Source. The location the resource is housed or where it can be retrieved.
As with titles, sources fall into two broad categories: works that are part of a greater whole and works that stand alone.
- The source for a work that is part of a greater whole (e.g., journal article, edited book chapter) is that greater whole (i.e., the journal or edited book), plus any applicable DOI or URL.
- The source for a work that stands alone (e.g., whole book, report, dissertation, thesis, film, TV series, podcast, data set, informally published work, social media, webpage) is the publisher of the work, database or archive, social media site, or website, plus any applicable DOI or URL.
- A location is not required in the source element for most works (e.g., do not include the publisher location for book references).
- Works associated with a specific location (e.g., artwork in a museum, conference presentations) include location information in the source and, depending on the work, may also include a DOI or URL.
If a work is not recoverable, treat it as having no source (APAStyle.org).
(APAStyle.org)
Database Information in References by APAStyle.org spells out when a database is needed in the reference list entry.
Guidance on DOIs and URLs.
