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Referencing Toolkit

Introduction

How-To Video

  Victoria University Library. (2017, January 23). APA Referencing : web pages [video file]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/200743868 

How to Reference

Basic Format to Reference a Webpage

The basics of a reference list entry for a webpage on a website (individual author):

  • Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.
  • Year, Month Day(in round brackets). Use the most exact date possible
  • Title of webpage (in italics).
  • Website name.
  • URL.
  • The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 1.27cm.

Example:

Johnson, A. (2018, May 24). “It doesn’t need to be this way”: The promise of specialised early intervention in psychosis services. IEPA. https://iepa.org.au/network-news/it-doesnt-need-to-be-this-way-the-promise-of-specialised-early-intervention-in-psychosis-services/

Johnson, A. (2018, May 24). “It doesn’t need to be this way”: The promise of specialised early intervention in psychosis services. IEPA. https://iepa.org.au/network-news/it-doesnt-need-to-be-this-way-the-promise-of-specialised-early-intervention-in-psychosis-services/

Please note:

  • Include author(s) surname for web page/ web document references where possible. An author may be a corporate body or organisation responsible for creating, producing or publishing a webpage or website.
  • Where there is no identifiable author or authoring body, use the title of the webpage or website.
  • Some webpages will have a 'last updated'; date, use this only if it is clearly related to the content you are citing, not if it applies to the whole website. Otherwise use 'n.d.' for 'no date'.

Examples

Citation Styles

Material type

In-text examples

Reference list examples

Webpage on a Website: Individual Author

…family experience with psychosis (Johnson, 2018).

OR

Ava Johnson (2018) reflects on her own experiences…

Johnson, A. (2018, May 24). “It doesn’t need to be this way”: The promise of specialised early intervention in psychosis services. IEPA. https://iepa.org.au/network-news/it-doesnt-need-to-be-this-way-the-promise-of-specialised-early-intervention-in-psychosis-services/ 

Where a title already contains punctuation, such as the double quotes in the above example, retain these in your reference.
Webpage on a Website: Group Author and no date

Of course, massage is also effective for many musculoskeletal disorders (Association of Massage Therapists, n.d.).

Association of Massage Therapists. (n.d.). Benefits of massage.  http://www.amt.org.au/massage-and-you/benefits-of-massage.html

Use the abbreviation n.d. (no date) in place of the year of publication.
When the author and the site name are the same, omit the site name.
Webpage on a Website: Retrieval date required

Australia's population as at January 2020 is 25,577,330, and is increasing at the rate of one person every 1 minute and 23 seconds (Australian Bureau of Statistics, n.d.).

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (n.d.). Population clock. Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/ 1647509ef7e25faaca2568a900154b63?OpenDocument

Use (n.d.) in place of the year and include a retrieval statement for any webpage where the contents are continuously updated and not archived.
Where the author and name of a webpage are the same, omit the site name.
Web Document: Organisational Author

Exercise may be the last thing you feel like doing, but it can help (Black Dog Institute, 2017).

Black Dog Institute. (2017). Managing depression with exercise. https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/default-source/factsheets/managingdepressionwithexercise.pdf?sfvrsn=16

Web Document: No Author

…may not predict outcomes in later life (Researchers Replicate Famous, 2018).

OR

A recent article, Researchers Replicate Famous (2018), revisited earlier findings…

When a work has no identified author, cite in-text the first few words of the reference entry (usually the title) and the year. If the title is italicised in the Reference List, also use italics in the in text citation. Use Title Case in the in text citation, even though sentence case is used in the Reference List.

Researchers replicate famous marshmallow test, make new observations. (2018, May 25). Medical Xpress. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-05-replicate-famous-marshmallow.html?utm_source=tabs&utm_medium=link&utm _campaign=story-tabs

Blog Post & Comment

…attempts to dissuade inadvertently entrench a mistaken belief (Stafford, 2018).

or

…withdrawal from antipsychotic medications (markps2, 2017).

Note that the author's screen name does not have any capitals, so we retain it exactly as found, both in-text and in the Reference list (see right).

Stafford, T. (2018, January 3). The backfire effect is elusive. Mind Hacks. https://mindhacks.com/2018/01/03/the-backfire-effect-is-elusive/

A blog comment where the author uses a username or screen name would be referenced as follows:

markps2. (2017, May 31). For researchers to study… when people stop taking “Antipsychotics also known as neuroleptics or major tranquilizers” they can have withdrawal [Comment on the article "What triggers that feeling of being watched?"]. Mind Hacks. https://mindhacks.com/2017/05/26/what-triggers-that-feeling-of-being-watched/#comments

If the comment has no title, use the first up to 20 words of the comment as the title, retaining punctuation.
Provide the URL that takes the reader directly to the comment (if possible).