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CRJU 1040: Agency Research Project, Mrs. McCook, Spring 2024: How to cite a government website page in APA (7th ed.)

A guide to assist students in researching the Internet.

Government website page (in-text citation)

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Government Author or name of Government Agency if no author listed, Year or n.d. if no date is given)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Government Author or name of Government Agency, Year or n.d. if no date given, page or paragraph number [if available])

Example

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

First time: (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA], 2019)

Subsequently: (DEA, 2019)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

First time: (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], 2019)

Subsequently: (HUD, 2019)

TIP: To abbreviate or not abbreviate?

QUESTION: If I am citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the in-text citation, do I need to use the full name or can I just use CDC?

ANSWER: It's always up to your instructor. If you're not sure, ask. Generally, however, If the corporate author names (corporations, organizations, and government agencies) are readily identified by an abbreviation, you should include the full name in the first citation along with the abbreviation in brackets and then use the abbreviation in all other subsequent in-text citations.

Example: First in-text citation

  • (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014)

Example: Subsequent in-text citations

  • (CDC, 2014)

Government website page reference (citation of the entire work at end of paper)

General Format:

Name of Government Agency. (Year, Month if applicable Day if applicable). Title of article: Subtitle. URL of specific document

Example:

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (2019, August 8). Special agent. Retrieved February 6, 2024,               from https://www.dea.gov/careers/special-agent

Helpful hints:

  • If the page names an individual author, cite their name first:
  • Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist. Medium. https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

  • If the resource was written by a group or organization, use the name of the group/organization as the author. Additionally, if the author and site name are the same, omit the site name from the citation.
  • Group name. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (2019, November 21). Justice served: Case closed for over 40 dogfighting victims. https://www.aspca.org/news/justice-served-case-closed-over-40-dogfighting-victims

  • If the page's author is not listed, start with the title instead. Additionally, include a retrieval date when the page's content is likely to change over time (like, for instance, if you're citing a wiki that is publicly edited).
  • Title of page. (Year, Month Date). Site name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL

Tuscan white bean pasta. (2018, February 25). Budgetbytes. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://www.budgetbytes.com/tuscan-white-bean-pasta/

  • If the date of publication is not listed, use the abbreviation (n.d.). 
  • Author or Group name. (n.d.). Title of page. Site name (if applicable). URL

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). Mental health conditions. https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions