Skip to Main Content

Citation Handbook: Citation, Copyright, etc.: Websites

The page is under reconstruction. Thanks to Seneca Library for permission to copy

Tips

Author

It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website.

If there is no known author, start the citation with the title of the website instead.

Date

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.

If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day.

 

Page on a Website Created by a Corporation, Institution, or Group

Name of Corporation/Group/Organization. "Title of Section." Title of Website, Publisher or Sponsoring Organization, Date of publication or last modified date, URL. Accessed access date.

 Note: The publisher or sponsoring organization can often be found in a copyright notice at the bottom of the home page or on a page that gives information about the site. When the page is authored and published by the same corporation/group/organization, begin your citation with the section title.

 Note: The publisher may be omitted from the citation if the website title is essentially the same as the publisher name

Works Cited List Example

"Audit and Assurance." Chartered Professional Accountants Canada, 2016, www.cpacanada.ca/en/business-and-accounting-resources/audit-and-assurance. Accessed 6 July 2016.
In-Text Citation Example

("Title of Section")

("Audit and Assurance")

Website with a Known Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Website, Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed access date.

Works Cited List Example

Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespeare Online, 29 Dec. 2011, www.shakespeare-online.com. Accessed 6 July 2016.
In-Text Citation Example

(Author's Last Name)

(Mabillard)

Page or Document on a Website with a Known Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page or Document." Title of Website, Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed access date.

Works Cited List Example

Poncelet, Barbara. "Mom Am I Fat?: Helping Your Teen Have a Positive Body Image." Verywell.com, About Inc., 20 Apr. 2016, www.verywell.com/mom-am-i-fat-3200843. Accessed 7 July 2016.
In-Text Citation Example

(Author's Last Name)

(Poncelet)

Page or Document on a Website with an Unknown Author

"Title of Page or Document." Title of Website, Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed access date.

Works Cited List Example

"How to Teach Yourself Guitar." eHow, Demand Media, www.ehow.com/how_5298173_teach-yourself-guitar.html. Accessed 24 June 2016.

Note: Online works can be changed or removed at any time, so the date you accessed the source is an indicator of the version you consulted. The date of access is especially crucial if the source has no date specifying when it was produced or published.
In-Text Citation Example

("Title of Page or Document")

("How to Teach Yourself Guitar")

Note: There is no author, so the title (or an abbreviated version of the title) is used in the in-text citation, in quotation marks, as it appears in the Works Cited List Example above.

Government Document From a Website

Title of Document: Subtitle if Given. Edition if given and is not first edition, Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Publication Date, URL. Accessed Access Date.

Works Cited List Example

 Highlights from the Competition Bureau’s Workshop on Emerging Competition Issues. Competition Bureau of Canada, 4 Mar. 2016, www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/cb-Workshop-Summary-Report-e.pdf/$FILE/cb-Workshop-Summary-Report-e.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2016.
In-Text Citation Example

 (Title of Document)

 Example: (Highlights)

 Note: You can use a shortened form of the title by listing the first word or words of the full title.

Blog Post

Author's Last Name, First Name or Username if real name not provided. "Title of Blog Post." Name of Blog, Blog Network/Publisher if given, Day Month Year of blog post, URL of blog post. Accessed Day Month Year blog was visited.

Works Cited List Example

Naish, Darren. "If Bigfoot Were Real." Tetrapod Zoology, Scientific American Blogs, 27 June 2016, blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/if-bigfoot-were-real/. Accessed 28 June 2016.
In-Text Citation Example

(Author's Last Name)

(Naish)

Note: Blog posts have no page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings so this information is left out of the in-text citation.

Wikipedia

"Title of Entry." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year entry was last modified, Time entry was last modified, URL of entry. Accessed Day Month Year Wikipedia entry was last viewed.

 Note: The date and time the article was last modified appears at the bottom of each Wikipedia article.

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.

Works Cited List Example

"Body Image." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 June 2016, 7:41 pm, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_image. Accessed 28 June 2016.
Citation Example

("Title of Entry")

("Body Image")

Note: 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.

Facebook

Author Last Name, First Name or Account Name. Description of Post. Facebook, Day Month Year of Post, Time of Post, URL. Accessed Day Month Year post was viewed.

Works Cited List Example

Rick Mercer Report. Spread the Net Challenge Winners 2016. Facebook, 23 Mar. 2016, 9:00 a.m., www.facebook.com/rickmercerreport. Accessed 26 June 2016. 

 Note: As Facebook posts can be lengthy, describe the post instead of reposting its content. To find the time of a Facebook post, hover your mouse next to the date of the post over the clock icon. It may not be possible to link directly to the specific post itself.
In-Text Citation Example

(Author's Last Name or Account Name)

(Rick Mercer Report)