Some sources, such as websites, may not have the full information to create a citation. APA has guidelines for dealing with missing components of a citation, both in-text and reference entry.
Author, A.A. etc = Author's Last Name, First Name Initial. Middle Name Initial.
Reference page citation:
1. No DOI:
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of entry. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of encyclopedia or dictionary (edition if given and is not first edition). Database Name database. |
Carruthers, E.P. (2002). Nursing. In Funk & Wagnalls new world encyclopedia. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia database.
2. DOI:
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of entry. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of encyclopedia or dictionary (edition if given and is not first edition). https://doi.org/XXXX |
Gannon, P. (n.d.). Brain evolution. In AccessScience Mcgraw-Hill encyclopedia of science and technology (10th ed.). https://doi.org/10/1036/1097-8542.YB040925
In-Text:
Paraphrase: (Carruthers, 2002)
Quote: (Carruthers, 2002, Functions and Duties section, para. 2)
Rules:
For In-Text, when there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from.
Reference page citation:
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication).Title of entry. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of encyclopedia or dictionary (edition if given and is not first edition). Retrieved Month, Day, year from url |
Beckwith, J., & Foley, D. (2012). Music composition. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 15, 2021 from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/music-composition
In-Text:
Paraphrase: (Beckwith & Foley, 2012)
Quote: (Beckwith & Foley, 2012)
Rules:
If the entry has no page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings , you can leave this out of the citation.
Reference page citation:
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of entry. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of encyclopedia or dictionary (Volume number, pp. first page of entry-last page of entry). Publisher Name often shortened. |
King, P.N., & Wester L. (1998). Hawaii. In The world book encyclopedia (Vol. 9, pp. 88-110). World Book.
In-Text:
Paraphrase: (King & Wester, 1998)
Quote: (King & Wester, 1998, p. 90)
Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college or university assignment. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check your assignment.
Reference page citation:
Title of entry. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved Month Day, Year that website was viewed, from URL for entry |
Veterinary medicine. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 18, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterinary_medicine
In-Text:
Paraphrase: ("Veterinary Medicine," n.d.)
Quote: ("Veterinary Medicine," n.d., Paraveterinary Workers section, para. 1)
Rules:
According to APA, n.d. is used instead of a date of publication as the date is difficult to determine. Include the date you viewed the website as the content is likely to change over time.
If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter.
When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from.
Reference page citation:
Title of entry. (Year of Publication). In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of encyclopedia or dictionary (edition if given and is not first edition). Retrieved from Database Name database or website url. |
Landscape gardening. (2004). In K. Barber (Ed.), The Canadian Oxford dictionary (2nd ed.). Retrieved from Oxford Reference Online database.
In-Text:
Paraphrase: ("Landscape Gardening," 2004)
Quote: ("Landscape Gardening," 2004)
Rules:
If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter.
If the entry has no page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings so this information is left out of the citation.
Authors/Editors
If an encyclopedia or dictionary entry has no author or editor, begin the citation with the title of the specific entry, followed by the year of publication in round brackets.
Titles
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title of the entry and the title of the encyclopedia or dictionary.
Capitalize the first letter of proper names in titles, such as names of places or people. Example: Canada
Place of Publication
For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. Examples: Toronto, ON ; Tokyo, Japan
Publication Information for Online Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Don't include the place of publication or a publisher for an online encyclopedia or dictionary.
Some electronic content is assigned a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier (D O I). If a D O I is provided for an encyclopedia or dictionary, include it after the name of the encyclopedia or dictionary of the entry and edition as "doi:doi number".
You do not need to put a period after a D O I number.
If no doi number is given, add Retrieved from ______________ database as opposed to the URL for an entry or database. This is to avoid difficulties with links.
If you have a doi number and would like to look up an item with it, click here and enter the doi number where indicated.
If you accessed the encyclopedia or dictionary through a website, provide the url instead.
In-Text Citation - No Author
If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter. The title of the entry will be followed by a comma and the year of publication. If you are quoting directly from the entry, you will also add the number of the page where the quote appears.
Example:
Paraphrasing: ("Cat Care," 2011)
Quoting: ("Cat Care," 2011, p. 38)
In-Text Citation - Page Numbers
Page numbers may not be available for an online dictionary or encyclopedia entry. Here are some options if you have no page numbers and you are quoting directly:
If paragraph numbers are given, use that number where you'd normally put the page number with the word "para." in front of it. Example: (Smith, 2012, para. 3). This example refers to the third paragraph in the entry
If you have no paragraph numbers, but the entry has section headings, you can use those. Encyclopedia entries often have section headings. Enter the section heading name, followed by the word "section" and then the number of the paragraph within that section. Example: (Smith, 2012, Climate section, para. 2). This example refers to the second paragraph under the Climate section of the entry.
If you have no paragraph numbers and no headings, as may be the case for many dictionary entries, skip the page/paragraph/section information and give the author's last name and date only. Example: (Smith, 2012)
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