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Citing Help

Common Scenarios in Citing Business Sources in APA

The APA style manual covers many major publication types, but business databases present unique challenges for citation. When stating from where you retrieved the information, the only URLs you should give are those on the open Internet (as opposed to URLs from sites that require you to login).

Be sure to check with your instructor for any specific citation requirements.

 

CanLII Case Law

The CanLII database provides a reference which with minor formatting changes is acceptable at Assiniboine. Copy the reference provided by CanLII, then change the formatting to match the examples below.

Copied References

  • Bartello v. Canada Post Corp., 1987 CanLII 177 (ON SC), <https://canlii.ca/t/1p77l>, retrieved on 2023-11-21

  • Canada Post Corp. v. Canada ( Minister of Public Works ) ( C.A. ), 1995 CanLII 3574 (FCA), [1995] 2 FC 110, <https://canlii.ca/t/4nj2>, retrieved on 2023-11-21

  • Canada Post Corp. v. Canadian Union of Postal Workers, 2019 SCC 67 (CanLII), [2019] 4 SCR 900, <https://canlii.ca/t/j47p4>, retrieved on 2023-11-21

     

Updated References

 

Company or Association Websites

Typically, there is no individual author for a company or association website, so the company is the corporate author. The italicized title is the name of the webpage or web article. If the content is not dated, use "n.d." instead.

  • Ford Motor Company. (2009). About Ford. http://www.ford.com/about.html

  • National Restaurant Association. (2015). Restaurant performance index. http://www.restaurant.org/News- Research/Research/

 

Company or Industry Profile

Most profiles do not have a personal author name, but you can use the corporate name of the publisher or database instead. Notice that you designate what kind of information this is in the square brackets. If you can't find a date, use n.d. instead.

  • Economic Development Brandon. (n.d.). Behlen Industries LP [Company profile]. http://economicdevelopmentbrandon.com/business-profiles

  • PrivCo Media, LLC. (2018). Mary Kay profile and business model [Company profile]. PrivCo.

 

IBISWorld Report

When an author name is listed, use it in your reference. If an author isn't listed, use the name of the report, being sure to include the Industry Report number in brackets.

  • Sayler, B. (2018, March). Coffee & snack shops in Canada (Industry Report 72221bCA). IBISWorld.

 

Note: If using NoodleTools to create your reference list, choose the following options to cite an IBISWorld report:​

  • Database
  • Original Content in Database
  • Don't enter a URL (the URL for IBISWorld is temporary and won't be accessible at a later time)
  • From the My library's databases dropdown menu, select IBISWorld
  • In the Title box, enter the report title and, in parentheses, the words Industry Report followed by the report number (see example above)
  • Fill in all other reference details provided in the report (e.g. publication date)
If you use a citing tool other than NoodleTools to create your reference list, the formatting may be different. Check with your instructor to ensure it meets requirements.

 

Press Release

You can usually find an author of a press release. Use a specific date rather than just the year. You may have retrieved a press release from a website or from a database, and the citation should reflect that.

  • Franco, J. (2010, November 11). Four in five adults say that being able to charge their devices wirelessly would make life easier. http://www.ipsos-na.com/

 

Social Media

The owner of the page is the author and the social media platform is the title if it is a page in LinkedIn or Facebook.  For Twitter, the title is the actual tweet. You should indicate the date you retrieved it as well.

  • American Marketing Association. (n.d.). Home [LinkedIn page}. LinkedIn. Retrieved September 22, 2021 from https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-marketing-association

  • ACC Library [@ACCLIBR]. (2019, April 23). Come out for Cram Jam today! We're open late to help students get ready for exams or work on projects. Reduce stress by cuddling with some furry friends and enjoy free pizza snacks! [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/ACCLIBR

 

Stock Quotes

The author is the stock exchange name from which you got the price. Notice that you need to be specific about the date, since prices change constantly. In the section for where you retrieved it, state where you found it with a database name if behind authentication or with a URL if on the open Internet.

  • NYSE. (2015, June 24). Starbucks Corporation [Stock quote and chart]. Retrieved October 30, 2017 from http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GPS&d=1.

Adapted and used with permission from Southern Methodist University Library.