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How to cite in APA when there are no authors

This article covers how to cite in APA Style (7th ed.) when there are no known authors for a reference or when the author is unknown or cannot be reasonably determined. Before treating a reference as though it has no author, consider whether a group or organization (such as a government agency, association, nonprofit organization, business, hospital, task force, or study group) could be the author by checking the cover or title page.

Citing in-text when there are no authors

APA 7th ed. uses the author-date citation system for citing references in-text. In parenthetical citations, this structure includes the author’s last name and the publication year (with a comma separating them) in parentheses. In narrative citations, the author’s last name is incorporated into the sentence. This formatting applies if your source has one author or if you are citing a source with multiple authors in APA .

Parenthetical citation for source with author:

(Author Last Name, Year Published)

(Cheung, 2013)

Narrative citation for source with author:

Author Last Name (Year Published)

Cheung (2013)

If a reference has an unknown author, the title of the work substitutes as the author name in the in-text citation.

• The title should have each significant word capitalized (basically sentence case).
• This means it is part of a larger work (like when citing a journal article from a journal in APA ).
• If the source title is italicized in the reference list entry, italicize the title in the in-text citation (example: books when cited in APA ).

No author, source title italicized:

(Source Title , year published)

( Park Avenue Summer , 2019)

No author, source title in quotes:

(“Source Title,” year published)

(“22 New Apple Varieties,” 1997)

Author designated as “Anonymous”

Only use the capitalized word “Anonymous” in place of the author’s name when it’s overtly designated, not as a general substitute for a reference with an unknown author.

“Anonymous” as author name:

(Anonymous, year published)

(Anonymous, 2020)

Citing in the reference list when there are no authors

To add a reference with no author to the reference list, first move the title of the reference to the author position in your citation . For further information on creating reference list citations, see this guide on APA citations.

Reference list examples:

Park avenue summer. (2019). Penguin Random House.

22 new apple varieties. (1997). Food Magazine . https://foodmag.com/article/1997/22-new-apple-varietites

If the reference is overtly signed “Anonymous,” then you can add the entry to the reference list as if “Anonymous” were the author’s last name.

Anonymous. (2020). Navigating the high seas. Sea Life. https://sealife.gov

Alphabetizing the reference list for sources with no known author

Reference list entries without an author are alphabetized by the first significant word of the title.

• Ignore the words “A,” “An,” and “The” when putting your reference list in order.
• Begin the entry with the word “Anonymous” only if the work is signed “Anonymous.”
• If the reference has no author and is not signed “Anonymous,” then you can alphabetize it in the reference list based on the work’s title.
• If the title begins with a number, alphabetize the reference as though the number were spelled out. For example, you would alphabetize the number 22 as though it were written as the word “twenty-two.”

Alphabetical order of reference list example:

22 new apple varieties. (1997). Food Magazine . https://foodmag.com/article/1997/11/new-apple-varietites

Published October 28, 2020.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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To cite a source with no author or no date in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the title of the work, publisher if it is a book reference or volume and page details if it is a journal reference, and/or URL (uniform resource locator). The templates and examples for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book with no author and a book with no date are given below.

Book with no author

In-text citation template and example:

Books with no author in general, but not always, are given as parenthetical citations. If the book does not have an author, cite it by its title. If the title is too long, shorten the title in the in-text citation. Italicize the title in the in-text citation. Follow title case in the in-text citation even though the book title is in sentence case in the reference list entry. A parenthetical citation might look like this:

( Title of the Book , Publication Year)

( The Cultural Politics of Emotion , 2014)

Reference list entry template and example:

Title of the book . (Publication Year). Publisher.

The cultural politics of emotion . (2014). Edinburgh University Press

The title of the book is in italics and sentence case. While arranging the reference entry alphabetically in the reference list, arrange the entry by treating the title as author name. Remember that articles (A, An, and The), if present at the beginning of the title, should not be considered for alphabetization. When you have a numeral used in the title, consider it to be in the spelled-out form and arrange it accordingly in the reference list.

  Book with no date

If you cite a book without a date, use “n.d.” in place of the year.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cohen (n.d.)

Parenthetical:

(Cohen, n.d.)

Cohen, J. (n.d.). Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

To cite a book with no author in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the title of the book, publisher, and/or URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book along with examples are given below:

In-text citation template and examples:

Books with no author in general, but not always, are given as parenthetical citations. If the book does not have an author, cite it by its title. If the title is too long, shorten the title in the in-text citation. Italicize the title in the in-text citation. Follow title case in the in-text citation even though the book title is set in sentence case in the reference list entry. A parenthetical citation might look like this:

( Addressing Uncertainty in Oil and Natural Gas Industry , 2009)

Title of the book . (Publication Year). Publisher. URL

Addressing uncertainty in oil and natural gas industry greenhouse gas inventories: Technical considerations and calculation methods . (2009). American Petroleum Institute. http://www.api.org/~/media/Files/EHS/climate-change/Addressing_Uncertainty.pdf

You need to set the title of the book in italics and sentence case. While arranging the reference entry alphabetically in the reference list, arrange the entry by treating the title as author name. Remember that articles (A, An, and The), if present at the beginning of the title, should not be considered for alphabetization. When you have a numeral used in the title, consider it to be in the spelled-out form and arrange it accordingly in the reference list.

