APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Web Page with No Author

  • General Style Guidelines
  • One Author or Editor
  • Two Authors or Editors
  • Three to Five Authors or Editors
  • Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
  • Article in a Reference Book
  • Edition other than the First
  • Translation
  • Government Publication
  • Journal Article with 1 Author
  • Journal Article with 2 Authors
  • Journal Article with 3–20 Authors
  • Journal Article 21 or more Authors
  • Magazine Article
  • Newspaper Article
  • Basic Web Page
  • Web page from a University site
  • Web Page with No Author
  • Entry in a Reference Work
  • Government Document
  • Film and Television
  • Youtube Video
  • Audio Podcast
  • Electronic Image
  • Twitter/Instagram
  • Lecture/PPT
  • Conferences
  • Secondary Sources
  • Citation Support
  • Avoiding Plagiarism
  • Formatting Your Paper

Document from a Web site with no Author

  • When citing sources that you find on the Internet you only need to include a retrieval date if the information you viewed is likely to change over time.  If you reference an article from a news source (e.g., CNN, NBC, Washington Post) or a site that may experience continuous updates, you would then need to include a retrieval date.
  • New in 7th edition: You must include the site name in your citation, unless the site name is the same as the corporate author. For example, a citation of a CDC report would not include the site name.

Subject Guide

Profile Photo

  • << Previous: Web page from a University site
  • Next: Blog post >>

Creative Commons License

  • Last Updated: Feb 6, 2024 11:45 AM
  • URL: https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/APA

GW logo

  • Himmelfarb Intranet
  • Privacy Notice
  • Terms of Use
  • GW is committed to digital accessibility. If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access content on this page, let us know via the Accessibility Feedback Form .
  • Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library
  • 2300 Eye St., NW, Washington, DC 20037
  • Phone: (202) 994-2850
  • [email protected]
  • https://himmelfarb.gwu.edu

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to cite in APA when there are no authors

How to cite in APA when there are no authors

This article covers how to cite in APA Style (7th ed.) when there are no known authors for a reference or when the author is unknown or cannot be reasonably determined. Before treating a reference as though it has no author, consider whether a group or organization (such as a government agency, association, nonprofit organization, business, hospital, task force, or study group) could be the author by checking the cover or title page.

Citing in-text when there are no authors

APA 7th ed. uses the author-date citation system for citing references in-text. In parenthetical citations, this structure includes the author’s last name and the publication year (with a comma separating them) in parentheses. In narrative citations, the author’s last name is incorporated into the sentence. This formatting applies if your source has one author or if you are citing a source with multiple authors in APA .

Parenthetical citation for source with author:

(Author Last Name, Year Published)

(Cheung, 2013)

Narrative citation for source with author:

Author Last Name (Year Published)

Cheung (2013)

If a reference has an unknown author, the title of the work substitutes as the author name in the in-text citation.

  • The title should have each significant word capitalized (basically sentence case).
  • This means it is part of a larger work (like when citing a journal article from a journal in APA ).
  • If the source title is italicized in the reference list entry, italicize the title in the in-text citation (example: books when cited in APA ).

No author, source title italicized:

(Source Title , year published)

( Park Avenue Summer , 2019)

No author, source title in quotes:

(“Source Title,” year published)

(“22 New Apple Varieties,” 1997)

Author designated as “Anonymous”

Only use the capitalized word “Anonymous” in place of the author’s name when it’s overtly designated, not as a general substitute for a reference with an unknown author.

“Anonymous” as author name:

(Anonymous, year published)

(Anonymous, 2020)

Citing in the reference list when there are no authors

To add a reference with no author to the reference list, first move the title of the reference to the author position in your citation . For further information on creating reference list citations, see this guide on APA citations.

Reference list examples:

Park avenue summer. (2019). Penguin Random House.

22 new apple varieties. (1997). Food Magazine . https://foodmag.com/article/1997/22-new-apple-varietites

If the reference is overtly signed “Anonymous,” then you can add the entry to the reference list as if “Anonymous” were the author’s last name.

Anonymous. (2020). Navigating the high seas. Sea Life. https://sealife.gov

Alphabetizing the reference list for sources with no known author

Reference list entries without an author are alphabetized by the first significant word of the title.

  • Ignore the words “A,” “An,” and “The” when putting your reference list in order.
  • Begin the entry with the word “Anonymous” only if the work is signed “Anonymous.”
  • If the reference has no author and is not signed “Anonymous,” then you can alphabetize it in the reference list based on the work’s title.
  • If the title begins with a number, alphabetize the reference as though the number were spelled out. For example, you would alphabetize the number 22 as though it were written as the word “twenty-two.”

