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Citing Business Sources in APA Style

A guide to citing business information sources according the the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition

What's on this page?

This page contains general instructions on how to craft a reference list entry, and worked examples from frequently used Brock Library Business Databases. Please note that due to technical limitations, the examples on this page do not have a hanging indentation. 

General instructions

The previous pages of this APA Style Citation Guide provide general instructions and specific examples of how to craft in-text references and reference list entries for a variety of types of sources including articles, books, and websites. This guide does not include instructions on using Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) in references.

The following examples are my interpretations of APA Style. You may not agree with these, or your specific example may not match the example that I crafted. Don't panic - follow the instructions in the blog post linked below in order to determine the four elements for your own reference list entry.

According to the APA Style website post "Missing reference Information",  an APA Style reference should contain four elements:

  1. The author's name "who"
  2. The date of publication "when"
  3. The title of the work "what"
  4. Publication or source information "where"

Tips on Citing Industry & Market Research Reports

Determine if the report was written by an individual (analyst).

  • If yes, then use the name of the analyst as the author of the report.
  • If no, then use the name of the publisher or organization as the author of the report

ProQuest One Business

ProQuest One Business (formerly The Business Premium Collection of databases from ProQuest)  contains a variety of content types including newspaper, magazine, and journal articles; company profiles, annual reports, industry reports, business videos, and dissertations.  The ProQuest software can generate an APA 7th edition Reference List citation automatically. It should be proofread for possible errors, and edited accordingly to adhere to APA 7th Edition guidelines.

Articles (from newspaper, magazines, or journals)

Tip 1: if the article has page numbers (e.g., a PDF version, or if page numbers are included in the database record), then you may cite it as a regular article and therefore you do not need to refer to the database as the source.

Tip 2: if the article lacks pagination, then you are permitted to refer to the database name or the database URL in a retrieved from statement, in order to guide your reader to the source that you consulted. See the following flowchart to determine when to include URLs or database information.

Cameron, D. (2021, May 06). SpaceX Starship Lands on Fifth Attempt; Elon Musk's venture wants to prepare vehicles for eventual missions to      Mars. Wall Street Journal (Online). Retrieved from ProQuest One Business database.

The Megayachts are back. (2021, Aug. 14). The Economist (Online). Retrieved from ProQuest One Business database.

Masters, B. (2021, May 13). An uphill race for Peloton as gyms reopen. Financial Times. Retrieved from ProQuest One Business database.

 

Data and Reports (e.g., company profiles, annual reports, industry reports, market reports)

Tip: these publication types are typically updated on a regular schedule, such as annually or quarterly, and are treated as periodicals. Include a notation after the document title in square brackets in order to clarify the format of the source.

Brazil infrastructure report Q3 2021 (2021).  [industry report]. Fitch Solutions Group Limited. Retrieved from ProQuest One Business database.

Tesla,Inc. (2021). [company report].Hoover's Company Records. Retrieved from ProQuest One Business Database.

Transportation Services Sector  - quarterly update  (2021, July 19)  [industry report]. First Research Industry Profiles. Retrieved from ProQuest One Business database.

 

Dissertations and Theses

Additional guidance on how to cite doctoral dissertations and masters theses is provided on pages 207-208 of the Publication Manual. Here is a sample citation:

Costanigro, M. (2007). Product characteristics and reputation effects in the wine market (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest One Business database.

 

Business Source Complete (Ebsco)

Business Source Complete contains a variety of content types including newspaper, magazine, and journal articles; company profiles, country reports, industry reports, SWOT Analysis and videos. The Ebscohost software can generate an APA 6th edition citation automatically. It should be proofread for errors.

Tip: if the article has page numbers (e.g. a PDF version, or page number are included in the database record), then you may cite it as a regular article and do not need to refer to the database as the source. However, if the article lacks pagination, then you are permitted to refer to the database name in a retrieved from statement, in order to guide your reader to the source that you consulted.

Business Video

Note: determine if you are citing the video or the transcript and include the format in square brackets after the title. Do not italicize the format designation.