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• How to cite a webpage with no author, date, or title in APA Style

No Author, Date, or Title in APA Style | Formats & Examples

Published on November 6, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on June 16, 2022.

Webpage citations in APA Style consist of five components: author, publication date, title, website name, and URL.

Unfortunately, some of these components are sometimes missing. For instance, there may be no author or publication date. This article explains how to handle different kinds and combinations of missing information.

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Table of contents, basic webpage citation format, no author or date, no author or title, no date or title, no author, date, or title.

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Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, June 16). No Author, Date, or Title in APA Style | Formats & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved November 8, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/citing-online-sources-no-author-date-title/

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Book with no Author

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

( Book title [usually shortened], Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

( Book title [usually shortened], Year, page number)

References:

Book title: Subtitle. (Year). Publisher.

( Merriam-Webster's , 2005)

( Merriam-Webster's , 2005, p. 3)

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2005). Merriam-Webster.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab College of Loose Arts

Generals Format

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Those browse is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. For printing the page, you needs include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Dental & The EAGLE in Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material can not be release, reproduced, broadcast, updated, button redistributed not permission. Use of this site compose acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair employ.

Note:  The page reflections the latest version of the APA Publication Textbook (i.e., APA 7), which freed in October 2019. To equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  bottle be found around .

Please use who example at the bottom of this sheet to cite the Purdue OWL in APA.

You can also watch unseren APA vidcast product on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .

General APA Guidelines

Your essay should be typed and double-spaced off standard-sized paper (8.5" scratch 11"), the 1" margins set all sides.   Include a page header (also known as who “ race headache ”) at that top of every pages. For a professional paper, this includes your report title and this page number. For one student essay, to only including the page number. To create a page header/running headpiece , install page numeric flush right. Following type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in of heads flush left using see capital letters. The running head belongs a shortened version of your paper's title and unable exceed 50 characters inclusive drive and punctuation.

The 7th edition of the APA Publication Operating requires that the dial font be accessible (i.e., legible) for view bookworms and this it must used consistently continuous the paper. It acknowledges that many font choices become legitimate, and it advises writers the check with their publishers, instructors, or institutions for guidance in cases of uncertainty.

Whereas the APA Manual does not specify a single font or select of  fonts for professional writing, it does urge a few character that are widely existing. These inclusion sans serif fonts such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, and 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode in well the serif fonts such as 12-point Times News Roman, 11-point Georgia, 10-point Computer Modern. Free APA Citation Generator | Verified by Subject | Scribbr

Major Paper Sections

The essay should include four major sections: the Title Page , Abstract , Chief Body , and References .

Title Pages

Note: APA 7 provides slightly different directions for formatting the title pages of proficient papers (e.g., such intended for scholarly publication) furthermore student papers (e.g., those turned stylish for credit in a high school or college course).

The title page should include the title of the paper, the author's name , and the institutional affiliation . A professional paper require also enclosing the autor note . A student paper should also include the course number and name , instructor name , and assignment due date .

Type your title in top and capital alphabetical centered in the upper half for the page. The title should be centered and written in boldface. APA recommends that yours title be focused and succinct real that it should not contain abbreviations or words that server no destination. Your title may take back neat or two lines. All text with the title turn, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced.

Beneath the title, variety the author's designate : first name, middle initial(s), and last designate. Does not use titles (Dr.) with degrees (PhD).

Beneath the author's name, gender the institutionals affiliation , which should anweisen the location show the author(s) conducted the research.

A professional paper should include the article note beneath this institutional affiliation, in the bottom half of the title page. This should be divisible up into several paragraphs, with any heading that are not relevant omitted. The first body should include the author’s name, this symbol by the ORCID iD, and the URL for the ORCID iD. No authors who do not have an ORCID iD have be omitted. The second paragraph supposed show any change in company or any deaths of the authors. The tertiary paragraph should comprise any disclosures or acknowledgements, such as study registration, open practices and data sharing, disclosure of related reports and conflicts of interest, and acknowledgement are economic support and different assistance. The fourth paragraph should include contact get for the corresponding writer.

AN student paper should not include an author note.

Note again that page headers/page numbers (described above for professional and student papers) also appear at the top away the title page. In other words, one professional paper's cover web will incorporate the title of the report flush left in choose large and the folio number flush right, whilst a student page will just contain the page number flush right.

Student APA title page

Top page for a student paper in APA 7 style.

Professional paper APA title page

Title page in ampere professional paper includes APA 7 style.

Begin a recent page. Your abstract page should already include the page header (described above). On the first line of one extract turn, center and rich one word “Abstract” (no italics, highlights, or quotation marks).