Alphabetical order of reference list example:

22 new apple varieties. (1997). Food Magazine . https://foodmag.com/article/1997/11/new-apple-varietites

Published October 28, 2020.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

  • Annotated Bibliography
  • Block Quotes
  • et al Usage
  • In-text Citations
  • Multiple Authors
  • Paraphrasing
  • Page Numbers
  • Parenthetical Citations
  • Reference Page
  • Sample Paper
  • APA 7 Updates
  • View APA Guide

Citation Examples

  • Book Chapter
  • Journal Article
  • Magazine Article
  • Newspaper Article
  • Website (no author)
  • View all APA Examples

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

To cite a source with no author or no date in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the title of the work, publisher if it is a book reference or volume and page details if it is a journal reference, and/or URL (uniform resource locator). The templates and examples for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book with no author and a book with no date are given below.

Book with no author

In-text citation template and example:

Books with no author in general, but not always, are given as parenthetical citations. If the book does not have an author, cite it by its title. If the title is too long, shorten the title in the in-text citation. Italicize the title in the in-text citation. Follow title case in the in-text citation even though the book title is in sentence case in the reference list entry. A parenthetical citation might look like this:

( Title of the Book , Publication Year)

( The Cultural Politics of Emotion , 2014)

Reference list entry template and example:

Title of the book . (Publication Year). Publisher.

The cultural politics of emotion . (2014). Edinburgh University Press

The title of the book is in italics and sentence case. While arranging the reference entry alphabetically in the reference list, arrange the entry by treating the title as author name. Remember that articles (A, An, and The), if present at the beginning of the title, should not be considered for alphabetization. When you have a numeral used in the title, consider it to be in the spelled-out form and arrange it accordingly in the reference list.

  Book with no date

If you cite a book without a date, use “n.d.” in place of the year.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cohen (n.d.)

Parenthetical:

(Cohen, n.d.)

Cohen, J. (n.d.). Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

To cite a book with no author in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the title of the book, publisher, and/or URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book along with examples are given below:

In-text citation template and examples:

Books with no author in general, but not always, are given as parenthetical citations. If the book does not have an author, cite it by its title. If the title is too long, shorten the title in the in-text citation. Italicize the title in the in-text citation. Follow title case in the in-text citation even though the book title is set in sentence case in the reference list entry. A parenthetical citation might look like this:

( Addressing Uncertainty in Oil and Natural Gas Industry , 2009)

Title of the book . (Publication Year). Publisher. URL

Addressing uncertainty in oil and natural gas industry greenhouse gas inventories: Technical considerations and calculation methods . (2009). American Petroleum Institute. http://www.api.org/~/media/Files/EHS/climate-change/Addressing_Uncertainty.pdf

You need to set the title of the book in italics and sentence case. While arranging the reference entry alphabetically in the reference list, arrange the entry by treating the title as author name. Remember that articles (A, An, and The), if present at the beginning of the title, should not be considered for alphabetization. When you have a numeral used in the title, consider it to be in the spelled-out form and arrange it accordingly in the reference list.

APA Citation Examples

Writing Tools

Citation Generators

Other Citation Styles

Plagiarism Checker

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

Banner

APA 7 Citation & Style

  • Why Cite Sources?
  • How Citations Work in APA
  • Database Sources (Journal Articles)
  • Textbook or Book Source
  • Website with an Author
  • Website with No Author Listed
  • In-Text Citations
  • Writing Style
  • Page Numbering
  • Checklist (putting it all together)
  • Need Help with APA?

APA Reference Entry for a Website with No Author Listed

In the video below, Keri from the Writing Center explains how to create an APA-style Reference entry for a website without an author listed.

  • APA Reference: Website with NO Author Slides

Reference entries for a website without an author listed will include:

  • Organizational Author.
  • Title of page.
  • Container or Site Name (if different than the organizational author, if it's the same--skip info here!)

Example website source (with elements color-coded):

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Skin Diseases. (2019). Scoliosis in children and teens. National Institute of Health. https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/scoliosis/

Example website source (final, as it would appear on a Reference page):

Example in-text citation for this source (color-coded):.

