Citing Email Communications
First, a cautionary note: It is possible to send an email note  disguised as someone else. Authors—not journal editors or  copy editors—are responsible for the accuracy of all  references, which includes verifying the source of email  communications before citing them as personal communications in  manuscripts.

Email communications from individuals should be cited as  personal communications, as noted in APA's Publication Manual (4th ed., pp. 173–174). The format in text (personal  communications are not cited in the reference list) is as  follows:

        L. A. Chafez (personal communication, March 28, 1997) claims that global warming is a hoax.

Citing a Web Site
To direct readers to an entire Web site (but not a specific document on the site), it's sufficient to give the address of the site in the text. For example,

        Kidspsych (http://www.kidspsych.org) is a wonderful interactive Web site for children.

Again, no reference list entry is needed.
 .
Citations and Quotations in Text
Follow the author/date format described on pages 168–174 in the Publication Manual. To cite specific parts of a Web document, indicate the chapter, figure, table, or equation as appropriate.

For quotations, give page numbers (or paragraph numbers) if they are available. For example,

        As Myers (2000, ¶ 5) aptly phrased it, "positive emotions are both an end —
        better to live fulfilled, with joy [and other positive emotions] — and a means to a
        more caring and healthy society."

If needed, the abbreviation "para." can be substituted for the ¶ symbol. If page or paragraph numbers are not available (i.e., they are not visible to every reader), they can be omitted from the in-text citation. With most browsers, readers will still be able to search for the quoted material.

Creating References for Specific Documents on a Web Site
Web documents share many of the same elements found in a print document (e.g., authors, titles, dates). Therefore, the citation for a Web document often follows a format similar to that for print, with some information omitted and some added. Here are some examples of how to cite documents posted on APA's  own Web site.

An action alert posted by our Public Policy Office:

                    American Psychological Association. (1995, September 15). APA public policy

        action alert: Legislation would affect grant recipients [Announcement].  Washington, DC:

        Author. Retrieved January 25, 1996, from the World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/ppo/istook.html

An article from the journal American Psychologist:

                    Jacobson, J. W., Mulick, J. A., & Schwartz, A. A.     (1995). A history of facilitated communication:

            Science, pseudoscience, and antiscience: Science working group on  facilitated communication.

            American Psychologist, 50,    750–765. Retrieved January 25, 1996, from the World Wide Web:

            http://www.apa.org/journals/jacobson.html

An article from the APA Monitor (article in a magazine, no author identified):

                    From "character" to "personality": The lack of a generally accepted, unifying theory hasn't curbed research

            into the study of personality. (1999, December). APA Monitor, 30. Retrieved August 22, 2000, from the

            World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec99/ss9.html

An abstract:

                    Rosenthal, R. (1995). State of New Jersey v. Margaret Kelly Michaels: An overview [Abstract].

            Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 1, 247–271. Retrieved January 25, 1996, from the

            World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/journals/ab1.html

An independent document (no author identified):

                    Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association.

            (2000, August 22). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

            Retrieved August 29, 2000, from the World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

All references begin with the same information that would be  provided for a printed source (or as much of that information as  is available). If no publication date is available for a document, use "n.d." (stands for "no date") in its place. The Web information is then placed in a retrieval statement at the end of the reference. It is important to give the date of retrieval because documents on the Web may change in content, move, or be removed from a site altogether.

Creating References for Articles and Abstracts Obtained From Electronic Databases
APA's recommendations for citing electronic media have changed substantially since we published the fourth edition of the Publication Manual.   For databases, rather than the "Available:  File:  Item:  " statement specified in the Publication Manual, we now recommend a retrieval statement that identifies the date of retrieval (omitted for CD-ROMs) and the source (e.g., DIALOG, WESTLAW, SIRS, Electric Library), followed in parentheses by the name of the specific database used and any additional information needed to retrieve a particular item. For Web sources, a URL should be given that points to an "entry page" for the database.   The basic retrieval statement for CD-ROM databases is as follows:
 Retrieved from [source] database ([name of database], CD-ROM, [release date], [item no.--if applicable])

The basic retrieval statement for on-line databases is
 Retrieved [month day, year,] from [source] on-line database ([name of database], [item no.--if applicable])

The basic retrieval statement for databases accessed via the Web is
 Retrieved [month day, year,] from [source] database ([name of database], [item no.--if applicable]) on the World Wide Web: [URL]

Examples

                         Federal Bureau of Investigation. (1998, March). Encryption: Impact on law enforcement.

            Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from SIRS database (SIRS Government Reporter, CD-ROM,

            Fall 1998 release)

                        Schneiderman, R. A. (1997). Librarians can make sense of the Net. San Antonio Business

            Journal, 11(31), pp. 58+. Retrieved January 27, 1999, from EBSCO database (Masterfile)

            on the World Wide Web: http://www.ebsco.com

                        Kerrigan, D. C., Todd, M. K., & Riley, P. O. (1998). Knee osteoarthritis and high-heeled shoes.

            The Lancet, 251, 1399-1401. Retrieved January 27, 1999, from DIALOG database (#457, The Lancet)

            on the World Wide Web: http://www.dialogweb.com

                        Davis, T. (1992). Examining educational malpractice jurisprudence: Should a cause of action be

            created for student-athletes? Denver University Law Journal, 69, 57+. Retrieved January 27, 1999,

            from WESTLAW on-line database (69 DENULR 57)

                         Bowles, M. D. (1998). The organization man goes to college: AT&T's experiment in humanistic

            education, 1953-1960. The Historian, 61, 15+. Retrieved January 27, 1999, from DIALOG on-line

            database (#88, IAC Business A.R.T.S., Item 04993186)