Gupta, S. (2010). New media and digital marketing. Harvard Business School Faculty Seminar Series [video]. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

Gupta, S. (201). New media and digital marketing. Harvard Business School Faculty Seminar Series [transcript]. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

Company Profiles

MarketLine. (2012, April 30). Ikea Group [company profile]. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

Country Report

Note: these reports come from a variety of publishers, and are often "chapterized" so you may be citing a part of the report instead of the entire report.

PRS Group, Inc. (2011, October). Political risk yearbook: Australia country report. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

PRS Group, Inc. (2012). Country forecast. Political risk yearbook: Australia country report, 3-28. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

Canadian Major Dailies (ProQuest)

The Canadian Major Dailies database contains full text newspaper articles from major Canadian daily newspapers such as the Globe and Mail.  If page numbers are provided, then APA allows you to cite the source as if you had consulted the print edition. Insert the page number after the newspaper title, preceded by the abbreviation p. (when referring to a single page),  or if there are multiple page numbers, use pp. (e.g., pp. B1, B3).

Newspaper Article (with an author)

El Akkad, O. (2012, July 26). Apple eats its own lunch, as consumers fast for iPhone 5. The Globe and Mail, p. B1.

Newspaper or Newswire Article (with no author)

Newswire articles from agencies such as Reuters are often carried by newspapers but do not provide the name of an individual author. In that case, begin the reference list entry with the title of the article, followed by the date of publication, newspaper title,and page number.

Take that, Samsung / Apple plans larger screen for next iPhone. (2012, May 17). The Globe and Mail, p. B2.

CPA Canada Handbook / IFRS (via knotia.ca)

Tip: Brock University subscribes to the CPA Canada Standards & Guidance Collection and the International Financial Reporting Standards databases via CPA Canada's  knotia.ca platform. However, it is not necessary to include database information. Entries from these sources are cited using the same format as a chapter in a book, or an entry in a reference book.

CPA Canada Handbook (formerly the CICA Handbook)

Example 1: CICA Handbook

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (2012). CICA Handbook Part II - Accounting Standards for Private Enteprises, Section 1400 - General standards of financial statement presentation. Toronto: Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Example 2: CPA Canada Handbook

CPA Canada (2014). CPA Canada Handbook Part I - International Financial Reporting Standards, International Financial Reporting Standard 3 - business combinations. Toronto: CPA Canada.

Conference Board of Canada

E-Data Service (economic data)

Conference Board of Canada (2012, May 17). Consumer Price Index - St. Catharines-Niagara (Timeseries ID CPCPISC) [spreadsheet]. Retrieved from the    Conference Board of Canada e-Data service.

Conference Board of Canada (2012). Table 1 - Help Wanted Index: Canada and the Provinces. Retrieved from the Conference Board of Canada e-Data service.

E-Library Service (research reports)

Burt, M. (2012, June). Canada's paper products industry. Canadian Industrial Outlook, Spring 2012. Retrieved from the Conference Board of Canada e-Library service.

Canadian Tourism Research Institute (2012, June). Travel exclusive: key trends for the Canadian travel industry, May-June 2012. Retrieved from the Conference    Board of Canada e-Library service.

Datastream (Refinitiv / formerly Thomson Reuters)

Datastream is a commercial database produced by Refinitiv (formerly Thomson Reuters). It contains numeric data on equities, bonds, and other types of instruments, as well as economic time series data from governments and other organizations. APA Style (6th edition) does not require a database name, URL, or retrieval dates. The data set may be cited as follows.

Author (Year). Title of data set. [description of form]. Location: Name of producer.

Tip: do not italicize the title of the data set. You may include a description of the format of the data or information, for clarification.

Example citations for data owned by Refinitiv / Thomson Reuters

Single Series - Overview

Thomson Reuters Datastream (2012, June 18). Microsoft - overview of company performance. New York: Thomson Reuters.

Single Series - Chart

Thomson Reuters Datastream (2012, June). Microsoft - price and price relative to S&P 500 [chart]. New York: Thomson Reuters.

Single Series - Time Series Data

Thomson Reuters Datastream (2012). Microsoft -  time series data. New York: Thomson Reuters.

 

Example citations for data owned by other parties

For data such as Economic reports or time series data, you should cite the source of the data as the author. Include the series name as well as the source title in your reference.

International Monetary Fund (2012). Canada, Exports to Africa, USD. IMF Direction of Trade Statistics. Retrieved from Datastream.

Factiva

Factiva does not have a tool to help create an APA Style Citation. However, you can construct your own references using these key pieces of information: Author, Source, Article Title or Section, Date.

 

Company Snapshot: Reference Example

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (2018). Tesla Inc company snapshot. Retrieved from Factiva database.

Company Snapshot: In-text quotation using information from a specific section

(FactSet Research Systems Inc., 2018, Ownership section)


Newspaper Article: Reference Example (no page numbers)

Scaggs, A. (2017, October 13). Ready for a SpaceX IPO?. Financial Times (FT.Com), Retrieved from Factiva database

 

Newspaper Article: Reference Example (with page numbers)

Pasztor, A. (2018, February 7). For SpaceX, New Rocket Marks Coup. The Wall Street Journal, p. B5. Retrieved from Factiva database. 


Magazine Articles

Author. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Magazine Title, Vol(Issue), pp. Retrieved from Factiva database.

IBISWorld Industry Reports

Tips on Citing Industry & Market Research Reports

1. Determine if the report was written by an individual (analyst).

  • If so, then use the name of the analyst as the author of the report.
  • If not, then use the name of the publisher or organization as the author of the report

2. Here are suggested APA Style in-text citations and Reference List entry for reports from IBISWorld, where the analyst is named as the author of the report. Since IBISWorld reports can by downloaded as a complete PDF report, it is possible to reference specific page numbers for in-text citations. If you did not download the report in PDF, then refer to the section heading of the report in the in-text citation. 

In-text Citation (named author with page number)

Factors driving industry growth include "new product innovations, rising pet ownership rates and growing demand for price-premium pet products (Cohen, 2016, p. 11).

In-text Citation (named author with section heading)

Factors driving industry growth include "new product innovations, rising pet ownership rates and growing demand for price-premium pet products (Cohen, 2016, Industry Life Cycle).

Reference List Entry (named author)

Author, A. (Year, Date). Report Title. Industry report number. Retrieved from IBISWorld database. 

Cohen, A. (2016, August). Pet Stores in Canada.IBISWorld Industry Report 45391CA. Retrieved from IBISWorld database.

3. Here are suggested APA Style in-text citations and Reference List entries for reports from IBISWorld, where there is no author identified for the report (such as iExpert Summaries).

In-text Citation (corporate author with page number)

According to IBISWorld, Goodwill Industries International has 39.6% of the market in the U.S. thrift stores industry (2016, p. 1). 

OR

The thrift stores industry in the United States is dominated by Goodwill Industries International, who have 39.6% market share (IBISWorld, 2016, Market Share). 

Reference List Entry (corporate author)

IBISWorld (2016, February). Thrift Stores. IBISWorld iExpert Industry Summary OD5525. Retrieved from the IBISWorld database.

LabourSource

The LabourSource database contains a variety of types of sources such as:

  1. cases and decisions
  2. legislation
  3. commentary.

A generic APA Style reference list entry and an example for each of these types appears below.

1. Cases and Decisions (e.g., Labour Arbitration Cases)

Name v. Name, Volume Source Abbreviation (Series) Page (Date)

Ontario v. O.P.S.E.U., 219 L.A.C. (4th) 151 (2012)


2. Legislation (Statutes and Regulations)

Legislation is cited in APA Style according to standard legal citation style. In Canada, we follow the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation.

Title of Act,  Statute volume abbreviation, year, chapter and section number (if necessary)


Labour Relations Act, S.O. 1995, s. 70 


3. Commentary (e.g., Brown & Beatty)

There are several ways to cite entries in an online reference work such as Brown & Beatty's Canadian Labour Arbitration.

Reference List Sample Citation for an entire reference work

Author A. & Author B. (Eds.). (Year). Title of work. Publisher

 

Brown, D.J.M., Beatty, D. M., & Beatty, A.J. (Eds.). (2019). Canadian Labour Arbitration, 5th ed. Thomson Reuters.

