LibGuides: MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): When Information is Missing

Citing Sources with Missing Information

No Author
No Publication Date
No Page Numbers
No Title
No Database Name

Citing Sources With No Author

If no author is provided, start the citation with the title of the source you are citing. Note that an author can also be an organization or corporation (e.g., Health Canada). If and only if an item is signed as being created by Anonymous, use "Anonymous" where you'd normally put the author's name.

Example: Article from a print newspaper

Works Cited List Citation

"Get on Board for Train safety." Toronto Star, 17 June 2012, A14-15.

In-text Citation

("Get on Board" A15)

If the title of the source is surrounded by quotes in the works cited list citation, follow the same format for the in-text citation. If the source has a long title, you may shorten it by using the first word/phrase from the title.

Example: Print book

Works Cited List Citation

Introduction to Food Science. ABC Press, 2019.

In-text Citation

(Introduction to Food Science 20)

If the title of the source is Italicized in the works cited list citation, follow the same format for the in-text citation.

Citing Sources With No Publication Date

Works Cited List Citation

If no publication date is provided, you may exclude the date element from your Works Cited List citation. MLA recommends including an access date at the end of your citation if your online source does not have a publication date. The access date is the date you viewed the online source. For example:

Ribecca, Severino. The Data Visualisation Catalogue. datavizcatalogue.com. Accessed 3 May 2021.

In-text Citation

Follow recommended in-text citation format for your source. For example:

(Severino)

Citing Sources With No Page Numbers

Works Cited List Citation

Depending on the format of your source, the citation template may require page numbers (e.g., newspaper articles, magazine articles). If your source doesn't have page numbers, you may exclude the page element from your Works Cited List citation.

In-text Citations

When citing a work in text without page numbers, you may leave out the page element in your in-text citation. You may also consider using an alternative to help your reader locate the paraphrase or quote in your source (e.g., chapter number, slide number, time stamp). For example:

(Illowsky et al. ch. 5)

(Lim slide 2)

Citing Sources With No Title

If your source is untitled, include a description of the source in place of a title in your citation. For example:

Works Cited List Citation

Potato chips - personally ate in the past 6 months for all respondents 14+ in Ontario. Vividata, 2018.

In-text Citation

(Potato Chips)

Note: If the description is long, you may shorten it in your in-text citation by using the first word/phrase of the description.

No Database Name

If you find an article or eBook using the library website's main search make sure to click through to read the full article. Once you view the article or eBook, the database name is often displayed at the top of the page.

If it is ambiguous or says something like "searching 12 databases" and you can't tell which one database it is from, enter the name of the database provider (e.g., Proquest, EBSCO, etc.) as the database.

More Citation Tips

Citing indirect sources / works quoted in another source (e.g., citing information that the author of your source has quoted)
Citing sources in a Digital Assignment (e.g., presentation slides & infographics)
Identifying what type of source you are citing
Identifying the citation elements in your source (e.g., who is the author?)
Formatting elements of a citation (e.g., how to list authors' names in the works cited list)

MLA Citation Guide (MLA 9th Edition): When Information is Missing

Citing Sources With Missing Information

Citing Sources with Missing Information

More Citation Tips