Please Note: Reference examples from this guide are an interpretation of APA 7 guidelines for Columbus State students and are not necessarily the definitive way to cite these sources. Be sure to ask your instructor about citation style requirements for your course assignments.
While APA guidelines are clear for citing standard publication types, such as newspaper articles, they do not necessarily account for the unique features of many business resources, such as dynamic industry and company reports. Many reports and documents found within business databases are classified as gray literature, and can be tricky to cite, especially when it's difficult to determine an author or exact title. This guide offers reference list examples for various business sources available through Columbus State Library and on the open internet. In some cases, you may need to consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition and interpret the rules to the best of your own ability.
Some Things to Remember:
Use the template below to construct your references for reports and gray literature.
For more information about citing reports and gray literature, see section 10.4 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition.
Business Databases
Government Information
Other
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh edition
Use these user-friendly URLs at the end of your reference entry when no permalink is available to link directly to your source:
Business Source Complete: https://library.cscc.edu/businesssource
Factiva: https://library.cscc.edu/factiva
Mergent Intellect: https://library.cscc.edu/mergent
Nexis Uni: https://library.cscc.edu/nexisuni
Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA): https://library.cscc.edu/refUSA
Do include database info for reports and gray literature retrieved from Business Source Complete, as well as the permalink to documents.
To find the permalink for documents in Business Source Complete, click on the chain link symbol on the right hand side of your page: 
SWOT Analysis
Example:
MarketLine. (2020, February 6). Wendy’s Company SWOT analysis. Business Source Complete. https://login.cscc.ohionet.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=bth&AN=142646086&site=ehost-live
In-Text Citation: (MarketLine, 2020)
Company Profile
Example:
MarketLine. (2020, February 6). The Wendy's Company [Company profile]. Business Source Complete. https://login.cscc.ohionet.org/login?url= https://search-ebscohost-com.cscc.ohionet.org/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=dmhls&AN=287E7AF2-3DF0-4BF7-8163-DB72923D7748&site=ehost-live
In-Text Citation: (MarketLine, 2020)
Industry Report
Example:
C. Barnes & Co. (2020). Fast food restaurants industry (NAICS: 722513) [Industry report]. Business Source Complete. https://login.cscc.ohionet.org/login?url= https://search-ebscohost-com.cscc.ohionet.org/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=bth&AN=141147977&site=ehost-live
In-Text Citation: (C. Barnes & Co., 2020)
FactSet Research Systems is the corporate author of company and industry reports retrieved from Factiva. Factiva does not provide permalinks for these types of works, so use the CSCC database login page URL at the end of your reference entry.
Company Snapshot
FactSet Research Systems. (2020). Gap Inc. company snapshot. Factiva. https://library.cscc.edu/factiva
In-Text Citation: (FactSet Research Systems, 2020)
Industry Snapshot
FactSet Research Systems. (2020). Clothing stores industry snapshot. Factiva. https://library.cscc.edu/factiva
In-Text Citation: (FactSet Research Systems, 2020)
Mergent Intellect contains multiple specialized databases, such as First Research and Key Business Ratios. The author of works for these sources will change depending on which database within Mergent is being used. Use the name of the specific database in the source element of your reference. Mergent Intellect and its specialized databases do not provide permalinks for these types of works, so use the CSCC database login page URL at the end of your reference entry.
First Research: Industry Profile
Example:
Dun & Bradstreet. (2020, June 15). Breakfast cereal manufacturing [Industry profile]. First Research. https://library.cscc.edu/mergent
In-Text Citation: (Dun & Bradstreet, 2020)
Mergent Intellect: Company Information
Example:
Mergent. (n.d.) Kellogg Company: Company description. Mergent Intellect. Retrieved June 30, 2020, from https://library.cscc.edu/mergent
In-Text Citation: (Mergent, n.d.)
Key Business Ratios: Company Ratios
Example:
Dun & Bradstreet. (2019). Kellogg Co: Ratio analysis. Key Business Ratios. https://library.cscc.edu/mergent
In-Text Citation: (Dun & Bradstreet, 2019)
Nexis Uni pulls information from various sources for its reports, so be sure to look closely for an author, which will usually be a corporation. Nexis Uni does not provide permalinks for its dossiers or executive profiles, so use the CSCC database login page URL at the end of your reference entry.
Company Dossier
Example:
LexisNexis Corporate Affiliations. (n.d.). The Procter & Gamble Company [Company profile]. Nexis Uni. Retrieved June 30, 2020 from https://library.cscc.edu/nexisuni
In-Text Citation: (LexisNexis, n.d.)