( National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Skin Diseases,   2019 )

  • Visit the page on in-text citations if you want more information about how those work!
  • << Previous: Website with an Author
  • Next: In-Text Citations >>
  • Last Updated: May 15, 2024 9:28 AM
  • URL: https://westerntc.libguides.com/APA7

Western Technical College

  • UWF Libraries

APA Format & Citation Style, 7th edition

  • Web Page with No Author
  • General Style Guidelines
  • One Author or Editor
  • Two Authors or Editors
  • Three or More Authors or Editors
  • Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
  • Article in a Reference Book
  • Edition other than the First
  • Translation
  • Government Publication
  • Journal Article with One Author
  • Journal Article with 2 Authors
  • Journal Article with 3 or More Authors
  • Magazine Article
  • Newspaper Article
  • Basic Web Page
  • Web page from a University site
  • Entry in a Reference Work
  • Government Document
  • Film and Television
  • Youtube Video
  • Audio Podcast
  • Electronic Image
  • Lecture/PPT
  • Conferences
  • Secondary Sources
  • Formatting Your Paper
  • APA Handouts & Guides This link opens in a new window

Document from a Web site with no Author

  • When citing sources that you find on the Internet you only need to include a retrieval date if the information you viewed is likely to change over time.  If you reference an article from a news source (e.g., CNN, NBC, Washington Post) or a site that may experience continuous updates, you would then need to include a retrieval date.
  • New in 7th edition: You must include the site name in your citation, unless the site name is the same as the corporate author. For example, a citation of a CDC report would not include the site name.
  • << Previous: Web page from a University site
  • Next: Blog post >>
  • Last Updated: May 17, 2024 11:13 AM
  • URL: https://libguides.uwf.edu/apa7

Banner

APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : No Author, No Date etc.

  • What Kind of Source Is This?
  • Advertisements
  • Books & eBooks
  • Book Reviews
  • Class Handouts, Presentations, and Readings
  • Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
  • Government Documents
  • Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
  • Journal Articles
  • Magazine Articles
  • Newspaper Articles
  • Personal Communication (Interviews, Emails)
  • Social Media
  • Videos & DVDs
  • Paraphrasing
  • Works Cited in Another Source
  • No Author, No Date etc.
  • Sample Paper, Reference List & Annotated Bibliography
  • Powerpoint Presentations

On This Page

No page numbers.

No Title 

No Database Name

If no author or creator is provided, start the citation with the title/name of the item you are citing instead. Follow the title/name of the item with the date of publication, and the continue with other citation details.

Note : an author/creator won't necessarily be a person's name. It may be an organization or corporation, for example Health Canada or a username on a site such a YouTube.

If no author or creator is provided, use a shortened version of the title where you'd normally put the author's last name. 

If you're citing something which is part of a bigger work, like an article from a magazine, newspaper, journal or encyclopedia, or chapter or short story from a book, put the shortened title in quotation marks in your in-text citation. 

Example, paraphrasing: ("A few words", 2014) 

If you're citing an entire work, like a book, website, video, etc., italicize the shortened title in your in-text citation

Example, 'paraphrasing: ( A few words , 2014)

If and only if an item is signed as being created by Anonymous, use "Anonymous" where you'd normally put the author's name.

Alphabetical Order in References List

When putting works in alphabetical order, ignore initial articles such as "the", "a", or "an". For example the title The best of Canada would be alphabetized as if it started with the word best instead of the word The

If the title begins with a number, alphabetize it as if the number was spelled out. For example the title 5 ways to succeed in business would be alphabetized under F as if it had started with the word Five .

If no date is provided, use the initials n.d. where you would normally put the date.

Also use the initials n.d. if the date of content is difficult to determine, such as on a Wikipedia page.

Page numbers may not be provided for some items, such as online materials. If this is the case:

References List

If a citation would normally include page numbers but none are provided, skip the page numbers in the citation.

In-Text Citation - Quoting Directly

When quoting directly in the text of your paper, you would normally include page numbers if they were given. If there are no page numbers given:

  • Indicate the paragraph number instead of the page number with the word "para." before it. For example: (Smith, 2012, para. 3)
  • If there are headings, give the name of the heading, followed by the word "section" and the number of the paragraph within the section it is from. For example: (Smith, 2012, Discussion section, para. 3)
  • If there is only one paragraph, provide the author's last name and the year and omit the page number

Occasionally an item may not have a title. If you are citing something with no identified title, write a description of the item placed in square brackets. Put this description in brackets where you'd normally put the title.

If you find an article through the  search bar  on the main library page, you might be unsure which database the article is from, because this searches across many different databases.

You can find the name of the database a few ways:

Method 1. Click on the title of the article in the search results list. This will bring you to a page with a description of the article as well as other useful information. Scroll down to the bottom of this list of information, and you should see "Database" listed near the bottom.

Method 2. You can also find the name of the database in the summary of information just below the title of the article in the search results list. It will look something like this:

Notice the name of the database is listed at the end.

