How to find the date for a website
Quite often the date will be near the top of the page and is easy to find.
If you can't find a date in this location, it may be at the bottom of the webpage.
Use:
Do not use:
If there is only a copyright date or "Page last reviewed", use n.d. in place of the date. See here for more on using no date.
Referencing a webpage with an individual author
When referencing a webpage, use the most specific date possible (the full date if known). Italicise the title of the individual webpage and, if the webpage has an individual (rather than corporate/group) author, include the name of the website (not in italics) before the URL.
Author Surname, A. (Year, Month day). Title of webpage in italic sentence case. Name of Website in Title Case. URL
Horovitz, B. (2021, October 19). Are you ready to move your aging parent into your home? AARP. https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/home-care/info-2021/caregiving-questions.html
Examples
Reference list entry
Schaeffer, K. (2021, October 1). What we know about online learning and the homework gap amid the pandemic. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/01/what-we-know-about-online-learning-and-the-homework-gap-amid-the-pandemic/
In-text citations
Page/paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrased information.
Narrative
Schaeffer (2021) suggests... (para. 2).
Parenthetical
... (Schaeffer, 2021, para. 2).
Referencing a webpage with a corporate/group author
When referencing a webpage that doesn't have an individual author, it is considered a corporate author (which is the name of the website). Omit the name of the website between the title of the webpage and the URL (if the same as the corporate author).
Corporate/Group Author. (Year, Month day). Title of webpage in italic sentence case. URL
Examples
Reference list entry
StatsNZ. (2019, October 17). Conservation status of indigenous marine species.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/conservation-status-of-indigenous-marine-species
In-text citations
Page/paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrased information.
Narrative
StatsNZ (2019) provides evidence of ... (para. 2).
Parenthetical
... (StatsNZ, 2019, para. 2).
Referencing a webpage with no date
Webpages with no date or no date clearly attributable to the material on the webpage (e.g. a modified/last updated date) should be referenced with (n.d.). The example below shows how to reference a webpage with no date and indicates the elements required.
Author Surname, A. or Corporate/Group Author. (n.d.). Title of webpage in italic sentence case. URL
Department of Conservation. (n.d.). New Zealand's marine biodiversity.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/habitats/marine/new-zealands-marine-environment/
Examples
Reference list entry
Department of Conservation. (n.d.). Our marine environment.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/habitats/marine/new-zealands-marine-environment/
In-text citations
Page/paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrased information.
Narrative
The Department of Conservation (DoC, n.d.) suggests ... (para. 2).
Parenthetical
... (Department of Conservation [DoC], n.d., para. 2).
Referencing tricky government websites
Most government websites will be a straight forward reference, because the name of the website is the name of the ministry that published it. The ministry therefore becomes a corporate author.
Name of Ministry. (Date). Title of webpage in italic sentence case. URL
However, some websites that are published by the government have a name that is not a ministry. Below are some government websites that can be tricky to reference because of this.
NZHistory
Reference list entry
Ministry for Culture and Heritage. (2020, October 13). Labour government cancels Springbok tour: 10 April 1973. NZHistory. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/labour-government-postpones-springbok-tour
In-text citations
Page/paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrased information.
Narrative
Ministry for Culture and Heritage (2020) suggests ... (para. 2).
Parenthetical
... (Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 2020, para. 2).
Waitangi Tribunal
Reference list entry
Waitangi Tribunal. (2023, September 4). About the Waitangi Tribunal. Ministry of Justice. https://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/about/
In-text citations
Page/paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrased information.
Narrative
Waitangi Tribunal (2023) suggests ... (para. 3).
Parenthetical
... (Waitangi Tribunal, 2023, para. 3).
Justice.govt.nz
Reference list entry
Ministry of Justice. (2023, February 9). Going to court: Legal aid. https://www.justice.govt.nz/courts/going-to-court/legal-aid/
In-text citations
Page/paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrased information.
Narrative
Ministry of Justice (2023) suggests ... (para. 5).
Parenthetical
... (Ministry of Justice, 2023, para. 5).
Are You OK?
Reference list entry
Are You OK. (n.d.). Understanding unsafe relationships. https://www.areyouok.org.nz/understanding-unsafe-relationships/
In-text citations
Page/paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrased information.
Narrative
Are You OK (n.d.) suggests ... (para. 3).
Parenthetical
... (Are You OK, n.d., para. 3).
Referencing software (including generative AI)
The example below shows how to reference software.
Surname, initial of first name/Corporate Author. (Year). Title in italic sentence case: Subtitle in italic sentence case (Version number) [Format]. Publisher/App Store. URL
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
In-text citations for written content created with generative AI
Best practice is to incorporate your prompt and the output into your assignment to make it clear how you have used the AI model.
If the prompt or output is long you may include full transcripts in an appendix:
In-text citations for images created with generative AI
For written assignments, use a figure number and include your prompt as a note beneath the in-text citation. See the example below.
Figure 1
Example of an AI-generated Image
(Midjourney, 2022)
Note. Image generated using the prompt "poster green forests words mindfulness birdsong and a New Zealand tui songbird"
