ENGR 301 Humans in Their Environment
College of Engineering
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

Citing Web Resources

It's not as easy to cite Web resources in your bibliography as it is to cite books because (1) standards for citing Web resources are still being developed and (2) Web resources don't have a title page where you can easily locate the information needed for a reference.

These components should be included in a reference to a Web resource.

• If author information is not listed at the top of a document, check the bottom.
• Remember that organizations or government agencies can be authors.
• If possible, try to distinguish the author of the content from the Web designer, and avoid listing the designer or graphics company as an author.
• If no author is listed, begin the reference with the title.

• If you have trouble identifying the title, check the top, left corner of the browser.
• The title of the document should appear there, above the File menu.
• It may also appear in the top, left corner of a print out (hardcopy).

Date of publication

• The date a Web document was created or last updated is frequently listed at the bottom.
• If a document includes both a date of creation and a date it was last updated, use only the latter.
• You can also find this information under <view><page info> in Netscape or <file><properties> in Microsoft Explorer.
• Include a day and month in addition to a year if they are included on the document.
• If no date is listed, use the abbreviation n.d. for "no date."

URL

• The URL or address of a Web document is located near the top of the screen in the box that may be labeled Netsite, Location, or Address. It begins as "http://"
• Be certain to capitalize the letters exactly as they appear in the web address because these addresses can be case sensitive.
• The URL appears is often referenced in hardcopies.

Date accessed

• Because Web documents can change or disappear at any time, your reference must include the date that you looked at the document.
• The date of use is often referenced in hardcopies.

A note on multi-document Web resources

If a Web resource is comprised of multiple documents (i.e., you cannot see the entire content by using the scroll bar on the right side of the screen), include only one entry for it in your bibliography. Use the information from the main or "home" page.

In MLA Style, the components are arranged this way:

Author. "Title." Date of publication. URL (Date of access).

Example of MLA Style:

Citing Electronic Sources Using APA

In APA Style, the components are arranged this way:

Author. (Date of publication). Title. [Online]. Available: URL [date of access].

Example of APA Style:

Stump, K., & Batker, D. (1996, August). Sinking fast: how factory trawlers are destroying U.S. fisheries and marine ecosystems. [Online]. Available: http://www.greenpeace.org/ ~usa /reports/biodiversity/sinking_fast/[1997, November 6].

Wooden, Cindy. (20 May 1997). Freud and Nietzsche: The Superego and the Ubermensch. [Online]. Available: http://www.beacon.edu/depts/fac/psych/quan.html.

Often, no author, no publication date, or neither is given for a webpage. In those cases, follow the regular format above omitting the information the web site did not provide.

For example:

Trouble in Paradise. [Online]. (20 May 1997). Available: http://lighthouse.edu/Sciences/docs/trouble.html [4 July 1997].

Referencing In Main Document

Within the main text, you reference your site as (Author year), i.e. (Stump and Batker 1996).

If more than two authors, cite as (White et al. 1996).

If more than two citations, separate by a semi-colon (Rutan et al. 1996; Regez 1998).

Assignment

Using the MLA format, prepare a citation for the following cites: