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APA Citation Style, 6th edition: Database

A guide to help users create citations using APA (American Psychological Association) style, 6th edition.

Helpful Tip!

Do you need to include the full URL?

When you are citing a subscription database do NOT include the full long URL.  

Rule: Subscription Database
Don't: Since a subscription database item is only available if the reader has access, you should not include the long URL of the item. 
Do:  Do include the homepage URL of the database to show the reader the name of the publisher and how one would be able to access the item if they obtained  a subscription to the database.

Bad Example: Tuggy, M.L., & Gilliam, M. (2013, July 28). Knee Injury.St. Louis: Elsevier. Retrieved  July, 8, 2015 from https://www.clinicalkey.com/#!/
content/medical_topic/21-s2.0-1016324?scrollTo=%23heading80

Good Example: Tuggy, M.L., & Gilliam, M. (2013, July 28). Knee Injury.St. Louis: Elsevier. Retrieved  July, 8, 2015 from www.clinicalkey.com

See: APA blog What to Use—The Full Document URL or Home Page URL?

Point-of-Care Database Records

Helpful Tip
  • When citing sources that you find from a Point-of-Care Database (e.g. Dynamed, FirstConsult, Epocrates, UptoDate) treat the record as if it was from an e-book entry. You may need to include a retrieval date if the information you viewed is likely to change over time (p. 203-204).   
    • Authors: If the entry does not list author(s) names, you should use the corporate author (i.e. Dynamed).
    • Dates: Look for the last updated or last revised date usually posted at the top or bottom of the record
    • Retrieved: Include the date you accessed the information
General Format 
       In-Text Citation: 
      (Author Surname, Year/last updated)
     
       References:
      Personal or Corporate Author. (Last update  if not known, put n.d.).
            Title of specific document. Publisher. Retrieved date from URL database homepage
  
Example: DynamedPlus
       In-Text Citation: DynamedPlus
      (DynamedPlus, 2017)
 
      References: Dynamed 
      DynamedPlus (2017, July 18). Diabetes mellitus type 2 in children and adolescents​.  
            Ipswich MA: EBSCO. Retrieved  August  3, 2017 from www.dynamed.com
 
 Example: FirstConsult        
       In-Text Citation: FirstConsult
      (Dietrich & Kreindler, 2015)
 
      References: FirstConsult 
      Dietrich, A., & Kriendler, J.L.  (2015, April 17). Asthma in Children​.  St. Louis: Elsevier. 
            Retrieved  January, 15, 2016 from www.clinicalkey.com
 
Example: Epocrates 
       In-Text Citation: Epocrates
      (Shah & Kantharia, 2017)
 
      References: Epocrates

      Shah , A.N., & Kantharia, B.K. (2017, January 23). Acute atrial fibrillation. San Mateo, CA :
            Epocrates, Inc.. Retrieved  August, 2, 2017 from www.epocrates.com

Example: Pediatric Care Online
       In-Text Citation: Pediatric Care Online
      (Pediatric Care Online, 2017)
 
      References: Epocrates

      Pediatric Care Online. (2016, May 18). Kawasaki Disease. Washington, DC : American
           Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved  August, 2, 2017 from https://pediatriccare.solutions.aap.org

 
 
Subjects: Research

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