How To Cite Electronic Documents

Electronic document citation differs considerably from print documents in form, content, and appearance. Proper citation of electronic documents is a crucial component of your research, especially when your sources are examined by an instructor or referenced by anyone wishing to obtain your sources for their own use. This guide explains what an electronic document is and three popular styles of citation.

What is an electronic document?

• a web site
• an email correspondence
• an article from a CD-ROM encyclopedia or database
• an article from an online magazine, journal, or newspaper
• an article from a full text, subscription database

Any document which is available IN ITS ENTIRETY electronically qualifies as an electronic document. If you find a citation to an article or book from a database and the actual document you obtain is in print form, cite that document as a standard print document.

MLA Style

A comprehensive citation guide is available at: Online Writing Lab at Purdue University

Web Sites
A web site citation includes the author/creator of the site, the title of the site (if available), the date of the site's latest revision, the name of the sponsoring institution, the access date, and the URL.

Article on a Web Site
An article from a web site includes the author, the title of the article, the date of the last update, the name of the sponsoring institution, the access date, and the URL.

Full-Text Article From a Subscription Database
A full text article from a subscription database (i.e., InfoTrac, Lexis-Nexis, Wilson, JSTOR, etc.) includes the author of the article, the title of the article, the name of the magazine or journal, the volume and issue number, the date of publication, the page number or number of paragraphs, the name of the database, the name of the institution subscribing to the database (such as Eckerd College Library, St. Petersburg, FL), the date you accessed it, and the URL (not the URL of the library! Each database has its own URL and it should be truncated at .com/).

APA Style

A comprehensive citation guide is available at: Online Writing Lab at Purdue University

Web Sites
A web site citation includes the author/creator of the site (if available), title of the site,  the access date, and the URL.

Article on a Web Site
An article from a web site includes the author, date of publication, title of the article, the title of the web site, the access date, and the URL.

Full-Text Article From a Subscription Database
A full text article from a subscription database (i.e., InfoTrac, LexisNexis, Wilson, JSTOR, etc.) includes the author of the article, the date of publication, the title of the article, the title of the magazine or journal, the volume and issue number, the page number or number of paragraphs, the access date, and the name of the database (URL is not necessary).

Chicago Style

A comprehensive citation guide is available at: Citation Styles Online

Web Sites
A web site citation includes the author/creator of the site if available), title of the site, date of the site's last revision, the URL, and the access date.

Article on a Web Site
An article on a web site includes the author, the title of the article, the title of the publication or web site, date of publication, the URL, and the access date.

Full-Text Article From a Subscription Database
A full text article from a subscription database (i.e., InfoTrac, LexisNexis, Wilson, JSTOR, etc.) includes the author of the article, the date of publication, the title of the article, the title of the magazine or journal, the volume and issue number, the page number or number of paragraphs, the name of the database, the URL (not the URL of the library! Each database has its own URL and it should be truncated at .com/), and the access date.