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APA reference for a web page

An APA web page reference lists the author or organisation, date, page title in italics, site name and URL. If no date, use (n.d.); with no author, start with the title. URL goes last.

Part of: VCE Applied Computing - U1O1 - Data analysis — Module 60, VCE Data Analytics - U3O1 - Data Analytics — Module 57, VCE Data Analytics - U3O2 - Analysis and Design — Module 110

Understanding APA reference for a web page in VCE Data Analysis

What it does: The (2022, March 14) is the date in brackets straight after the author, in the order year, month, day. The reference starts with the author, then the date, the title, the site name and finally the URL. The URL is always the last part of a web page reference. APA uses (n.d.), which stands for 'no date', when a page has no publication date. In APA, the title of a web page is written in italics, not in quotation marks. When an organisation publishes the page, the organisation is the author. Write its full name the first time. APA leaves out the full stop after a URL so that the link is not changed by an extra character.

Common mistakes: Only the page title is in italics. The site name is written in plain text, so it should be 'Health Tech Australia.' with no asterisks. The URL goes last and must be the full address, including https://. It should be 'https://www.healthtech.com.au'.

Class: _____________________ · Name: _____________________ · Date: _________

Free printable worksheet with full answer key — or add this module to a class and your students practise it interactively.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 56–67) and word search (Modules 56–80).

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Learning

Duo

Which is the correct order for an APA reference to a web page?

URL. Site Name. Title. (Date). AuthorAuthor. (Date). Title. Site Name. URL

Matches

https://www.abs.gov.au/census Bureau of Statistics. (2021, July 1). Census facts. ABS.

↓

The URL is at the start. It must go at the end of the reference, after the site name.

Applying

Meanings

Term

Author. (Year, Month Day). Title. Site Name. URL

Meaning

An APA web page reference lists the author or organisation, date, page title in italics, site name and URL. If no date, use (n.d.); with no author, start with the title. URL goes last.

Practice

Smith, J. (2023, May 4). How to clean a dataset. Study Hub. https://www.studyhub.example.com/clean-data

Testing

Gaps

Author. (

Check Answer

Spots

2*How sensors track health*.

3*Health Tech Australia*.

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Quick Questions

1. Which is the correct order for an APA reference to a web page?

A. URL. Site Name. Title. (Date). Author

B. Author. (Date). Title. Site Name. URL ✓

The reference starts with the author, then the date, the title, the site name and finally the URL.

2. Where does the URL go in an APA web page reference?

A. At the very end ✓

B. Straight after the author's name

The URL is always the last part of a web page reference.

3. A web page has no date shown. What goes in the date brackets?

A. (n.d.) ✓

B. (no date available)

APA uses (n.d.), which stands for 'no date', when a page has no publication date.

4. A web page has no named author. How should the reference begin?

A. With the word Anonymous

B. With the title of the page ✓

When there is no author, the title moves to the start of the reference. If the page belongs to an organisation, use the organisation as the author.

5. Which page title is formatted correctly in an APA web page reference?

A. Title in italics, such as Understanding the Australian Privacy Principles ✓

B. Title in quotation marks, such as "Understanding the Australian Privacy Principles"

In APA, the title of a web page is written in italics, not in quotation marks.

Match the Pairs

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. (2023, June 5). Australian Privacy Principles. OAIC. https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles → A complete APA web page reference: organisation as author, full date, title, site name, then the URL at the end

Cyber safety tips. (n.d.). eSafety Commissioner. https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people → A web page reference with no author and no date: it starts with the title and uses (n.d.) for the date

The date goes in brackets after the author, written as year, month and day → Smith, J. (2022, March 14). How data is stored.

The URL is the last part of a web page reference → Bureau of Statistics. (2021, July 1). Census facts. ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/census

https://www.abs.gov.au/census Bureau of Statistics. (2021, July 1). Census facts. ABS. → The URL is at the start. It must go at the end of the reference, after the site name.

Cyber safety tips. (No date). eSafety Commissioner. https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people → A missing date should be written as (n.d.), not (No date).

Key Term

Author. (Year, Month Day). Title. Site Name. URL

An APA web page reference lists the author or organisation, date, page title in italics, site name and URL. If no date, use (n.d.); with no author, start with the title. URL goes last.

Fill in the Blanks

1. Author. (Year , Month Day). Title. Site Name. URL

Hint: Type the first part of the date inside the brackets

2. ABS. (n.d. ). Census data. ABS. https://abs.gov.au

Hint: Type the abbreviation used when a web page has no date

3. Author. (Year, Month Day). Title. Site Name. URL

Hint: Type the part that always goes last in a web page reference

4. Title. (n.d.). Site Name. URL

Hint: Type the element that starts the reference when there is no author

5. Author. (Year, Month Day). Title. Site Name . URL

Hint: Type the element that comes straight after the page title

Spot the Error

Question 1

A Beaumont, L. (2023, May 4).

B *How sensors track health*.

C *Health Tech Australia*.

D https://www.healthtech.com.au

Line C — Only the page title is in italics. The site name is written in plain text, so it should be 'Health Tech Australia.' with no asterisks.

Question 2

A Beaumont, L. (2023, May 4).

B *How sensors track health*.

C Health Tech Australia.

D healthtech.com.au

Line D — The URL goes last and must be the full address, including https://. It should be 'https://www.healthtech.com.au'.

Question 3

A Clark, J. (n.d.).

B "Quantitative data types".

C Study Hub.

D https://www.studyhub.com.au

Line B — In APA the web page title is in italics, not in quotation marks. It should be '*Quantitative data types*.'

Question 4

A Singh, P. (no date).

B *Qualitative data basics*.

C Data School.

D https://www.dataschool.com.au

Line A — When a page has no date, APA uses the abbreviation (n.d.). The line should be 'Singh, P. (n.d.).'

Question 5

A *Privacy basics for teens*.

B (2022, March 9).

C Privacy Hub.

D https://www.privhub.org.au.

Line D — The URL goes last and has no full stop after it. It should be 'https://www.privhub.org.au'.

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