  • << Previous: Works Cited in Another Source
  • Next: Sample Paper, Reference List & Annotated Bibliography >>
  • Last Updated: Apr 15, 2024 11:26 AM
  • URL: https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/apa
  • PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
  • EDIT Edit this Article
  • EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
  • Browse Articles
  • Learn Something New
  • Quizzes Hot
  • This Or That Game
  • Train Your Brain
  • Explore More
  • Support wikiHow
  • About wikiHow
  • Log in / Sign up
  • Education and Communications
  • College University and Postgraduate
  • Academic Writing

How to Cite a Web Site in APA With No Author, Date, or Page Number

Last Updated: May 15, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Diane Stubbs and by wikiHow staff writer, Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA . Diane Stubbs is a Secondary English Teacher with over 22 years of experience teaching all high school grade levels and AP courses. She specializes in secondary education, classroom management, and educational technology. Diane earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Delaware and a Master of Education from Wesley College. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 283,459 times.

Citing a website that doesn't list an author, date, or page number can be tricky. However, it's easier to do than you might think! You can cite a website using the title name, organization that published the page, or "anonymous," depending on the information available. For the date, you can include "n.d." for "no date." This allows you to create in-text citations and an entry on your References page.

Creating In-Text Citations

Step 1 Use the title in place of the author if there's no author at all.

  • "According to “Robotics for Beginners" (2018), titanium parts will create a sturdier robot."
  • "Titanium parts are the best option for building a sturdy robot (“Robotics,” 2018)."

Step 2 Treat an organization as the author if they published the website.

  • "According to the American Cancer Society (2018), people undergoing chemotherapy benefit from having complimentary head wraps or wigs available."
  • "People who are undergoing chemotherapy treatments have a better experience if complimentary head wraps and wigs are provided to them (American Cancer Society, 2018)."

Step 3 Include “Anonymous” as an author if it's on the website.

  • For an anonymous author, your citation will look like this: "(Anonymous, 2018)"

Step 4 Use

  • A citation using a title for an author looks like this: "(“Robotics,” n.d.)"
  • If you're using an organization name, your citation looks like this: "(National Robotics Society, n.d.)"
  • For an anonymous author, your citation would look like this: "(Anonymous, n.d.)"

Step 5 Include the paragraph to cite a specific passage if there's no page.

  • For example, let's say you're citing the 4th paragraph of an article called, “Building a Healthy Relationship,” which has no author, page number, or date.
  • "According to “Building a Healthy Relationship" (n.d., para. 4), communication is essential for a healthy partnership."
  • "Partners must communicate if they want to have a healthy relationship (“Building,” n.d., para. 4)."

Step 6 Use 1-2 words of the section heading as the page number if available.

  • You may have found valuable information on a web page titled “Reducing Congestion in Large Cities,” which has section headings titled “Improving Transit Networks,” “Increasing Highway Capacity,” “Collecting Tolls,” “HOV Lanes,” and “Metered Ramps.” However, there's no date or page number.
  • Your citation might look like this: "(“Reducing,” n.d., “HOV”)"

Preparing Your References Page

Step 1 List the title of the article first if no author is listed.

  • Let's say the name of the article you want to cite is “Ecuador: History and Culture.” The beginning of your entry would look like this: "Ecuador: History and culture."
  • If the article includes an organization name or an anonymous author, you'll use that instead of the title.

Step 2 Write n.d.

  • Your entry would now look like this: "Ecuador: History and culture. (n.d.)."

Step 3 Include the name of the organization, publication, or website in italics.

  • This is what your entry should look like now: "Ecuador: History and culture. (n.d.). Select Latin America ."

Step 4 Write “Retrieved from,” then include the website's URL.

  • Here's how your final entry might look: "Ecuador: History and culture. (n.d.). Select Latin America . Retrieved from http://www.sla.com/ecuador.html/"

Step 5 List the organization first in the reference if one is listed.

  • If the website name is the same as the organization name, don't write it again after the page title. You can skip that part of the references entry and go straight to "Retrieved from."
  • For example, let's say you're citing an article called “Relaxing with Deep Breathing,” which was published by the American Psychological Foundation. No date is provided.
  • Here's what your entry would look like: "American Psychological Foundation. (n.d.). Relaxing with deep breathing. Retrieved from http://www.apf.com/Relaxing_and_deep_breathing/"

Step 6 Put anonymous first in your entry if it's given as the author.

