and substitute doi:

      doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2009.02.046

ScienceDirect

Click on the title of the article to display the full text. The DOI is shown at the top of the Article tab, above the title of the article.

PDF files (any database)

Some journals print a DOI for each article, usually at the top or bottom of the first page of the article, or near the abstract.

When there's no DOI

If there is a periodical article without a DOI, the APA style requires you to give the home page of the magazine, journal or newspaper. You will have to look this up using a search engine such as Google.

Articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers

APA style calls for references to be typed double-spaced, in hanging indention, as shown in the examples. Periodical titles should be written in italics.

General format for articles:

Author [Last name], A. [First initial(s)], Author, B., & Author, C. (Year). 
      Article title. Periodical Name, volume (add issue if necessary), paging 
      if given, or other indicator of length. doi: or Retrieved from URL of periodical 
      home page

Magazine Articles

For magazines, give specific issue month and day. Examples:

Thurston, P. (2009, March 15). Conflict along the Amazon. Spectrum, 35(12), 

      26-27. Retrieved from http://www.magzies.com/spectrum
      

Jost, K. (2004, November 5). Sentencing debates. CQ Researcher, 14(39), 

      925-948. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/

Journal Articles

Example of journal article with no DOI

Article was found on a library database, but by rule, the home page of the journal is given in the citation.

McMaster, K. L., Kung, S., Han, I., & Cao, M. (2008). Peer-assisted 

      learning strategies: A "Tier 1" approach to promoting English learners' 

      response to intervention. Exceptional Children 74, 194-214. 

      Retrieved from http://journals.cec.sped.org/ec

Example of an article with eight or more authors, with DOI

Fredericks, S., Jordan, F., Burke, M., Yancey, T., Jackson, M., Trollope,

       A.,...Kong, K. (2008). Cognitive ergonomics and concept-stage 

       desk design. Journal of Ergonomic Research, 25(3), 64-283.
      
       doi:10.1016/j.erg.2008.05.004

Newspaper Articles

Example from The Oregonian on LexisNexis Academic:

Previn, T. (2007, June 12). Oregon highlights. The Oregonian, 

      D8. Retrieved from http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/

Aggregated databases (combined periodical and reference): Literature Resource Center

Articles reprinted in Gale reference books

These reprints appear in the Literature Resource Center and can be identified by the phrase Rpt. in at the beginning of a second line of source information on the results page:

Palmer, J.W. (2004). From Owl Creek to la Riviere du Hibou: The film 

      adaptation of Bierce's "An occurrence at Owl Creek bridge." 

      In J. Palmisano (Ed.), Short Story Criticism, 72 (pp. 363-371).

      Detroit: Gale. (Reprinted from Southern Humanities Review, 11, 363-71,
      
      1977) Retrieved from http://infotrac.galegroup.com

Articles taken directly from journals

Journal articles show the title of the journal followed by a volume and issue number, with a date in parentheses. There is no "Rpt." statement:

Articles which have not been reprinted in a reference book are cited like any other periodical article without a DOI:

Samide, D.E. (2005, May). Anatomy of a classic: Ambrose Bierce cleverly used 

      some key literary tools in crafting his Civil War tale "An occurrence at 
      
      Owl Creek Bridge." The Writer, 118(5), 42. Retrieved from 
      
      http://www.writermag.com/wrt/

Aggregated Reference Databases

Aggregated Reference Databases: Oxford Reference Online

Crocker, R. (2001). Addams, Jane. In P.S. Boyer (Ed.), The Oxford Companion to 

      United States History. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from 

      http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t119.e0015

Aggregated Reference Databases: LexisNexis Academic

Periodical (newspaper and magazine) articles in LexisNexis Academic are cited in the ordinary way. Reference works are somewhat problematic, as it is not always easy to identify whether there was an original printed publication, and complete publication information for the original printed publication is not given. Citations of articles from reference books generally give the specific URL for the article, but LexisNexis does not provide persistent URLs, so we recommend using the URL for the database.

In looking at LexisNexis results, you may find it helpful to filter your results by clicking on the Categories at left of the results screen. They will help you to know whether you are looking at directories (i.e., reference materials), magazine articles, etc.

Jeannette Elizabeth Brown. (2009, September 11). The Complete Marquis 

      Who's Who (R) biographies. Marquis Who's Who. Retrieved from  
      
      http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic

Note: LexisNexis Academic also includes laws, regulations, and other legal information. Legal citations follow a complex system. Ask your librarian for assistance.

Format for article in Pro & Con Online

Congressional Digest Corporation's database, Pro & Con Online, includes articles from its three magazines: Congressional Digest, Supreme Court Debates, and International Debates. Each issue of one of these magazines is divided into two sections. The first, or feature, section discusses the overall topic, and is divided into subsections. Here is an example of a citation for either the entire issue or for the first, (feature) section:

Covering uninsured children: The SCHIP reauthorization debate. 

      (2007, October). Congressional Digest, 86(8).

      Retrieved from http://www.pro-and-con.org/

Note: The second part of each issue is headed Pro & Con, and asks a question relating to the featured topic. The questions are answered for or against by arguments taken from congressional speeches (in Congressional Digest), arguments before the Supreme Court (in Supreme Court Debates), or other documents (in International Debates). If you wish to cite only one argument, you may wish to begin with the name of the author, and use the captioned question as the title, e.g.,

Etheridge, B. (2007, October). Should the House pass H.R. 3162, the 

      Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act? Congressional Digest, 

      86. Retrieved from http://www.pro-and-con.org/

General format for electronic books:

Author [Last name], A. [Initial(s)] (Year). Title of the book. Place of publication: 
	publisher. Retrieved from URL

Note: In netLibrary, the author, place of publication, publisher, and year of publication are listed under eBook Details.

Example:

Engle, Susan. (1999). Context is everything: The nature of memory.

	New York: W.H. Freeman. Retrieved from http://www.netlibrary.com.

Art Images from ARTstor or CAMIO

Riemenschneider, T. (Sculptor). [ca. 1490-1500]. Saint Jerome and the  

      Lion. [Photograph of sculpture in alabaster]. Cleveland Museum 
      
       of Art. Retrieved from http://library.artstor.org/library/secure/
       
       ViewImages?id=8D1Efjk2NjsgQi85fzN6Sn0o&userId=gDJKfj4r&zoomparams=

Square brackets around the date indicate that is an approximation. The medium of the art object is given in square brackets after the title.

Streaming Video from Theatre in Video 

Branagh, K. & Kafno, P. (Directors). Twelfth Night, or, what you 

     will. W. Shakespeare (Writer). (1988). [Streaming video]. San Diego,

     CA: Renaissance Theatre Company. Retrieved from http://chemeketa

     .ativ.alexanderstreet.com/video/player/track/3221364255

Note: APA guidelines for streaming media of performances are scanty. This is our suggestion.

Source: 
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the 
      American Psychological Association (6th ed).  Washington, D.C.: 
      Author.  ·See also http://www.apastyle.org/index.html.

An audiovisual tutorial on APA style, 6th ed., can be found at http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm. More examples of citations can be found at
http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/data/resources/references-example.pdf

For assistance, please call the library at 503-399-5231 or email reference@chemeketa.edu

Address of this page: http://library.chemeketa.edu/instruction/apa.htm

Updated by Reference.