When working with an online source and you want to reference it, you must know how to cite it. Many scholars rely on online resources, such as journals, YouTube videos, etc., in their work.
When you use these online sources, you must cite them in your work as one way of giving credit and highlighting where you retrieved a given information.so, how do you cite a YouTube video?
You can use different citing options depending on your goal or requirement. The citation for APA, MLA, Harvard, etc., differ; you must know what rules work with each citation style. Moreover, you must know the required details, such as the video’s title, URL, and publication date. When citing, you must know how to add in-text citations and the full citation in the reference section of your work.
This post answers all your queries regarding citing YouTube videos. We will understand why citation is key and the different information regarding when you want to cite a YouTube video. Moreover, we will discuss how to cite YouTube videos using different citation formats.
What Is Citation?
When working with online sources and you are not the author or the owner of the particular online source, you must cite the work. Citation is a way of crediting the author, especially when dealing with scholarly work.
Even when you are referencing a given YouTube video in your work, you should cite it. Citation is an acknowledgment that you used someone’s content in your work.
Moreover, anyone reading your content can open the cited YouTube video to get more information regarding the mentioned topic or content.
How To Cite a YouTube Video
You can use different citing formats, including MLA, Harvard, APA, etc. The citation style you use will depend on your requirements or instructions in a case of an assignment. Here, we will discuss the different citations and everything you need to cite your YouTube video.
Below is the different information you require when you want to cite a YouTube video. You must have the video title you want to cite. Moreover, you must get the date the video was published on YouTube. Some citation styles may also require you to add the running time of the specific section where you want to cite in case of a long video.
Still, you will need the video’s URL so a reader can click on it to access the cited video. Different citation styles require different information. Let’s cover the three main citation styles to see how you can utilize them to cite a YouTube video.
APA Citation
APA citation style is the most commonly used option. If you want to utilize it in your work, cite the YouTube video in the following format. Last-name, Initials. [Channel name]. (Year, month, day), video’s title , YouTube. URL.
Here’s an example of using the APA format.
James, K. [How-to]. (2019, May 15). Get-Started: How to Think Fast [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?x=yh67h67nq
For the case of the in-text citation, the APA option will appear in the following format. (Last-name, Year). In the above full citation, our in-text citation for the YouTube video would be (James, 2019).
MLA Citation
MLA slightly differs from APA. The main difference is the arrangement of the video’s information when citing it. Video’s title. YouTube, uploaded by [Channel name], (day, month. Year), URL
For instance, if we were to cite the earlier YouTube video using MLA format, the citation would appear as follows.
“Get-Started: How to Think Fast.” YouTube, uploaded by How-To, 15 May. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?x=yh67h67nq
Its in-text citation would only include the video’s title.
Harvard Citation
Harvard citation is clear and will appear like that of APA. Its format appears as follows. Last-name(Year) video’s title, Available at URL (Accessed: date, month, Year).
Here’s an example.
How-to (2019) Get-Started: How to Think Fast. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?x=yh67h67nq (Accessed: 15 May 2019).
Its in-text citation would be (How-to, 2019).
Conclusion
It’s possible to cite a YouTube video in your work. You can use different citation styles, each with a specific format. This post has explained why citation is essential and given examples of citing YouTube videos using APA, MLA, and Harvard.
