Distance Learning Support Kit: Welcome

	Referencing internet sites

The major issue when referencing internet sites is that they often don't have an "author" in the traditional sense of the term. Internet addresses can also be very long and complicated which can make them appear cumbersome and easy to make mistakes when copying.

This noted, when you reference internet sites you need to use the same conventions as you would for other sources. Basically, you want to make it as easy as possible for the reader to locate your reference if they need to.

First of all, check out if there are any authors (either individuals, groups or organisations). If there are, then you need to follow the same conventions as you would for a book or a journal.

Example

Shannon & Vinzant (1999) argue that although thoroughbred racehorses are commonly characterized as unprofitable investments, most previous studies are not truly representative because they fail to account for a number of factors affecting profitability.

This reference is from the following internet site:

Shannon, J., & Vinzant, P (1999) 'Maximum-likelihood estimates of racehorse earnings and profitability,' Journal of Agribusiness,17/1 at: http://www.agecon.uga.edu/~jab/abst-s99.htm.

Because the authors could be located, their names plus the place of publication is all that's needed for the in-text reference.

If all you could find is the name of an organisation, then you can use that.

Example

TotalPak (2004) states that its main aim is it work closely with chain stores, fruit and vegetable wholesalers, transport and logistics providers, and rural retails to assist in the emerging horticulture supply chain.

This reference is from the following internet site:
http://www.totalpak.net/.

Because the company name is the title of this internet site, then this can be used in much the same way as an author would be.

However, there will be times that you won't have any authors, journal titles or organisations to cite. In those cases you'll only be able to reference the URL.

Example

It is clear that the situation for black South Africans deteriorated in the mid twentieth century with the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948. It was at this point that racial discrimination in the country was legally institutionalised (http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html).