Learn how to write and cite in APA 7th, why we cite and the basics of citation which apply to other citation styles (e.g. MLA), too. APA citation is primarily used in the social sciences including business. Click here to watch specific parts of this video.

Since 2000 there has been an effort to assign everything that exists in the digital world, e.g. online articles, with a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier or a DOI.  The DOI is unique, permanent, and persistent. It remains the same despite changes in URL's or permanent removal from the Internet.

In APA and AMA citation styles, use the DOI in citations whenever one is listed. See this FAQ for more information about DOIs, including what to do if you can't find the DOI.

Whether you are an experienced academic writer or this is your first paper, Webster University's Writing Center offers writing support for students. Find help with all kinds of research projects, including "reports; résumés and cover letters; admission essays and personal statements; summaries, critical analyses, and literature reviews; research and term papers; theses and dissertations; and more." Writing Center coaches are available at all stages of the writing process from brainstorming to draft revision and everything in-between.

Visit Writing Support to: 

• Schedule an appointment with a writing coach
• Submit a paper online to the Writing Center for review
• Select Writing Resources to find help with citation, grammar, avoiding plagiarism, and more

Citation generators can be helpful in getting the initial layout of your citations. There are many options for citation generators, and here's a few of them. 

Remember to always double check the generators' results to catch any errors that they may make.

ChatGPT and similar tools are not credible sources of information; however, if your instructor allows other uses of AI applications in your course, you will still need to cite the output of those applications as you would any other source you use in your academic work. Citing the output of generative AI, for example large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, is a unique challenge in that these applications are not "authors," and the output itself is irretrievable by others even when referenced. Therefore, you may need to provide additional documentation when submitting your work, for example, the full prompts you used to generate the output along with transcriptions or screenshots of the output. Style guides differ greatly on how and when to cite AI-generated content, so it's important to read the style guidelines for full details. Below are examples from the APA Style website for how to cite ChatGPT output specifically, but these examples should be applicable to any generative AI application.

Reference format:

Reference

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

In-text formats:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)

• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)