A webinar is a valuable resource that can teach us so much, but they’re not always commonly cited as a reference.
If you’ve attended a webinar and want to cite a certain piece of information you learned through it, there are ways you can do that.
How do you cite a webinar? A live or pre-recorded webinar can be cited as a reference using the APA format.
The most common method is the in-text citation of the author, or presenter, and the date that the webinar was published, with further details like URL and the title of the presentation being added to your reference list.
Whether you’re hosting a webinar or watching one, the content must be well researched and relevant, so others can reference them as well.
This guide walks you through the basics of APA referencing for webinars and how to ensure your virtual events are credible and truthful.
Quick Guide to Cite a Webinar in APA format
- Reference List Entry Format:
- Author(s): Surname and first initial of the presenter or author of the webinar, or the name of the organization who presented it. If the presenter of the webinar was also the producer, place the word ‘Producer’ in parentheses.
- Publication Date: The year the webinar was published or streamed live.
- Title: Name of the webinar series or specific webinar, formatted in italics.
- Media Type: A description of the media, e.g., ‘video’, placed inside brackets.
- URL: Where the webinar can be accessed.
Example: Connor, T. (2023). Webinar on APA Citation. . https://targeringmantra.com
- In-text Citation:
- For in-text citations using the APA format, include the author’s surname and the year of publication within brackets.
- For a webinar, you would use either the producer or presenter’s name as the author.
Example: (Connor, 2023)
Note: The title of a webinar should be italicized when referencing in the reference list.
Can You Cite a Webinar as a Reference?
A webinar is an online presentation that contains ideas and facts, and as such, it can be used as a reference within a professional or academic article.
Not all webinars will be suitable for this type of refereeing and caution must be used when relying on a virtual event like this to provide factual information.
Citations refer to any incidence where another person’s work or ideas has been noted or shared in your publication, and this can include webinars that you’ve seen as well.
We note these recognitions to let readers know the source of the original information and to give furth information about where they can find it if they want to explore it further for themselves.
How we reference a webinar in another work is similar to how we cite other media like videos and websites.
The most important piece of information is the author’s name and the date that the webinar was published or streamed. If necessary, further information can be added to the article to give clarification over which webinar was used and where to find it.
What is an APA Reference Format?
APA referencing style is a specific style designed by the American Psychological Association that can be used to cite other works within a scholarly or professional article.
The easiest way to describe APA is an author-date referencing style, which means the author’s surname and date of publication are placed in brackets within the work, so it can be immediately noted as a citation.
The APA referencing style covers many types of publications including websites, journals, magazines, and webinars, with the latest 7th edition version covering them all.
Within the style, there are specific guidelines on how you should cite sources and what information needs to be provided so that the reader can easily find these sources for themselves.
The correct format for citing a webinar in the APA format is as follows:
- The surname and first initial of the presenter or author of the webinar, or the name of the organization who presented it.
- If the presenter of the webinar was also the producer, place the word ‘Producer’ in parentheses which highlights that they are the same.
- The year that the webinar was published or streamed live, with no need to add the specific date.
- The name of the webinar series or title of the specific webinar, formatted in italics.
- A description of the type of media, in this case, ‘video’, is placed inside of brackets.
- Retrieval information in the form of the URL where the webinar can be accessed.
Guidelines for In-text Citations
An in-text citation should be used if you rely on another source within your work.
This can include paraphrasing, summarizing, quoting, or sharing ideas, so it’s important to always reference the source so that the reader can see it wasn’t your own.
The APA referencing style relies on in-text citations so that the reader can see immediately that it refers to another source, and then uses a more detailed reference list located at the end of the article that gives further information.
For every in-text citation you have in your work, you must have a corresponding entry for it, including if you used a webinar as a source.
The APA in-text citation style is simple and only requires you to write the author surname, a comma, and then the year of publication, all contained within brackets.
If you’re using a direct quote from a website or book, you should add the page or paragraph number. From there, you’ll flesh out the details and add this to the reference list, displayed in alphabetical order according to surnames.
For a webinar source, there’s no need to write any more than the author’s surname and date as you can’t specify a paragraph or page.
However, you will need to determine either the producer or presenter’s name and use this in place of where the author’s name would be.
Tips for a Credible Webinar
As well as referencing webinars in your works, you might find others want to reference webinars that you’ve created as well.
To ensure that the content you’re creating within a webinar is credible and legitimate, we’ve got a few tips you can follow.
- Do your research: The planning stage of a webinar is even more important than the live event, and you’ll want to conduct as much research as possible during it. Ensure that any facts you’re discussing are correct and up to date, and give credit to the ideas and information of others that you use.
- Reference information: Just as you would reference a webinar in an article or paper, make a point of referencing the information you’re delivering during your presentation. If you’re relying on facts and figures, tell the audience where they came from, so there’s no misrepresentation of the facts.
- Follow up: Give your audience a way to follow up with further questions or clarification once the webinar is over. You might want to distribute a fact sheet, have a Q&A session, or let people access the webinar on-demand so they can watch it over if they wish to.
- Make changes: As you learn new things or updates emerge in your industry, you may need to update your webinars. Even evergreen content will have to be updated eventually, so don’t be afraid to make changes to the information you share so that it remains relevant.
- Invite experts: If you’re discussing something outside of your scope, it’s a good idea to invite other authorities or experts that can deliver a segment during the webinar as well. This will add credibility to your presentation and ensure that the information being presented is accurate.
The Webinar As A Valuable Resource
Although not the first thing we think of when looking for references for professional and academic articles and papers, the citation of a webinar could still be useful.
These valuable resources offer troves of information for the listener, so if you create webinars, ensuring that yours are researched and relevant is important.
Related Questions
Referencing and citations are commonplace in academic, scientific, and professional articles, so knowing how to use them correctly is important.
If you have more questions about referencing and how to do it right, especially when it comes to webinars, check out these commonly asked ones that can teach you the basics.
What is a Citation?
A citation is a reference to an external source, usually found within a scholarly article.
The citation shows that someone else’s ideas or information has been used within your own and it’s represented as an abbreviated expression in the work and then a place with further details in the bibliography.
Is APA the Same As Harvard Referencing?
APA is a referencing style that was derived from the Harvard style and is considered a variant of it.
Most of the conventions used for APA referencing are the same, including having a shortened author-date citation used in the body of the article and then a full citation in the bibliography or reference list.
Are Titles of Webinars Italicized in Referencing?
As you would italicize the title of a book, the title of a webinar should also be italicized and placed inside quotation marks when using it in a reference list or bibliography.
This can include the specific title of that webinar or the name of the series where the webinar was published.
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