Why Ebook Citations Confuse Malaysian Students
Malaysian postgraduate students increasingly access books through digital library platforms — ProQuest Ebook Central, Springer Link, EBSCO eBooks, or institutional repositories — rather than through physical library copies. This shift to digital access creates citation questions: should an ebook be cited differently from a print book? Should the platform be named? Should a URL be included? APA 7th edition has clear answers to these questions, and knowing how to format APA reference list entries for ebooks correctly prevents the citation inconsistencies that arise from applying print book conventions to digital sources.
The APA 7th Approach to Ebook Citations
In APA 7th, ebooks from library databases or publisher platforms are cited in the same format as their print equivalents — the format of the text does not change the citation structure. The key difference from print citations is the inclusion of the DOI when one is available, or the URL of the ebook landing page when no DOI exists. You do not need to name the specific database or platform (ProQuest, Ebsco, Springer) in the reference — APA 7th dropped the database name requirement that appeared in some APA 6th guidance.
Format: Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of book (Edition if not first). Publisher. DOI or URL
Example with DOI: Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781506386193
Example with URL: Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/UM/detail.action?docID=4305580
When the ebook has a DOI — which is common for academic publisher ebooks — use the DOI and omit the URL. When no DOI is available, use the URL of the specific ebook page rather than the database homepage.
Page Numbers in Ebook Citations
A practical complication with ebook citations arises when you quote directly from an ebook — the page numbers in a digital version may differ from the print version, or the ebook may use location numbers or percentages rather than page numbers. APA 7th addresses this by allowing alternative locators: paragraph numbers, section headings, or chapter numbers can substitute for page numbers when the ebook has no stable pagination corresponding to the print edition.
If the ebook version is paginated identically to the print version — which is common for PDF ebooks from academic publishers — use the standard page number in the in-text citation: (Creswell & Creswell, 2018, p. 45). If pagination differs or is absent, use the chapter and paragraph: (Creswell & Creswell, 2018, Chapter 3, para. 4). If your quote is from a clearly headed section: (Creswell & Creswell, 2018, Qualitative Research Design section). Formatting APA reference list entries for ebooks correctly, with appropriate DOIs or URLs and accurate page locators for quotations, ensures your digital library sources receive the same rigorous attribution as traditional print materials.