Beginning with the next row, post a concise summary a the key points on own research. (Do not indent.) Your abstract supposed contain at least your exploring topic, research questions, participants, methods, results, info analysis, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications of your research and past jobs you check connected with your outcomes. Your abstract should be a single paragraph, double-spaced. Your abstract have typically live no additional than 250 words.

You may also want to list headwords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if yourself had starting a new article, print Keywords: (italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing choose passwords will help our find your work in resources.

Abstracts are common in scholarly newspaper articles plus are not characteristic required for student papers unless advised per an instructor. When you are undetermined when or not your work requires an executive, consult your instructor for further leadership. LibGuides: Citation Styles: A Summary Guide to APA, MLA and Turabian: Sample Bibliography: APA

APA Abstracts Page

Abstract page for a student paper in APA 7 style.

Please see our Sample APA Paper resource the see an example of an APA paper. You may also come our Additional Resources page for more examples of APA papers.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in APA

Individual resource.

An view template for the newer OWL site does not inclusion contributors' designations or the page's final redacted date. Even, select pages  still comprise this intelligence.

In the absence of contributor/edit set information, process the page as a source with an user author and use and abbreviation "n.d." for "no date":

In Online Writing Lab. (n.d.).  Title of resource.  Purdue Online Writing Lab. http://Web address forward OWL resource

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.).  General Writing FAQs. Purdue Virtual Writing Dental. https://mhthousing.org/owl/general_writing/general_writing_faqs.html

The generic APA citation for OWL pages, which includes author/edit date information, your these:

Contributors' names. (Last edited date).  Title of resource . Our Print. http://Web address for OWLET resource

• Journals & magazine articles
• Newspaper articles
• In-text Citations
• Paper Format/Guidelines

Website citation tips

Information about citing e-mail messages, websites with no author, entire websites, and more can be found in the APA Style Frequently Asked Questions page under the References section.

The Purdue OWL has a detailed page with examples of electronic resources in APA format.

In Text Citations

Inside your paper, give credit to the works you quote.

See examples of how to tell your readers where facts, paraphrases, or quotes in your paper come from at this site from the Purdue OWL.

The APA Style website provides an overview of information regarding citations in text of electronic material on the APA Frequently Asked Questions page , including:

• e-mail communications
• entire websites
• web pages with no authors
• website material with no author, no year, and no page numbers .
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Citing Your Sources

Why are citations important? Why is it necessary to cite?

To avoid plagiarism, you must give proper credit to all sources you use! Whenever you paraphrase or directly quote information, you must cite the sources of the information using a specific citation style. One of the most commonly used citation styles is APA -- the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) . The current version of the APA Manual is the 7th edition, 2020 . When using APA to cite your sources, you must have a list of References at the end of your paper and corresponding in-text citations in the body of your paper.

Cleveland State University takes plagiarism very seriously. Please see The Code of Student Conduct , which defines plagiarism as "stealing and/or using the ideas or writings of another in a paper or report and claiming them as your own. This includes but is not limited to the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment" (p. 53). Many CSU professors require their students to use a program named Turnitin.com , which checks papers for plagiarism.

Please take the time to become familiar with APA style since you will use it a lot in your courses! There are many RULES to follow when citing sources in APA style, such as order of the elements, capitalization, and punctuation.

• If you do not have access to the paper APA Manual, then refer to the Citation Guides page on the Library's Virtual Reference Desk . It contains links to websites to help you format your citations. A good starting point is the Purdue OWL site. 
• The Purdue OWL is an excellent website for learning about APA Citation Style. Once you access the website, explore the links to the left, including In-Text Citations: The Basics and Reference List: Basic Rules . Review the many examples for citing different formats in APA style and the rules pertaining to Authors as well.
• The APA citing help inside a research database is a good starting point, but ALWAYS check the references because the formatting is NOT 100% correct.
• You can use free citation generators like Citation Machine or EasyBib to format citations, but they are not perfect, either! Double check your work! 
• Use the References tab in Microsoft Word to insert citations and manage your sources. You can generate a reference list and insert in-text citations in your paper from this References tab. Make sure to check your citations for accuracy!
• Use Mendeley or Zotero , which are free, web-based tools "to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources." See the Mendeley Research Guide and/or the Zotero Research Guide for more information. Mendeley and Zotero are powerful reference management tools, but errors still can occur. Remember that you are responsible for the accuracy of your citations. Make sure to proofread before submitting your work.

Writing Help

If you need help with the writing process (including properly citing sources), then make an appointment with CSU's Writing Center , which is located on the 1st floor of the Michael Schwartz Library.

APA Manual (Paper Version)

The Michael Schwartz Library has copies of the APA Manual available for review.

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: No Author

• General Style Guidelines
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• Edition other than the First
• Translation
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About Citing Books

For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.

The following format will be used:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words. For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue .

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

Information on citing and several of the examples were drawn from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

Book with no Author

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

( Book title [usually shortened], Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

( Book title [usually shortened], Year, page number)

References:

Book title: Subtitle. (Year). Publisher.

( Merriam-Webster's , 2005)

( Merriam-Webster's , 2005, p. 3)

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2005). Merriam-Webster.

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