A Guide To Apa Citation For Hospital Websites

how to apa cite a hospital website

Citing a hospital website in APA format can be challenging due to the lack of standardization across websites. The APA format for website citations involves several key elements, including the author's name, publication date, title of the webpage, website name, and URL. When citing a hospital website, the hospital name often serves as the author or group author name. The date of the website's last update or publication is used, along with the title of the specific webpage and the URL. If the URL is lengthy, it can be broken at a slash (/)/co: 9>. Additionally, it is important to cite the archived version of the page, especially for websites like Wikipedia, which are frequently updated. For a comprehensive understanding of citing unusual sources, the APA Style Blog is a valuable resource.

Characteristics Values
Author Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given
Year Year of publication
Month and Day Month and Day of publication
Title of Page Title of the page in italics
Subtitle Subtitle of the page (if any)
Website Name Name of the website in plain text
URL URL of the page
Retrieval Date Retrieval date (only if the information may change over time)
Archived Version Cite the archived version of the page used

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Citing a hospital webpage vs. a whole website

When citing a hospital webpage or a whole website in APA style, there are specific guidelines to follow. APA style is detailed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, and it is important to refer to the manual or a style guide for full and accurate information. Here is an overview of how to cite a hospital webpage versus a whole website.

Citing a Hospital Webpage

When citing a specific webpage from a hospital website, the APA format is similar to that of other websites. The basic structure is as follows:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Website Name. URL

For example:

Rosen, A. (2023, January 20). Caregivers need care, too. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/caring-for-caregivers-of-people-with-alzheimers-disease

Note that if the author and website names are the same, the website name can be omitted. Additionally, retrieval dates are generally not included for webpages unless the information may change over time, such as for a webpage about an ongoing event.

Citing a Whole Hospital Website

When referring to a hospital website in general and not citing specific information from a particular webpage, the citation format is slightly different. In this case, you would provide the name of the website in the text and place the URL in parentheses. No references or in-text citations are needed.

For example:

Johns Hopkins Hospital website: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/

Additional Considerations

It is important to note that the APA treats articles on news websites differently from online newspapers with corresponding print publications. Articles from news websites like CBC News, BBC News, or HuffPost are considered webpages, while articles from online newspapers with print versions, such as The New York Times, are cited as periodical articles.

Furthermore, when citing a webpage or website, it is common for certain elements to be missing. In such cases, simply omit the missing element from the citation. Additionally, if no author is available for a webpage, the title of the webpage is used in its place for both in-text and reference list citations.

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How to format your citation

The APA citation style for websites can be challenging because they are not standardized in the same way as journal articles or books. Here is a detailed guide on how to format your citation for a hospital website:

Author Information

Begin your citation with the author's last name, followed by a comma and their first initial, and a full stop. If there are multiple authors, list them all, separating each with a comma, and ending the list with a full stop. If there is no author, start with the title of the webpage instead.

Publication Date

The next element is the date of publication. Include the year, followed by a comma and the month and day in numerical form, e.g., (2023, January 20). If the exact date is not available, use the date that the content was last updated. If you cannot find this information, look for a copyright or original publication date. If you still cannot find a date, use the abbreviation (n.d.) in round brackets.

After the date, include the title of the webpage in sentence case, followed by a period. If there is a subtitle, include it directly after the title, separated by a colon. Place the title in italics.

Website Name and URL

Next, include the name of the website in title case, followed by a comma and the URL. If the URL is long, break it at a slash (/)/co: 9>.

Retrieval Date

Most website citations in APA do not require a retrieval date. However, if you think the information may change over time, you may include it.

Formatting

All citations should be double-spaced with a hanging indent in the reference list. A hanging indent means that each line after the first line of your citation is indented by 0.5 inches.

Archived Pages

If you are citing a page from Wikipedia or another site with frequently updated content, cite the archived version of the page you used.

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Citing a website with a missing author

When citing a website with no identifiable author, the general format is as follows:

Start with the title/name of the website, followed by the date of publication (if available), and then include other relevant information such as the URL.

