Reference machine: Internet pages

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On this page: How to do a bibliographic reference for an Internet page: Example | Program
Related pages: Referencing, Reference Machines for in-text citation, a book, an article in a journal, an edited book, or a newspaper or magazine article, an online image, or music.

Example: Move your mouse over the words to see an explanation:

The English Language Centre. (2003). Reference machine: Internet pages. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The English Language Centre. http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/referenceMachineNet.htm

Bibliography entry for an Internet Page
(Using the APA style, which is the style used by the English Language Centre) Warning: the style for citing Internet sources changes as the Internet becomes more widely used; e.g. APA has removed the requirement for the retrieval date, or “Retrieved from” before a URL. Click here for more details on citing electronic resources using APA style.

Fill in the boxes, and then press the 'Create Reference' button:

1. Main author's family name:
(Help) ->
When there is no author for a Web page, the title moves to the first position of the reference entry:

New child vaccine gets funding boost. (2018). http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/story_13178.asp

The text citation would then just cite a few words of the title to point the reader to the right area of your reference list; e.g.
are most at risk of contracting the disease ("New Child," 2001).
(From http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html)

Then click this button to enter the title:
e.g. Wong

2. Main author's initials: (Help) e.g. W.M.

If there is a second author, fill in points 3. and 4. If there is only one author, go on to number 7.

3. Second author's family name: (Help) e.g. Chan

4. Second author's initials: (Help) e.g. W.M.

If there is a third author, fill in points 5. and 6. If there are only two authors, go on to number 7.

5. Third author's family name: (Help) e.g. Fu

6. Third author's initials: (Help) e.g. W.M.

.. More authors: If there are more authors, write up to 20 here, family name first, then initials; e.g. Chan, K.K., Wong L.M. If there are more than 20, include the first 19 authors’ names, then insert “…” and add the last author’s name.

7. Date of publication:
. e.g.

8. Title of the Internet page. Look at the blue bar at the top of the screen. Do not include '- Netscape' or '- Microsoft Internet Explorer'. Use a capital letter for the first letter of the first word. If there is a sub-title, use a capital letter for the first letter of the first word; e.g. Reference machine: Internet pages

.

9.
If you are referencing an online journal, fill in the name of the journal here: e.g. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics

The Volume Number here; e.g. 2

The Issue number here; e.g. 3
.

10. If the name of the website or organisation that hosts the webpage is different from the author of the page, or if this page is on a university or government site, write the name of the organisation, university or government here:
e.g. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

11. If this page is on a university or government site, write the name of the department here:
e.g. The English Language Centre

12.
Internet Address (URL):

http://

Internet Address (URL):
e.g. http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/referenceMachineNet.htm

Click here for an APA style reference:

Click this button to empty all the boxes and start again:

For frequently-asked questions about the APA style, click here.

Last updated: Tuesday, 19 October 2021

If you have any suggestions or questions, please e-mail us at .

Author's Family Name Help:

If you can't find an author's name, for example in a newspaper or magazine, use the title of the newspaper or magazine.

Do not use 'et al.' in bibliographies: quote the names of all the authors and/or editors.

If you don't know which name is the family name and which are the other names:

Look at the pages in the front of the book for the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. If you see the author's name with a comma after the first word, then that first word is the author's family name.
Use the library catalogue to search for the title of the book, then look for the author's name.
Search for the book at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble, find the book by its title, then look for the author's family name.
Check the list of other names.
If you can't find the information in the sources above, use all of the name.

Back to the form

Author's Initials Help

The author's initials are the first letters of each of the author's other names. For example, if the author is Chan Wai Man, then the initials are W. M.

Back to the form

1.	Main author's family name: (Help)	-> When there is no author for a Web page, the title moves to the first position of the reference entry: New child vaccine gets funding boost. (2018). http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/story_13178.asp The text citation would then just cite a few words of the title to point the reader to the right area of your reference list; e.g. are most at risk of contracting the disease ("New Child," 2001). (From http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html) Then click this button to enter the title:	e.g. Wong
2.	Main author's initials: (Help)		e.g. W.M.
	If there is a second author, fill in points 3. and 4. If there is only one author, go on to number 7.
3.	Second author's family name: (Help)		e.g. Chan
4.	Second author's initials: (Help)		e.g. W.M.
	If there is a third author, fill in points 5. and 6. If there are only two authors, go on to number 7.
5.	Third author's family name: (Help)		e.g. Fu
6.	Third author's initials: (Help)		e.g. W.M.
..	More authors:	If there are more authors, write up to 20 here, family name first, then initials; e.g. Chan, K.K., Wong L.M. If there are more than 20, include the first 19 authors’ names, then insert “…” and add the last author’s name.
7.	Date of publication:	.	e.g.
8.	Title of the Internet page. Look at the blue bar at the top of the screen. Do not include '- Netscape' or '- Microsoft Internet Explorer'. Use a capital letter for the first letter of the first word. If there is a sub-title, use a capital letter for the first letter of the first word; e.g. Reference machine: Internet pages .
9.	If you are referencing an online journal, fill in the name of the journal here: e.g. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics The Volume Number here; e.g. 2 The Issue number here; e.g. 3 .
10.	If the name of the website or organisation that hosts the webpage is different from the author of the page, or if this page is on a university or government site, write the name of the organisation, university or government here: e.g. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

11.	If this page is on a university or government site, write the name of the department here: e.g. The English Language Centre