If an encyclopedia or dictionary entry has no author or editor, begin the citation with the title of the specific entry, followed by the year of publication in round brackets.
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title of the entry and the title of the encyclopedia or dictionary.
Capitalize the first letter of proper names in titles, such as names of places or people. Example: Canada
Place of Publication
For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. Examples: Toronto, ON ; Tokyo, Japan
Publication Information for Online Encyclopedias and Dictonaries
Don't include the place of publication or a publisher for an online encyclopedia or dictionary.
Some electronic content is assigned a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). If a DOI is provided for an encyclopedia or dictionary, include it after the name of the encyclopedia or dictionary of the entry and edition as "doi:doi number".
You do not need to put a period after a DOI number.
If you accessed the encyclopedia or dictionary through a website, provide the url instead.
In-Text Citation - No Author
If a dictionary or encyclopedia entry has no author, the in-text citation should include the title of the entry. The title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter. The title of the entry will be followed by a comma and the year of publication. If you are quoting directly from the entry, you will also add the number of the page where the quote appears.
("Cat Care," 2011)
("Cat Care," 2011, p. 38)
In-Text Citation - Page Numbers
Page numbers may not be available for an online dictionary or encyclopedia entry. Here are some options if you have no page numbers and you are quoting directly:
If paragraph numbers are given, use that number where you'd normally put the page number with the word "para." in front of it. Example: (Smith, 2012, para. 3). This example refers to the third paragraph in the entry
If you have no paragraph numbers, but the entry has section headings, you can use those. Encyclopedia entries often have section headings. Enter the section heading name, followed by the word "section" and then the number of the paragraph within that section. Example: (Smith, 2012, Climate section, para. 2). This example refers to the second paragraph under the Climate section of the entry.
If you have no paragraph numbers and no headings, as may be the case for many dictionary entries, skip the page/paragraph/section information and give the author's last name and date only. Example: (Smith, 2012)
Encyclopedia – A book or a series of books used for reference on a range of materials or numerous information typically around one subject.
Encyclopedia in Print
Last, First M. “Article Title.” Encyclopedia Name. City: Publisher, Year Published. Page(s). Print.
Note: Well-known publications only require edition and year, and no other publication information.
McGhee, Karen, and George McKay. “Old World Monkeys.” Encyclopedia of Animals. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2007. 30. Print.
Encyclopedia found online
Last, First M. “Article Title.” Encyclopedia Name. City: Publisher, Year Published. Page(s).Website Title. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
Note: When citing sources reproduced online from their print versions, it is not necessary to include online information such as the website publisher or the date of the electronic publication. The date of the online publication was not available and was not included in the citation.
McGhee, Karen, and George McKay. “Old World Monkeys.” Encyclopedia of Animals. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2007. 170-71. Google Books. Web. 2 July 2010.
Encyclopedia article found in a database
Last, First M. “Article Title.”Encyclopedia Name. Ed. First M. Last. Vol. City: Publisher, Year Published. Page(s). Database Name. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
Date accessed: This is the date you accessed the source.
Note: If no edition or volume number is given, leave it out.
Holmes, Heather. “Advertising of Food.”Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Ed. Soloman H. Katz.Vol. 1. New York: Scriber’s, 2003. 16-20. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 July 2010.