How do I reference a source if I don't know what it is?
Answer
If you are trying to reference a source of information and you don't quite know how to classify it, that's okay! You can still create a proper reference as long as you remember the basic elements. The elements of a reference and the order in which they are presented is as follows:
Author. (Date). Title of item. Source. Retrieval information.
'Source' is the element that varies between different format types. 'Source' could be a publisher's name, journal name, or the name of a website. If it's an online resource, you may also need to include a URL or DOI number as part of the retrieval information. Offline resources like books don't need retrieval information.
One important thing you need to determine is whether or not your information source is part of a greater whole or not. This determines whether you need to italicize the title of the item or the title of the source. For example, journal and magazine articles are part of a greater whole, which is the journal or magazine they were published in, so you italicize that. Books and webpages, on the other hand, stand on their own, so you italicize their title instead.
More Information:
- What if a source has no author, date, or title?
- What is a citation?
- What is a reference?
- For more information, check out this article from the APA Style Website!