 


Reference List Sample Citation for an entry from a reference work (with no page numbers).

If there are no page numbers, APA Style allows you to refer to the chapter title or entry title. Since the paragraph number is often used in references to Brown & Beatty, you can include both elements as illustrated below.

Title of chapter or entry. (Year)  In. A. Editor, B. Editor. (Eds.), Title of book . Publisher. 

1:5300 Jurisdictional Error. (2019). In Brown, D.J.M., Beatty, D. M., & Beatty, A.J. (Eds.), Canadian Labour Arbitration, 5th ed. Thomson Reuters. 


 

Mergent Online

Mergent. (n.d.). Hain Celestial Group [Company profile]. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from https://www.mergentonline.com/login.php

Mergent. (n.d.). Hain Celestial Group: R. Dean Hollis [Executive bio]. Retrieved June 3, 2020, from https://www.mergentonline.com/login.php

Mintel Academic

Tips on Citing Industry & Market Research Reports

1. Determine if the report was written by an individual (analyst).

  • If so, then use the name of the analyst as the author of the report.
  • If not, then use the name of the publisher or organization as the author of the report.

2. Here are suggested APA Style in-text citations and Reference List entries for report from Mintel Academic, where the analyst is named as the author of the report.

In-text Citation (named author, paraphrase)

Two factors driving coffee's growth are investments made by foodservice companies and in-home innovations (Gregoire, 2016).

In-text Citation (named author, direct quotation)

The latest analysis by Mintel notes that "coffee’s growth is not only a reflection of investments made by foodservice, but also testament to in-home innovation" (Gregoire, 2016, Market Size section, para. 2). 

Reference List Entry (named author)

Gregoire, J. (2016, June). Coffee and Tea - Canada. Retrieved from Mintel Academic database.

Nexis.uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic Universe)

Nexis.uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic Universe) contains a wide variety of content and publication types including: news articles, specialized company information sources, and legal materials. The source information and publication date are always displayed in the header of the full text document, and Byline indicates the author's name. 

News Articles (with an author)

Tip: If page numbers are provided, then APA allows you to cite the source as if you had consulted the print edition. Insert the page number after the source title, preceded by the abbreviation p. (when referring to a single page), or pp. (if there are multiple page numbers). 

Author, A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Source. Page Number.

Chen, B.X. (2014, October 17). New products in hand, Apple tries to reignite interest in the iPad. The New York Times. Pg. 3. 

Company Information Sources

The Company Dossier pulls together information from a variety of reference and news sources. Each source is noted on the screen by a footnote (From Corporate Affiliations, August 21, 2015). For sources such as directories which may not have authors (bylines), begin the reference with the entry title instead, as indicated in this example.

Entry from a reference source with no author

Entry Title. (Year, Month, Day). In Title of Source. Retrieved from Database.

Apple, Inc. (2015, August 24). In LexisNexis Corporate Affiliations. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic Universe database.

Legal Materials

Note: the APA's legal citation style is based on The Bluebook: a Uniform System of Citation. See Chapter 11 Legal References in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition for more information and examples.

The APA Style Blog 6th Edition Archive Blog has examples for Legal materials. 

Passport (Euromonitor International)

Passport is produced by Euromonitor International. It contains articles, market research reports, category briefings, datagraphics, statistics, and other types of information.

Article

Euromonitor International (2012, June 12). Nike ditches underperforming Umbro brand. Retrieved from Passport.

Briefing

Euromonitor International (2011, August 18). Global denim trends: will the growth fade away? [global briefing]. Retrieved from Passport.

Company Profile

Euromonitor International (2012, May 30). Nike Inc in Apparel (World) [global company profile]. Retrieved from Passport.

Datagraphic

Euromonitor International (2012, March 22). Developing markets to fuel global growth [datagraphic]. Retrieved from Passport.

Statistics

Euromonitor International (2012). Women's footwear (World) , market sizes: historic/forecast retail value. Retrieved from Passport.