Executive Profile
Example:
Zoom People Information. (2020, January). Jim Hackett. Nexis Uni. https://library.cscc.edu/nexisuni
In-Text Citation: (Zoom People Information, 2020)
Data Axle is the corporate author of Reference Solutions. Include a retrieval date, because Reference Solutions reports are subject to change over time. Reference Solutions does not provide permalinks, so use the CSCC database login page URL at the end of your reference entry.
Company Profile
Tip: Find the publication date of a company profile by looking at "Last Updated On" under the Business Demographics section.
Note: If the title of the company profile is sufficiently unique to identify the company profile (i.e. there is only one of that company in that city and state), then the company name with city is the title.
Example:
Data Axle. (2020, May). Weiland's Fine Meats, Columbus, OH [Company profile]. Reference Solutions. Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://library.cscc.edu/refUSA
In-Text Citation: (Data Axle, 2020)
Note: If there are multiple locations of that business in that city/state, include the exact address in parentheses as a form of unique number identifier.
Example:
Data Axle. (2020, May). Meijer (5555 Cleveland Ave, Columbus, OH) [Company profile]. Reference Solutions. Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://library.cscc.edu/refUSA
In-Text Citation: (Data Axle, 2020)
Company Lists or Directories
Since there is no official title for company lists, create a description in square brackets, non-italicized, to describe how you compiled this data. See section 9.22 in the Publication Manual. The square brackets in this case indicate that somebody else searching the resource cannot use these exact words to search for it; but they could figure out what you did.
Example:
Data Axle. (n.d.). [List of hotels & motels in Columbus, OH metro area]. Reference Solutions. Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://library.cscc.edu/refUSA
In-Text Citation: (Data Axle, n.d.)
According to APA 7, when numerous layers of government agencies are listed as the author of a work, use the most specific agency as the author in the reference. The names of parent agencies not present in the group author name appear in the source element as the publisher. See section 9.11 in the Publication Manual.
Census QuickFacts
Example:
U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.) QuickFacts: Columbus city, Ohio. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved July 6, 2020 from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/columbuscityohio/PST045219
In-Text Citation: (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.)
Census Business Builder
Example:
U.S. Census Builder, (n.d.) Local business profile: Electrical - Hilliard city, Ohio. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://cbb.census.gov/sbe/#
In-Text Citation: (U.S. Census Builder, n.d.)
EDGAR is the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system used at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). EDGAR is the primary system for submissions by publicly traded companies who are required by law to file information with the SEC. EDGAR can be accessed for free by anyone.
Example:
Kroger. (2020). Form 10-K. https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html
In-Text Citation: (Kroger, 2020)
North American Industrial Classification System codes (NAICS) are used to classify and thereby organize industries, and are useful for performing industry research in business databases.
Example:
U.S. Census Bureau. (2017). 2017 NAICS definition: 441320, tire dealers. https://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/
In-Text Citation: (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017)
Standard Industrial Classification codes (SIC) are used to classify and thereby organize industries, and are useful for performing industry research in business databases. NAICS was adopted to replace SIC in 1997, but SIC codes are still used in industry research.
According to APA 7, when numerous layers of government agencies are listed as the author of a work, use the most specific agency as the author in the reference. The names of parent agencies not present in the group author name appear in the source element as the publisher. See section 9.11 in the Publication Manual.
Example:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (1987). Description for 0781: Landscape counseling and planning. United States Department of Labor. https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/sicsearch.html
In-Text Citation: (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1987)
Annual reports can typically be found on company websites. The company name is the author of the report.
Example:
Target Corporation. (2020). 2019 annual report. https://corporate.target.com/annual-reports/2019
In-Text Citation: (Target Corporation, 2020)
Esri Tapestry Segment summaries and the Know Your Neighborhood app are available online for free. Esri is the corporate author of these sources.
Tapestry Segment Summaries
Example:
Esri. (2020). 8A city lights [Demographic profile]. https://doc.arcgis.com/en/esri-demographics/data/tapestry-segmentation.htm
In-Text Citation: (Esri, 2020)
Know Your Neighborhood
Since there is no official title for data found in Know Your Neighborhood results, create a description in square brackets, non-italicized, to describe how you compiled this data. See section 9.22 in the Publication Manual. The square brackets in this case indicate that somebody else searching the resource cannot use these exact words to search for it; but they could figure out what you did.
Example:
Esri. (n.d.) [Annual spending habits in ZIP code 43224] [Data set]. Retrieved on August 13, 2021 from https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/data/overview
In-Text Citation: (Esri, n.d.)
Parts of this guide are adapted from "APA 7th edition citation for business sources" which is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
