Citing a blog post in APA style
Update: 5 Dec 2014
While I have closed comments to cut-off the
spam, I still want to help puzzle through the query that led you here,
so if this post is not enough, you're welcome to
ask me through my new blog.
Update 25 May 2010: APA's amended 6th edition example slightly better...
But it needs more explanation, particularly as there are likely to be cases where following their example could lead to the source becoming lost for lack of information. With corrections to the first printing of the 6th edition, APA have corrected faults in their earlier example of citing a blog post, and included an example for citing a comment to a blog post (
APA, c2010, in pdf sorry, p. 6). Unfortunately three factors are still missing without explanation:
- Blog title. For the post, and comment from it, that have been chosen for examples, the blog title is contained the URL - however it must be remembered that not all blogs are hosted such that their titles show in the URL, and that sometimes blogs are moved. In such cases the title of the blog in which the post appeared might make it easier for other researchers to find the post (or comment) if the blog is moved after you have cited it. While in many cases author and post title might be sufficient, authors do write in different blogs, and over time might conceivably use the same post title in two or more different places.
*By default I would encourage people to provide the Blog Title unless it would only duplicate information contained elsewhere in the reference (such as for this blog, where my name as author is the same as the blog's title).
- Retrieved date. Blog posts and sometimes blog comments are editable and removable, a retrieval date is advised when our source may be changed.
- Precise URL, the comment APA cite was one of a multitude, and I think that commenter did comment more than once on that date, the specific URL to the specific comment would be useful.
Update 28 April 2009: a.k.a screen-name
For my original post I could not find a word from APA on how to cite an author who uses a screen-name. Apparently since the 2007 update we are to use the author's real name if it is available, but if not then to use the screen-name as given (APA, 2007, p23).
Is this consistent with the APA style principle to provide enough information for the reader to find the source?
Land (1998) proposed inclusion of an [a.k.a screen-name] sub-element... which would allow the source-checker to properly identify the item written under a screen-name. I'd prefer something like [as: screen-name] because it indicates how the author named themselves in the cited instance. To me "also known as" confusingly suggests that the author identified themselves by their real name when they are potentially better known by their screen-name. I'm curious how an [a.k.a] or [as: ] author sub-element might be handled by automated referencing tools.
Update 10 April 2009: APA's faulty example
See more recent update above.
I have since discovered that APA (2007) has published a revised and updated version of section 4.16 (Electronic References). APA's example for a weblog post is a fail... for a start their citation is for a comment to a post, not to the post itself... In a new post I'll explain and encourage APA to edit their new guide as soon as possible. I encourage people citing blogs to use APA principles and guidelines
rather than the failed if an example might be insufficient.
Original post 4 April 2007:
Clancy (2003) proposed one method for citing a blog post:
Vaidhyanathan, S. (2003). Universities, RIAA, and academic freedom. Sivacracy.net: Siva Vaidhyanathan's weblog. Retrieved April 26, 2003, from http://www.nyu.edu/classes/siva /2003_04_23_blogarchive.html#200187673.
which I would only alter so that the publication date is in full, periodical (blog) title appears in italics and the whole thing not end in a period (fullstop):
Vaidhyanathan, S. (2003, April 23). Universities, RIAA, and academic freedom. Sivacracy.net: Siva Vaidhyanathan's weblog. Retrieved April 26, 2003, from http://www.nyu.edu/classes/siva /2003_04_23_blogarchive.html#200187673
I'd have commented with my humble opinion to his post but I don't want to register to do so, having never been by Kairosnews before, and only stopping by today via my own google search for answers about referencing blog posts in APA style.