  • You might be citing a web page titled “Being Mindful During a Dog Walk,” written by an anonymous author. It's posted on a website called Bark Bark Friends, but there isn't a date.
  • Here how your entry would look: "Anonymous. (n.d.) Being Mindful During a Dog Walk. Bark Bark Friends . Retrieved from http://www.barkbarkfriends.com/mindful_dog_walks/"

Expert Q&A

  • You don't have to include a retrieval or access date in your reference entry anymore. In prior editions of the APA style guide, you needed to include the date you accessed the website. [13] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • If you're in doubt about how to cite your source, talk to your instructor or your school's writing center. They can help you decide the best way to write your citation. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

apa style websites no author

  • Citing your sources can be frustrating, but don't give up! If you don't cite your source, you'll be plagiarizing the site where you got the information. This can cost you credit for the assignment and can result in other academic consequences. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

Cite the WHO in APA

  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html
  • ↑ https://aus.libguides.com/apa/apa-no-author-date
  • ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/missing-information
  • ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide/intext
  • ↑ https://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=714519&p=5093747
  • ↑ https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/apa/booksandebooks
  • ↑ https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/apa/dates
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_basic_rules.html
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_electronic_sources.html
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/format-your-reference-list
  • ↑ https://libguides.ggc.edu/apastyle_7th/Authors/MissingorAnonymous

About This Article

Diane Stubbs

Citing information from a website without an author, date, or page number isn’t as complicated as you might think. Try using the title in place of an author for an in-text citation. For example, for a page entitled “Robotics for Beginners,” you could write (“Robotics,” 2018). Alternatively, list the name of the organization that owns the website in your in-text citation, like “According to the American Cancer Society (2018).” If you don’t have a date, add “n.d.” instead. Replace page numbers by mentioning the paragraph your citation comes from. For instance, if it came from the fourth paragraph, add “para 4” to the end of an in-text citation. If you put all of this together, an in-text reference could look like, “According to Robotics for Beginners (n.d., para 4). For tips on how to write a citation for your reference page that doesn’t have an author, date, or page number, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

  • Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Bonnie Huddle

Bonnie Huddle

Sep 30, 2017

Did this article help you?

apa style websites no author

Featured Articles

What Does it Mean When You See or Dream About a Blackbird?

Trending Articles

How to Make Money on Cash App: A Beginner's Guide

Watch Articles

Make Homemade Liquid Dish Soap

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Info
  • Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Develop the tech skills you need for work and life

AUS Library Homepage

  • WorldCat Discovery
  • Course and Subject Guides
  • Journal Finder
  • New Books Feeds
  • Course Reserves
  • Room Reservations
  • Faculty and Graduate Services
  • Available Computers
  • Events and Workshops
  • Copyright and Fair Use
  • Interlibrary Loan
  • Request Forms
  • Library Policies
  • Borrowing & Access Policies
  • Library Building
  • American University of Sharjah

APA 6th Edition Citation Style

No author / no date.

  • APA 6th Edition Guide
  • Annual Report
  • Article, Journal
  • Article, Journal (with DOI)
  • Article, Journal (without DOI)
  • Book, Chapter in edited work
  • Book, Electronic
  • Dissertation / Thesis
  • Dissertation / Thesis (Database)
  • Email/Interviews
  • Events, Live
  • Newspaper Article
  • Newspaper Article (Database)
  • Newspaper Article (Website)
  • Podcast, Audio
  • Reference Work
  • Reference Work (Database)
  • Website Document
  • Video, Online

Newspaper article (from the newspaper’s website) with no author

Proper Bibliographic Reference Format:

  • Bibliographic references are double-spaced and indented half an inch after the first line.
  • If there is no author, the article title comes first.
  • For titles of newspapers, use italics and "headline" style capitalization.
  • Use the URL of the homepage of the newspaper to avoid non-working URLs.
  • It is no longer necessary to include the date of retrieval.

Barcelona to ban burqa in municipal buildings. (2010, June 14).  Retrieved from http://gulfnews.com

In-Text Citations:

  • Citations are placed in the context of discussion using the author’s last name and date of publication.
  • When a work has no identified author, cite in text the first few words of the article title using double quotation marks, “headline- style” capitalization, and the year.

(“Barcelona to Ban Burqa,” 2010)

  • Alternatively, you can integrate the citation into the sentence by means of narrative.
  • There must be a total match between the reference list and the parenthetical citation, so the article title must stand in place of an author’s name in the essay.

“Barcelona to Ban Burqa” (2010) contends that the move is aimed at all dress that impedes identification.

Website with no author and no date

  • If there is no date, use the abbreviation n.d.

United Arab Emirates architecture. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uaeinteract.com/

  • When a work has no identified author, cite in text the first few words of the article title using double quotation marks, “headline-style" capitalization, and the year.

(“United Arab Emirates Architecture,” n.d.)

“United Arab Emirates Architecture” (n.d.) describes building materials used in early settlements.

