APA (6th ed.) referencing guide (Online): Social Media

With technology and social media moving so quickly it can be difficult for referencing to keep up with these advancements. Therefore it is useful to know how to build a basic reference.  Essentially four pieces of information are required to reference and cite information:

Who - the author (personal or corporate) or creator

When – When was the document was published

What – The title

Where – information to find the information.  This can include web address, publisher, place of publication etc.

Finding information on the internet is easy, but finding good quality and reliable information is trickier than you think. Before you use any web resource in your assignment ask yourself “Is the web page as good as information you would find in a book or academic journal?”

Check that the information is reliable and accurate.
Check:

• Who wrote the information? Do they have relevant qualifications? Have they written other material on the subject? Do they have a bias?
• When was the information published? Is it current enough for your needs?
• Why was the information put on the web? Is it selling or promoting something? Is it biased?