OpenStax e-textbook. How do I cite it?

Hello! I'm using an open stax textbook from my A&P class. There does not seem to be an author and I'm struggling with formatting my citation for APA. Any help you can offer would be great. Thanks!

Answer

OpenStax is a little different from your typical e-textbook. You're looking at a group author instead of a person.

Your reference will follow this pattern:

Author. (Year). Title. Publisher. http://URL


Here's an example citation for the Anatomy & Physiology textbook:

OpenStax College. (2013). Anatomy & physiology. OpenStax. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/latest/

OpenStax College is your group author. The copyright date (year) and the URL can be found on the copyright page of the PDF of the e-textbook. 

---OR--- 

If you have a link to the e-textbook in your class, and it opens in your browser (and not in a PDF), then the copyright date may be different. To find the correct copyright date for the web-based version of the textbook, go to the Table of Contents area, select "Preface" and then look for the "Attribution" section (it may be all the way at the bottom of the page). The copyright date should be located there.

Under the Attribution tab, find the area called "How to Reuse & Attribute this content." This will contain the publication date that you can use in your citation.

  • Last Updated Jul 06, 2020
  • Views 97581
  • Answered By Kerry Louvier

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