Journal or magazine article (from library database or online) with no author

  • For titles of journals or magazines, use italics and "headline" style capitalization.
  • Use the URL of the homepage of the journal or magazine to avoid non-working URLS

Famine relief: Just a simple matter of supplying food? (2002). Nutrition Noteworthy , 5(1). Retrieved from http://escholarship.org/uc/uclabiolchem_nutritionnoteworthy

  • When a work has no identified author, cite in text the first few words of the article title using double quotation marks, “headline” style capitalization, and the year.

(“Famine Relief,” 2002)

“Famine Relief” (2002) examines the causes of poverty and famine in Africa.

Works With an Anonymous Author

When a work’s author is designated as “Anonymous,” cite in text the word Anonymous followed by a comma and the date:

(Anonymous, 2010)

In the reference list, an anonymous work is alphabetized by the word Anonymous

Anonymous. (2010). Food safety shake-up needed in the USA. The Lancet , 375(9732), 2122. Retrieved from http://www.thelancet.com

  • << Previous: Video, Online
  • Next: FAQ >>
  • Last Updated: Oct 13, 2022 2:48 PM
  • URL: https://aus.libguides.com/apa

© 2020  American University of Sharjah . All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy

Return to AUS

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

OWL logo

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Though the APA's author-date system for citations is fairly straightforward, author categories can vary significantly from the standard "one author, one source" configuration. There are also additional rules for citing authors of indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

A Work by One Author 

The APA manual recommends the use of the author-date citation structure for in-text citation references. This structure requires that any in-text citation (i.e., within the body of the text) be accompanied by a corresponding reference list entry. In the in-text citation provide the surname of the author but do not include suffixes such as "Jr.". 

Citing Non-Standard Author Categories

A work by two authors.

Name both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

A Work by Three or More Authors

List only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in every citation, even the first, unless doing so would create ambiguity between different sources.

In  et al. , et  should not be followed by a period. Only "al" should be followed by a period.

If you’re citing multiple works with similar groups of authors, and the shortened “et al” citation form of each source would be the same, you’ll need to avoid ambiguity by writing out more names. If you cited works with these authors:

They would be cited in-text as follows to avoid ambiguity:

Since et al. is plural, it should always be a substitute for more than one name. In the case that et al. would stand in for just one author, write the author’s name instead.

Unknown Author

If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of books and reports are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks. APA style calls for capitalizing important words in titles when they are written in the text (but not when they are written in reference lists).

Note : In the rare case that "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the name Anonymous as the author.

Organization as an Author

If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source, just as you would an individual person.

If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, you may include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations. However, if you cite work from multiple organizations whose abbreviations are the same, do not use abbreviations (to avoid ambiguity).

Two or More Works in the Same Parentheses

When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them the same way they appear in the reference list (viz., alphabetically), separated by a semi-colon.

If you cite multiple works by the same author in the same parenthetical citation, give the author’s name only once and follow with dates. No date citations go first, then years, then in-press citations.

Authors with the Same Last Name

To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year

If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. Use the lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.

Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and Afterwords

When citing an Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword in-text, cite the appropriate author and year as usual.

Personal Communication

For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-person communication, cite the communicator's name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list.

If using a footnote to reference personal communication, handle citations the same way.

Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples

When citing information you learned from a conversation with an Indigenous person who was not your research participant, use a variation of the personal communication citation above. Include the person’s full name, nation or Indigenous group, location, and any other relevant details before the “personal communication, date” part of the citation.

Citing Indirect Sources

Generally, writers should endeavor to read primary sources (original sources) and cite those rather than secondary sources (works that report on original sources). Sometimes, however, this is impossible. If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses. If you know the year of the original source, include it in the citation.

Electronic Sources

If possible, cite an electronic document the same as any other document by using the author-date style.

Unknown Author and Unknown Date

If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").

Sources Without Page Numbers

When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. Use the heading or section name, an abbreviated heading or section name, a paragraph number (para. 1), or a combination of these.

Note:  Never use the page numbers of webpages you print out; different computers print webpages with different pagination. Do not use Kindle location numbers; instead, use the page number (available in many Kindle books) or the method above. 

Other Sources

The  APA Publication Manual  describes how to cite many different kinds of authors and content creators. However, you may occasionally encounter a source or author category that the manual does not describe, making the best way to proceed unclear.

In these cases, it's typically acceptable to apply the general principles of APA citation to the new kind of source in a way that's consistent and sensible. A good way to do this is to simply use the standard APA directions for a type of source that resembles the source you want to cite. For example, a sensible way to cite a virtual reality program would be to mimic the APA's guidelines for computer software.

