Referencing style

Webpages on websites

30 September 2023

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Whole websites

Do not create an entry in the reference list or use in-text citations. For details on how to mention a whole website in general, see Whole Website References (APA Style website).

Specific types of documents accessed online

Reference with the template for the type of source, for example books and book chapters, journal articles, encyclopedias and dictionaries, informally published works, newspaper articles or reports.

PDF documents on websites

Cultural Learning Alliance. (2018). The arts, health & wellbeing: Why the arts make us happier and healthier (Briefing Paper No. 3). https://culturallearningalliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Arts-Health-and-Wellbeing-Briefing.pdf

Ministry of Health. (2015). Suicide facts: Deaths and intentional self-harm hospitalisations, 2012. https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/suicide-facts-2012-may15-v2.pdf

Parenthetical citations: (Cultural Learning Alliance, 2018; Ministry of Health, 2015)
Narrative citations: Cultural Learning Alliance (2018) and Ministry of Health (2015)

PDF documents are typically ebooks or online reports.
If there is a date, use the year only in the reference.
Omit the publisher name if it is identical to the author.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. OR Name of Group. (Year, Month Date). Title of webpage: Subtitle of webpage. Website Name. URL OR (for a webpage designed to change, nonarchived) Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL

Wilkins, A. (2018, June 28). NZ Govt yet to address single-use plastic bags, despite Australia’s progress. Newshub. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/nz-govt-yet-to-address-single-use-plastic-bags-despite-australia-s-progress.html

Parenthetical citation: (Wilkins, 2018)
Narrative citation: Wilkins (2018)

Author and website name are the same

figure.NZ. (n.d.). New Zealand adults diagnosed with anxiety disorder. https://figure.nz/chart/MZK3hLTkW1XjQEK8-vr4UEOu5nohyYJwN

Ministry of Health–Manatū Hauora. (2022, April 4). COVID-19: Use of face masks in the community. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-general-public/covid-19-use-masks-community

Stats NZ–Tatauranga Aotearoa. (2022, June 3). Exploring the benefits and costs of multiple imputation for the 2018 Census. https://www.stats.govt.nz/methods/exploring-the-benefits-and-costs-of-multiple-imputation-for-the-2018-census/

Parenthetical citations: (figure.NZ, n.d.; Ministry of Health–Manatū Hauora, 2022; Stats NZ–Tatauranga Aotearoa, 2022)
Narrative citations: figure.NZ (n.d.), Ministry of Health–Manatū Hauora (2022), and Stats NZ–Tatauranga Aotearoa (2022)

Author and website name are the same; changeable nonarchived webpage

Stats NZ–Tatauranga Aotearoa. (n.d.). Population. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.stats.govt.nz/topics/population

Parenthetical citation: (Stats NZ–Tatauranga Aotearoa, n.d.)
Narrative citation: (Stats NZ–Tatauranga Aotearoa, n.d.)

Date: Use the date of publication if available; use the date of last update instead when present.
- Do not use copyright dates from website footers as they may not apply to specific content.
- Do not use dates of last review as reviewed content may not have changed.
Website name: When the author and website name are the same, omit the Website Name element.
News websites: Use the webpage on a website format for articles from news websites such as Scoop, as they are not associated with daily or weekly newspapers. Use the newspaper articles format for articles from newspaper websites such as The Press.
Retrieval date: Include a retrieval date only if the contents of the page are designed to change over time and the older versions of the page are not archived.

Name of Group. (Year, Month Date). Title of webpage: Subtitle of webpage. Website Name. URL

Ministry for Culture and Heritage. (2021, October 20). The Wairau incident. NZHistory. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/wairau-incident

Science Learning Hub–Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao. (2012, October 10). Carbonate chemistry. https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/469-carbonate-chemistry

World Health Organization. (2018, February 15). Asbestos: Elimination of asbestos-related diseases. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/asbestos-elimination-of-asbestos-related-diseases

Parenthetical citations: (Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 2021; Science Learning Hub–Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao, 2012; World Health Organization, 2018)
Narrative citations: Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2021), Science Learning Hub–Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao (2012), and World Health Organization (2018)

Group authors: See Author Variations for more about group authors in references and in-text citations.
Date: Use the date of publication if available; use the date of last update instead when present.
- Do not use copyright dates from website footers as they may not apply to specific content.
- Do not use dates of last review as reviewed content may not have changed.
Website name: When the author and website name are the same, omit the Website Name element.
Retrieval date: Include a retrieval date only if the contents of the page are designed to change over time and the older versions of the page are not archived.

The author of a webpage may not be given in a normal byline but it can be determined from context.

For a webpage from an organisational or government website, the organisation or government agency itself is the author, unless otherwise specified.
The author may also be located on an “about us” or acknowledgements page.

Ensure that the date applies to the content you are referencing.

Do not use copyright dates from website footers as they may not apply to specific content.
Do not use dates of last review as reviewed content may not have changed.
If there is no date of publication or date of last update, treat the work as having no date and write n.d.
- To distinguish references with the same author and no date, put a hyphen and letter after no date: n.d.-a, n.d.-b and so on.
- The order of n.d.-a, n.d.-b and so on is title alphabetical order, ignoring any initial A, An or The.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. OR Name of Group. (n.d.). Title of webpage: Subtitle of webpage. Website Name. URL

Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. (n.d.-a). Developing an inclusive classroom culture. Inclusive Education. https://www.inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/developing-an-inclusive-classroom-culture/

Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. (n.d.-b). Digital technologies and the technology learning area. Enabling e-Learning. https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Curriculum-learning-areas/Digital-technologies-and-the-technology-learning-area

Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. (n.d.-c). A new model for delivering learning support. https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/strengthening-learning-support/a-new-model-for-delivering-learning-support/

Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. (n.d.-d). Strengthening learning support. https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/strengthening-learning-support/

United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change/

Parenthetical citations: (Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, n.d.-a, n.d.-b, n.d.-c, n.d.-d; United Nations, n.d.)
Narrative citations: Ministry of Education–Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga (n.d.-a, n.d.-b, n.d.-c, n.d.-d) and United Nations (n.d.)

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. OR Name of Group. (Year, Month Date). Title of blog post: Subtitle of blog post. Blog Site Name. URL

Bombara, L. (n.d.). Sustainability in the early years. Modern Teaching Blog. https://blog.teaching.com.au/sustainability-in-the-early-years

Grohol, J. M. (2018, July 8). While you sleep, your brain keeps working. Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/blog/while-you-sleep-your-brain-keeps-working/

Humphreys, H. (2021, February 25). On interconnectedness: A Māori perspective on educating. Faith in Learning. https://huwhumphreys.wordpress.com/2021/02/25/on-interconnectedness-a-maori-perspective-on-educating/

Parenthetical citations: (Bombara, n.d.; Grohol, 2018; Humphreys, 2021)
Narrative citations: Bombara (n.d.), Grohol (2018), and Humphreys (2021)

See also Blog Post and Blog Comment References (APA Style website).

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. OR Name of Group. (Year, Month Date). Title of press release: Subtitle of press release [Press release]. Website Name. URL

Little, A. (2019, December 12). New direction for criminal justice reform [Press release]. Beehive.govt.nz. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-direction-criminal-justice-reform

World Health Organization. (2013, November 11). Global health workforce shortage to reach 12.9 million in coming decade [Press release]. https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/health-workforce-shortage/en/

Parenthetical citations: (Little, 2019; World Health Organization, 2013)
Narrative citations: Little (2019) and the World Health Organization (2013)

Website name: When the author and the website name of the press release are the same, omit the Website Name to avoid repetition, as with the World Health Organization example.