Online Reference Work

You may need to consult more than one section to accurately represent the source used.  Your citation and reference list entry may look different depending on the number of authors it has. Check the APA FAQs  for further advice.

In-text citation examples

Chilvers (2004) describes Williams’ vision of landscape as “distinctly personal”.

OR

Williams’ vision of landscape has been described as “distinctly personal” (Chilvers, 2004).

OR

The elderly may be more at risk of side effects and should have a reduced dose ("Propofol", 2024).

Reference list

Reference list template

Author, A. (Date). Title of article or segment. In A. A. Editor (Ed.), Title of encyclopedia (xxth ed.). https://doi xxxxxxxxxx [OR: URL]

Reference list template (No author or editor or date)

Title of entry. (n.d.).

Reference list template (Reference work cited as a whole)

Editor, A. A. (Ed.). Title of reference work (xxth ed.). https://doi xxxxxxxxxx  [OR: URL]

Reference list examples

Levy, P. (2019). Patten [née Brown], (Hilda Elsie) Marguerite (1915–2015). In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.110493

OR

Chilvers, I. (2004). Williams, Fred. In The Oxford dictionary of art. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Fred_Williams.aspx

OR

APA style. (2011). In Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 19, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

OR

Propofol. (2024). In Australian Medicines Handbook https://amhonline-amh-net-au.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/chapters/anaesthetics/general-anaesthetics/iv-general-anaesthetics/propofol

OR

In Title of reference work (xxth ed.). https://doi xxxxxxxxxx [OR: URL]

Tips for this reference type

  • In general, include the same elements, in the same order, that you would for a reference to a non-electronic source.
  • If there is no author for the entry, put the title in place of the author.
  • If the online version refers to a print edition, include the edition number within parentheses after the title of the reference work.
  • When DOIs (digital object identifiers) are available, use them for both print and electronic sources, instead of web addresses. DOI numbers are often located on the first page of an article near the copyright notice. If available, they are included in the references retrieved by Discovery.
  • If no DOI is available, provide the home page URL of the journal or of the book or report publisher, not the URL of the article as retrieved from a database search. Do not place a period after the URL.
  • For both free resources and subscription resources quote the web address (URL) of the resource's home page. For those supplied by the University of Melbourne through Discovery, you may need to do a quick search for the resource’s home page.
  • The retrieval date need only be included if the content is likely to change, as with Wikis.

Explore resources to help with reference management and enable you to effectively integrate and cite sources into your writing and assessment tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Access all referencing FAQs Chat to a librarian