For example, if you were citing a webpage from a hospital website with no identifiable author, it might look like this:

"Understanding Heart Disease." (2023, September 15). Retrieved January 2, 2024, from https://hospital.com/heart-health/understanding-heart-disease

Note that the date of retrieval (January 2, 2024) is included because the content on this webpage is subject to change over time.

If you cannot find a publication date for the website, you can use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date") in place of the year, month, and day:

Additionally, if the website represents the work of a group, corporation, or organization, you can list the name of this entity as the author, followed by the remaining citation details:

Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year website was last updated/published, Month Day if given). Title of website. Retrieved Month Day, Year (if content is likely to change), from URL

For example:

Cleveland Clinic. (2023, September 15). Understanding Heart Disease. Retrieved January 2, 2024, from https://hospital.com/heart-health/understanding-heart-disease

Remember to use a "hanging indent" for your references, which means that each line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Also, note that these guidelines are based on the APA 7th edition style, which is commonly used in the health sciences and other disciplines.

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Citing a website with a group or corporate author

When citing a website with a group or corporate author in APA Style, the general format is as follows:

> Corporation/Group/Organization's Name. (Year webpage was last updated/published, Month Day if given). Title of page: Subtitle (if any). Website Name if different from author. 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-victions.
  • Adidas. (2020). Sustainability. https://www.adidas.com/us/sustainability. Retrieved January 23, 2020.

Note that when the author and website names are the same, you can omit the website name, as in the first example. However, if the website name is different from the author, be sure to include it, as shown in the second example.

Additionally, if you are abbreviating the corporation or group author's name in in-text citations, the first time you refer to the author, provide the full name along with the abbreviation. For example: "The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA, 2019)...". Subsequently, you can use the abbreviation in parentheses for your in-text citations.

Determining the date to use for a website citation can sometimes be challenging. Ideally, use the date that the content was last updated. If this is not available, look for a copyright or original publication date. This information may be found at the bottom of the website's pages. If you cannot find a complete date, use the most accurate date information you can find, even if it's just a year.

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Citing a Wikipedia page

When citing a Wikipedia page in APA format, it is important to note that Wikipedia is not considered a credible or citable source in most academic contexts and should be avoided if possible. However, if you need to cite a Wikipedia page, here is how you can do it:

The basic structure of an APA citation for a Wikipedia page is as follows:

Article Title. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved [date], from [URL].

For example: Plagiarism. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 10, 2004, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism.

Note that "n.d." stands for "no date," indicating that Wikipedia articles often lack a publication date. If a date is available, it should be included in the citation. Additionally, make sure to include the URL of the specific version of the page you are citing, as Wikipedia articles can be updated frequently.

Another example with a date included:

Apache ZooKeeper. (2019, December 1). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Apache_ZooKeeper&oldid=992755046.

In this example, the date refers to the date that the cited version of the page was published. It is important to provide the URL to the archived version of the page, rather than the current version, as the content may change over time.

Additionally, when citing a Wikipedia page in APA format, the article name takes the place of the author. However, some citation styles, like BibTeX, may require an author to be listed. In such cases, "Wikipedia" or "Wikipedia contributors" can be used as the author. For example: Wikipedia contributors. (2012, July 21). Child life specialist. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Child_life_specialist&oldid=494139300.

Remember to consult the APA Style Blog or the latest edition of the APA manual for detailed and up-to-date guidelines on citing Wikipedia pages and other unusual sources.

Frequently asked questions

If there is no known author, you can start the citation with the title of the website instead. Here is an example:

Title of Page. (Year, Month Day). Website Name. URL

Double space all citations and use a hanging indent in the reference list. A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches. Here is an example:

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial (if given). (Year, Month Day). Title of Page: Subtitle (if any). Website Name. URL

The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. If you cannot find this, look for a copyright or original publication date. If you still cannot find a date, use (n.d.) in round brackets to indicate that no date was provided.

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