APA business citation guide

This page describes how to cite common business sources such as annual reports, articles, social media and statistics using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (APA) 6th ed.

For examples on how to cite sources from each business database, consult Concordia's guide on Citing Business Databases in APA Format.

Annual Reports from Company Website

In-text Citation:

(Unilever, 2010, p. 29)

Reference List:

Unilever. (2010). Annual report and accounts 2010. Retrieved from http://www.unilever.ca/Images/Unilever_AR10_tcm25-260444.pdf

Notes:

• The URL should provide a direct link to the company's annual report.
• Remember that there is no period after the URL.
• Include page numbers when citing information directly from the text.

EDGAR/SEDAR

In-text Citation:

(Air Canada, 2011, p. 2)
(Microsoft Corp., 2011, p. 10)

Reference List:

Air Canada. (2011, March 31). Air Canada: Annual report 2010. Retrieved from SEDAR database.

Microsoft Corp. (2011, July 28). Form 10-K. Retrieved from EDGAR database.

Note: Abbreviate long company names in the second and following In-text citations.

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Business Source Compete--EBSCO

In-text Citation:

(Matlack, 2012, p. 36)

Reference List:

Matlack, C. (2012, January 16). Who do you trust more: Facebook or a bank? Bloomberg Businessweek, 4262, 36-37. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly (CPIQ)

In-text Citation:

(Jerome, 2011)

Reference List:

Jerome, S. (2011, October 13). BlackBerry: Still no. 1. National Journal. Retrieved from Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly.

Eureka.cc--CEDROM SNI

In-text Citation:

(Jolicoeur, 2012)

Reference List:

Jolicoeur, M. (2012, January 24). Air Canada rompt les négociations avec ses pilotes. Les affaires.com. Retrieved from Eureka.cc database.

Factiva

In-text Citation:

(Lewis, 2012, p. 28)

Reference List:

The feeling is mutual; John Lewis as a model. (2012, January 21). The Economist, 402, 28. Retrieved from Factiva database.

ProQuest Business Databases

In-text Citation:

(Vukovic, 2011, p. 99)
(Robins, 2010, p. 25)

Reference List:

Vukovic, V. (2011). Political economy of the US financial crisis 2007-2009. Financial Theory and Practice, 35, 91-128. Retrieved from ABI/ INFORM Global database.

Robins, F. (2010). China: A new kind of 'mixed' economy? Asian Business & Management, 9(1), 23-46. Retrieved from ProQuest Asian Business & Reference.

Note: ProQuest business databases encompass many different databases. Be sure to look through the indexing information at the end of the article to find out the database your article is from.

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In-text Citation:

First citation: (Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada [CPA Canada], 2015, para. 14.)
Subsequent Citations: (CPA Canada, 2015, para. 14).

Note: Use the paragraph number instead of the page number when quoting directly from the text.
For example: (CPA Canada, 2015, para. 14).

Reference List:

Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. (2015, September). Public sector accounting standards: Concepts and principles. Section: PS 1000 - PS 1300. In Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada Handbook. Retrieved from the CPA Canada Standards and Guidance Collection.

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Blogs

In-text Citation:

(Connolly, 2012)

Reference List:

Connolly, J. (2012, March 13). Twitter buys posterous! [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://jimsmarketingblog.com/2012/03/13/twitter-buys-posterous/

Facebook

In-text Citation:

(Air Canada, 2012)

Reference List:

Air Canada. (2012, March 12). Ever wonder why cabin ventilation diminishes prior to engine start? [Facebook wall post]. Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/aircanada

Twitter

In-text Citation:

(VIA_RAIL, 2012)

Reference List:

VIA_RAIL. (2012, March 14). Welcome aboard Jane! [Twitter post]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/#!/VIA_Rail

Youtube Videos

In-text Citation:

(Volkswagen, 2011)

Reference List:

Volkswagen. (2011, February 2). The force: Volkswagen commercial [Video file]. Retrieved March 10, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0

Notes:

• Always include the author name as written.
• Do not include the time of the post, only include the year and day.
• The title should be the whole post, however, when citing from Facebook, you may use a truncated version of the post.
• Do not forget to provide a description in brackets of the contents form. Ex. [Facebook update].
• The URL should lead directly to the post or video.

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E-STAT (CANSIM Tables)

In-text Citation:

(Statistics Canada, 2011)

Reference List:

Statistics Canada. (2011, July 5). CANSIM table 080-0009, survey of large retailers, monthly (dollars) [Table]. Retrieved from E-STAT database.

Ipsos News Center

In-text Citation:

(Braid, 2011)

Braid, K. (2011, October 5). Public views of health care in BC. Retrieved from Ipsos News Center database.

PMB Print Measurement Bureau

In-text Citation:

First citation: (Print Measurement Bureau [PMB], 2011)
Subsequent Citations: (PMB, 2011)

Reference List:

Print Measurement Bureau. (2011). Personally drunk in past 6 months. PMB 2011 Category Reports: Alcohol Wine. Retrieved from PMB database.

Notes:

• Do not forget to include the category where your information was retrieved.
• Include the date as the categories may change yearly.
• If you are retrieving information from the "graph it" feature, include the form of the data after the title. For example, Personally drunk in past 6 months [Graph].

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