Electronic Sources

Document has a DOI / o  Include the DOI.
o  No additional source information (such as URL) is needed. / James, R. (2005). The future of nursing practice. Journal of International Nursing, 23, 55-59. doi:xxxxxxx / 6.31
6.32
7.01 – 1, 2, 5, 12, 13, 15
7.02 – 19, 24
Document is located in the library databases, no DOI / o  Use Internet address of the publisher of the journal (URL) as document source.
o  Reference the specific page, not the home page, where possible.
o  Do not put a period after a URL. / Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/Publications/Journals.aspx
Note: There are several ways to locate the publisher of the journal. Please see the suggestions below. / 6.31
6.32
7.01 – 3, 4, 8
7.02 – 19
7.04 – 32
7.05 – 42
Document is located on the Internet, no DOI / o  Use Internet address (URL) as document source.
o  Reference the specific page, not the home page, where possible.
o  Do not put a period after a URL. / Retrieved from http://www.pch.gc.ca/his.html / 6.31
6.32
7.01 – 3, 4, 8
7.02 – 19
7.04 – 32
7.05 – 42

As you can see, in most cases, there are really two basic ways of referencing electronic documents. Which format you use will depend on whether there is or is not a DOI. Note that the APA examples include some additional referencing for rarely used forms, so if you are unsure, check the type of document you are referencing.

In most cases, you will be referencing journal articles, and, when no DOI is available, you will need to locate the URL for the publisher of the journal. Here are some suggestions for finding this information:

1.  Use the Journal Title List search function in the library to find the electronic version of the journal in the library database. In many cases, you will see the publisher URL listed on the information about the journal you have selected. See the example below.

2.  If the library database does not provide a URL for the publisher of the journal, it will provide the name of the publisher. You can then search the Internet (google) to locate the publisher and find the home page of the journal. See the example below:

In this case, the American Counseling Association publishes the journal, and a quick internet search will turn up the following home page for the publisher of the journal: http://www.counseling.org/Publications/Journals.aspx. Be sure not to simply list the URL for the American Counseling Association. You should find the actual journal page on the publisher’s site.

Writing & APA Lesson 6 Commentary 9 p. 1