Citing similarly to Clancy is
Scheidt [a.k.a prolurkr] (2004):
alan (Nov. 4, 2003). BlogWondering (what the heck is a blog?). BlogShop. Retrieved Nov. 22, 2004 from http://jade.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/blogshop/archives/000282.html
It has been a vexing question for me in preparing my TAFE assignments. I have been working on a variety of assumptions:
When the blog has a distinct title I start from the Online periodical form (American Psychological Association [APA], 2001, p. 223):
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (2000). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, xxx-xxx. Retrieved month day, year, from source.
but provide the exact date on the publication (APA, 2001, p. 225;
cel4145, 2003,), the title or subject line of the blog post as the article, the name of the blog as the periodical and as most blogs do not have volume or issue numbers xx, xxx-xxx would be omitted. Also, according to the examples (APA, 2001, pp 272-281) and instruction (APA, 2001, p. 231) the citation would, after the source being a URL, not end in a full-stop (period, dot).
For example:
Shirky, C. (2005, January 27). Folksonomies + controlled vocabularies. MANY 2 MANY. Retrieved 14 March, 2007, from http://many.corante.com/archives/2005/01/07/folksonomies_controlled_vocabularies.php
The issue of volumes and issues does remind me of situations where blogs have moved from one place to another and the original site may stay up indefinitely. If one has referenced either site that shouldn't be a problem I guess. What if the whole blog is not moved, that is, what if the first few years of the blog remain in the first place, and the new place only contains from the moving date on? Then I guess that whichever I reference, so long as I do so precisely, will remain relevant.
When the blog is more a tool within a larger website (and doesn't have a clearly designated title) I've started with the online document form (APA, 2001, p. 223):
Author, A. A. (2000). Title of work. Retrieved month day, year, from source.
using subject line of the blog post for the title of the work, and giving name of the organisation (APA, 2001, p. 274) and section of their website in case the URL becomes irrelevant if the organisation restructures their website.
For example:
Blyberg, J. (2007). New website enhancements. Retrieved 22 January, 2007 from Ann Arbor District Library, Library News weblog: http://www.aadl.org/node/3534
It looks like I've followed instructions without realising it, because I've just discovered the instruction to look over the general forms and follow the format of the example most like my source and when in doubt "provide more information rather than less" (APA, 2001, p. 232).
References:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
American Psychological Association. (2007). APA Style Guide to Electronic References. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
American Psychological Association. (c2010). Corrections to the First Printing of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition (July 2009) [online document]. Retrieved 5 May, 2010 from http://supp.apa.org/style/PM6E-1st-Printing-Reprint-Corrections.pdf
cel4145. (2003, April 27). Comment posted to blog post by Clancy. (2003, April 26). How do you cite a blog post in your bibliography? Kairosnews. Retrieved 3 April, 2007, from http://kairosnews.org/how-do-you-cite-a-blog-post-in-your-bibliography#comment-1616
Clancy. (2003, April 26). How do you cite a blog post in your bibliography? Kairosnews. Retrieved 3 April, 2007, from http://kairosnews.org/node/1830
Land, T. [a.k.a Beads] (1998, October 15). Web Extension to American Psychological Association Style (WEAPAS) (Rev. 1.6). Retrieved 10 April, 2009, from http://www.beadsland.com/weapas/
Scheidt, L. [a.k.a. prolurkr] (2004, December 12). Blog citation when found in an intervening blog. Professional-Lurker: Comments by an academic in cyberspace. Retrieved 4 April, 2007, from http://www.professional-lurker.com/archives/000335.html
Not with Quintura. Silvia's review: looking cool, and embeddable, with dubious results. MMM, I guess embedability is a desirable feature. But for a supposedly a visual search engine - What is visual about it? Aside from the overly cutesy picture background? 
KartOO uses Flashplayer to present the gathered and compiled results in a series of interactive maps - like concept maps. Stronger results (not necessarily most relevant) appear slightly larger. Mouse hovering over results displays lines to, I guess other pages to which it is linked, at the same time displaying more information about the site in the sidebar. Hovering over underlying association terms (eg 'lessons') gives different lines, and changes the sidebar list of associated topics with which you might like to refine your search. Icons you've perused are marked with a "/".
I like getting a preview of the top 12 results. It allows the resulting pages to speak for themselves - particularly helpful to people who absorb information visually rather than textually (ie people who register logos or icons more quickly than the point in words, or who recognise a word more quickly when in its familiar font/shape/colour)