You may also want to investigate whether a third-party organization has provided directions for how to cite this kind of source.

  • Free Tools for Students
  • Harvard Referencing Generator

Free Harvard Referencing Generator

Generate accurate Harvard reference lists quickly and for FREE, with MyBib!

🤔 What is a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator is a tool that automatically generates formatted academic references in the Harvard style.

It takes in relevant details about a source -- usually critical information like author names, article titles, publish dates, and URLs -- and adds the correct punctuation and formatting required by the Harvard referencing style.

The generated references can be copied into a reference list or bibliography, and then collectively appended to the end of an academic assignment. This is the standard way to give credit to sources used in the main body of an assignment.

👩‍🎓 Who uses a Harvard Referencing Generator?

Harvard is the main referencing style at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also very popular in other English-speaking countries such as South Africa, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. University-level students in these countries are most likely to use a Harvard generator to aid them with their undergraduate assignments (and often post-graduate too).

🙌 Why should I use a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator solves two problems:

  • It provides a way to organise and keep track of the sources referenced in the content of an academic paper.
  • It ensures that references are formatted correctly -- inline with the Harvard referencing style -- and it does so considerably faster than writing them out manually.

A well-formatted and broad bibliography can account for up to 20% of the total grade for an undergraduate-level project, and using a generator tool can contribute significantly towards earning them.

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's Harvard Referencing Generator?

Here's how to use our reference generator:

  • If citing a book, website, journal, or video: enter the URL or title into the search bar at the top of the page and press the search button.
  • Choose the most relevant results from the list of search results.
  • Our generator will automatically locate the source details and format them in the correct Harvard format. You can make further changes if required.
  • Then either copy the formatted reference directly into your reference list by clicking the 'copy' button, or save it to your MyBib account for later.

MyBib supports the following for Harvard style:

🍏 What other versions of Harvard referencing exist?

There isn't "one true way" to do Harvard referencing, and many universities have their own slightly different guidelines for the style. Our generator can adapt to handle the following list of different Harvard styles:

  • Cite Them Right
  • Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)
  • University of the West of England (UWE)

Image of daniel-elias

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

IMAGES

  1. 47+ How To Cite A Website Apa With No Author Today

    apa style websites no author

  2. 10 Easy Steps: How to Do In-Text Citations APA with No Author

    apa style websites no author

  3. Apa Format Without Author

    apa style websites no author

  4. Creating APA Citations for Websites With No Author

    apa style websites no author

  5. How to Cite in APA with No Author: 8 Steps (with Pictures)

    apa style websites no author

  6. How To Cite In Text Apa Website No Author

    apa style websites no author

VIDEO

  1. Orphan Page (has no incoming internal links)

  2. How do you cite a PDF in APA with no author?

  3. How to Cite Websites in APA Format Like a Pro-Assistant by scite

  4. How do you APA Style a website without a date?

  5. How do you cite a school website with no author?

  6. How do you cite an educational website in APA 7th edition with no author?

COMMENTS

  1. How do you reference a web page that lists no author?

    Cite in text the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title or abbreviated title.: ("All 33 Chile Miners," 2010). Note: Use the full title of the web page if it is short for the parenthetical citation. Articles found on the web, like the example above, are not ...

  2. No Author, Date, or Title in APA Style

    Revised on January 17, 2024. Webpage citations in APA Style consist of five components: author, publication date, title, website name, and URL. Unfortunately, some of these components are sometimes missing. For instance, there may be no author or publication date. This article explains how to handle different kinds and combinations of missing ...

  3. APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Web Page with No Author

    APA Citation Style, 7th edition; ... APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Web Page with No Author. A guide to help users create citations using APA (American Psychological Association) style, 7th edition. APA Toggle Dropdown. General Style Guidelines ; Books Toggle Dropdown. One Author or Editor ;

  4. How to cite in APA when there are no authors

    Reference list entries without an author are alphabetized by the first significant word of the title. Ignore the words "A," "An," and "The" when putting your reference list in order. Begin the entry with the word "Anonymous" only if the work is signed "Anonymous.". If the reference has no author and is not signed ...

  5. Website with No Author Listed

    Reference entries for a website without an author listed will include: Organizational Author. (Date). Title of page. Container or Site Name (if different than the organizational author, if it's the same--skip info here!) URL; Example website source (with elements color-coded): National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Skin Diseases ...

  6. Creating APA Citations for Websites With No Author

    Online citations in APA style have four different components: the author, date, title, publisher, and URL. Many times, especially in local newspapers, articles are printed as staff articles or without any author's name listed. If you do not know the author's name or the article's date, you can still cite a webpage in your APA 7 style ...

