In academic writing, it is crucial to give proper credit to the sources of information used in your research. One common challenge arises when a source lacks a specified author. In such cases, it is important to use a title or a description of the source to provide clarity in your in-text citations. Below are three diverse examples of citing a source with no author.
In some instances, you may need to reference a report published by an organization that does not list an individual author. For example, when discussing health statistics, you might refer to a report published by the World Health Organization. This scenario is common in research papers that analyze public health data.
When citing the report in your text, you would use the title of the report followed by the year of publication. This allows readers to locate the source in your reference list easily.
Example: According to the report “Global Health Estimates 2020,” there has been a significant increase in non-communicable diseases (World Health Organization, 2020).
Notes: If the title is lengthy, you can shorten it in your citation, provided that the shortened version is clear and distinguishable from other sources.
Websites often provide valuable information for research, but not all of them have an identified author. For instance, if you are referencing a webpage about the effects of climate change from a governmental website, you can cite it effectively even without an author.
In this case, you would cite the website by its title or main heading, followed by the publication year. This method is particularly useful when writing about current events or ongoing research.
Example: The effects of climate change on global sea levels are alarming ("Climate Change Impacts,” 2023).
Notes: Ensure that the title used in the citation matches the title used in your reference list for consistency.
News articles frequently lack a byline, making it necessary to cite the article using its headline. When discussing current events or reporting on a recent study, you might encounter such articles in your research. Citing these articles can be straightforward if you follow the correct format.
In your in-text citation, include the title of the article and the year it was published. This allows readers to find the full reference easily.
Example: Recent studies indicate a rise in cybercrime during the pandemic ("Cybercrime Rates Surge,” 2021).
Notes: Use quotation marks around the article title in your citation, and ensure that the title is concise enough to convey the main idea without being overly lengthy.