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Formatting Guides

How to Cite a YouTube Video: APA

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Videos and clips found online can provide lots of useful data for your research. This means it is important that you know how to cite a video in APA correctly. YouTube is a source of millions of clips or films that might be extremely useful during research, but each of them requires proper citation. Whether you are dealing with in-text citation of any clip, or creating reference for a whole channel, there are specific guidelines that must be followed.

Luckily, you’ve come to the right place! So go no further and check this simple guide on APA citation for YouTube Video. This article covers all intricacies you should know to format your APA multimedia sources properly. Let’s get started!  

APA referencing style might be a complicated format to grasp at first. If you are confused or couldn’t find any details you need in our blog post, don’t hesitate to ask StudyCrumb to "write a paper for me". 

APA YouTube Video Citation: Basics

To cite a YouTube video in APA style appropriately, you should include several key details:  

  • Last name and initials of a person who uploaded this clip
  • An account that uploaded it on the platform
  • Date of uploading
  • Title of your specific clip (italicized)
  • Medium “Video” wrapped by square brackets
  • Website name
  • Direct link to your audiovisual material.

Keep in mind that sometimes the name of an individual who uploaded some clip may be different from the one who has actually created it. In this case you should mention the uploader instead of an author. Besides, if both individual’s full name and channel name are available and they differ, you should use both in your APA citation. But if there is no person’s name, just include a channel name. This way, other researchers will be able to easily access this clip or film. Similarly, there may be no channel name. In this case you should just mention an uploader.

Let’s look at this example of an APA format citation for multimedia sources brought to you by professional APA writers:  

Example of an APA format citation for multimedia sources


In case you cannot find all required information in the clip description, look for it in some other places. For example, you can examine some other multimedia materials on the same channel or read through a channel description.

Be attentive, APA movie citation has a completely different format. Do not mix it up.

How to Cite a YouTube Video APA in Text

For in-text citation of YouTube video APA, you will not need all the information listed above, although it is still crucial for references. To cite a YouTube clip within your text, you should include either a channel name or the name of an uploader. This depends on which information is mentioned or comes first within your full reference. The correct format for an in-text citation is the name and year of uploading separated by a comma and wrapped by parentheses. For example:

Example of an APA in-text citation a YouTube video


If you want to reference any certain point in the multimedia source, you should use the timestamp in the APA paper format:

Example of an APA in-text citation from a multimedia source


You can also mention the speaker in the text if one is not the uploader of the clip. 

You can cite a presentation in your work as well. APA cite PowerPoint is simple with our guide. 

How to Cite a YouTube Channel

Discovering how to cite a YouTube video channel in APA format is also essential. Sometimes, you will need to reference the whole channel if it has general information on your research. When citing any YouTube account and its videos, you shouldn’t use a specific year of its creation. Instead, you should opt for an abbreviation “n.d.” which stands for “no date”. Write the retrieval date and change “Video” to “YouTube channel.” For example:  

Example of an APA citation a YouTube channel


To mention a Youtube channel in text, just include an entire channel name and an abbreviation “n.d.”. Look at this sample to format your in-text citation correctly:

Example of an APA in-text citation a YouTube channel


You may also need an APA interview citation from YouTube. Use our guide to make it right.

Example of How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA

Complying with APA Publication Manual guidelines, there is a certain method of citing a YouTube video in your essay. Make sure that APA citation YouTube video reference contains each required element, from author(s)’ initials to publication time. You can use channel name only in case there is no uploader name. In case you have difficulties with this assignment, pay someone to do your homework at StudyCrumb.

Take a look at this example and see how it works:

Example of how to cite a YouTube video in APA
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FAQ

1. How do you cite a video with no author in APA 7?

Some clips from channels may not contain an author’s name. To cite YouTube video in APA with no author , you can simply use an account name (channel) without brackets and include the retrieval date. This will allow others to find your reference easily.

2. How do you cite a streaming video in APA?

APA citation for streaming videos contains the name of a person who uploaded it, date, clip title, streaming service name, and link to the clip. Make sure you italicize the source’s title.

3. How do I cite an Amazon video in APA?

Citing an Amazon video is almost the same as when you cite YouTube video APA. Just insert the author, date, source title (italicized) and mention that it’s a [Video] using square brackets as usual, but replace ‘YouTube’ with ‘Amazon’.

4. How do I cite a Vimeo video in APA?

APA video citation is quite similar for all streaming platforms. Include an author’s name, channel name, [Video] in square brackets, date of uploading and clip title (in italics). But use ‘Vimeo’ instead of ‘YouTube’.

Article posted on:May 3, 2022
Article updated on:Mar 22, 2023

Comments

Leave your comment here:
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Margaret
6/24/2022 11:09 AM
Could you tell me how can I cite a video without the uploader's real name in apa style? I want to include a video from Youtube in my paper, but I only know the nickname of an author. Can I just use it? Or do I need to look for the author's real name?
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StudyCrumb
8/2/2022 11:40 AM
Hi Margaret,

You are right. If only the screen name is available, you put the screen name first in the citation and omit the “[Screen name]” part of the citation.

For example: “ WatchMojo. (2014, February 16). Top 10 Crazy Moments in Sports [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jT_q7dt-cM&ab_channel=WatchMojo.com

Hope this helps!
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Margaret
8/2/2022 12:09 PM
Yes, it is just what I needed. Thank you!
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Alex
7/6/2022 4:43 PM
Hi, I have a question about citation. I need to include the audience's reaction to a video in my paper. How to cite the YouTube comments in APA?
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StudyCrumb
7/6/2022 5:10 PM
Hi Alex,

We are here to answer your question. To cite a YouTube comment in APA style you should list the commenter's name or username. Click on the username and see if their name is included anywhere on their account. If so, list their real name with their last name first, followed by their first and middle initials (if available). Then add the year the comment was posted in parentheses. Then type the abbreviation "Re:" to indicate that the comment was made regarding the video, and include the title of the video after it (in italics). Then follow the video title with the format (Video file). Finally, add a direct link to the video. Place that link after the words "Retrieved from". Also, as with some blog comments, clicking on a YouTube comment's timestamp will lead to a page with a unique URL that features that comment at the top of the comment thread.
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Michael
5/15/2023 8:18 PM
What about Indentation on the 2nd or 3rd lines for a video? These are not indented.
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StudyCrumb
5/15/2023 8:25 PM
Hi Michael,

The first line should remain flush with the left margin. All subsequent lines in an APA Youtube video citation should be indented, just like in any other citation that appears in the APA reference list.