  7. Web Page with No Author

    APA Format & Citation Style, 7th edition. A guide to help users create citations using APA (American Psychological Association) style, 7th edition. ... Document from a Web site with no Author. General Format In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): (Title of specific document, Year)

  8. How to Do APA Citations With No Author

    Breaking down references for a web page in APA style is pretty simple. List the article title. This is the first piece of information you note, and it goes in the place of the author. Add the published date in parentheses. The date follows the format: year, month, and day, if available. Name of the website.

  9. APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : No Author, No Date etc

    3) If there are headings, give the name of the heading, followed by the word "section" and the number of the paragraph within the section it is from. For example: (Smith, 2012, Discussion section, para. 3) If there is only one paragraph, provide the author's last name and the year and omit the page number.

  10. How to Cite a Web Site in APA With No Author, Date, or Page ...

    For an anonymous author, your citation will look like this: " (Anonymous, 2018)" 4. Use "n.d." for no date in your citations. APA citations usually include the author and date. However, you can't include a date if one isn't there! Using "n.d." tells the reader that no date is provided on the site.

  11. How to Cite a Website in APA Style

    Revised on January 17, 2024. APA website citations usually include the author, the publication date, the title of the page or article, the website name, and the URL. If there is no author, start the citation with the title of the article. If the page is likely to change over time, add a retrieval date. If you are citing an online version of a ...

  12. How do I cite a source with no author in APA Style?

    If you cite several sources by the same author or group of authors, you'll distinguish between them in your APA in-text citations using the year of publication.. If you cite multiple sources by the same author(s) at the same point, you can just write the author name(s) once and separate the different years with commas, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021). To distinguish between sources with the same ...

  13. APA style citation when no author is listed

    To cite a book with no date in APA, use the core required elements: the name (s) of the author (s), the title of the book, and the publisher. Use "n.d." in place of the publication year. The table below shows how to format the in-text citation and the reference-list entry for a book with no date in APA style. In-Text Template and Citation.

  14. No Author / No Date

    No Author / No Date. Newspaper article (from the newspaper's website) with no author. Proper Bibliographic Reference Format: Bibliographic references are double-spaced and indented half an inch after the first line. If there is no author, the article title comes first. For titles of newspapers, use italics and "headline" style capitalization.

  15. How to Cite Something You Found on a Website in APA Style

    First, to cite a website in general, but not a specific document on that website, see this FAQ. Once you're at the level of citing a particular page or document, the key to writing the reference list entry is to determine what kind of content the page has. The Publication Manual reference examples in Chapter 7 are sorted by the type of ...

  16. APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition)

    Guidelines on writing an APA style paper In-Text Citations. Resources on using in-text citations in APA style. The Basics ... Rules for handling works by a single author or multiple authors that apply to all APA-style references in your reference list, regardless of the type of work (book, article, electronic resource, etc.)

  17. Reference List: Author/Authors

    This is a departure from APA 6, which only required listing the first six authors before an ellipsis and the final author's name. Nguyen, T., Carnevale, J. J., Scholer, A. A., Miele, D. B., & Fujita, K. (2019). Metamotivational knowledge of the role of high-level and low-level construal in goal-relevant task performance.

  18. No Author, Date, or Title in APA Style

    No Author, Date, or Title in APA Style | Formats & Examples. Published on November 6, 2020 by Bas Swaen. This article reflects the APA 6th edition guidelines.Click here for APA 7th edition guidelines.. Web resources form a separate category in APA Style.They consist of four components: author, publication date, title and URL.

  19. In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

    The APA manual recommends the use of the author-date citation structure for in-text citation references. This structure requires that any in-text citation (i.e., within the body of the text) be accompanied by a corresponding reference list entry. In the in-text citation provide the surname of the author but do not include suffixes such as "Jr.".

  20. Free Harvard Referencing Generator [Updated for 2024]

    A Harvard Referencing Generator is a tool that automatically generates formatted academic references in the Harvard style. It takes in relevant details about a source -- usually critical information like author names, article titles, publish dates, and URLs -- and adds the correct punctuation and formatting required by the Harvard referencing style.

  21. Article Iraq: Parliament Passes New Law Prohibiting Prostitution

    On April 27, 2024, The Iraqi House of Representatives (Iraq's unicameral parliament) passed a law amending Law No. 8 of 1988 on combating prostitution. According to a statement issued by the Iraqi House of Representatives, the law, which is titled "Law on Combating Prostitution and Homosexuality," aims to "preserve the entity of Iraqi society from moral … Continue reading " ...