Answered By: Vicki Sciuk
Last Updated: Sep 06, 2023     Views: 6366

How to cite information found in Mergent Online depends on what part of the Mergent database you are using in your paper - company reports, news articles, country profiles, financials, statistics.  News articles can usually be cited like articles from any source.

Mergent has a lot of content that is not from an outside publication, such as their Company Reports or Company Profiles (like this one on Starbucks):


 

There are no personal authors or specific editors listed for these reports, which are written by the database, Mergent.  

APA Style (7th edition) Format:

We may begin with the report name, since there are no authors or editors listed for these reports, or we may use Mergent Online as what we call a "corporate author", which is used when there is no personal name shown, but the originator of the material is a known group, company, association, or government agency.

Normally you do not show database names in APA 7th References. But this is an exception since the database is the author of some of its content, like these Company Profiles. APA says to list the name of a database (in italics) in a citation when it publishes original, proprietary works available only in that database or archive. If you don't find a date anywhere, put n.d. (no date) where the date published or last updated usually goes. Also, because it will change over time, include "Retrieved from" with the date you viewed it and the URL to end the reference:

Title. (n.d.). Mergent Online. Retrieved Month DD, YYYY, from URL

References Example:

  1. Starbucks Corp. (n.d.). Mergent Online. Retrieved September 20, 2021, from http://www.mergentonline.com.ezproxy.library.berkeley.org/companydetail.php?compnumber=73271&pagetype=synopsis
  2. Mergent, Inc. (n.d.). Starbucks Corp. Mergent Online. Retrieved September 20, 2021, from http://www.mergentonline.com.ezproxy.library.berkeley.org/companydetail.php?compnumber=73271&pagetype=synopsis

In-Text

1. (Starbucks Corp., n.d.) or 2. (Mergent, Inc., n.d.)


MLA Style (8th edition) Format:

If a report was written and published by the same corporate entity, list that entity as the publisher and begin the entry with the report’s title. Also. since there is no publication date and the contents will change frequently, add the "Accessed" date at the end of the citation, to show when you saw the report.

Title. Mergent Online, Month of report Year of report [leave out if not dated], URL. Accessed DD Month YYYY.

Works Cited Example:
Starbucks Corp. Mergent Online, www-mergentonline-com.ezproxy.library.berkeley.org/companydetail.php?compnumber=73271&pagetype=synopsis. Accessed 25 Oct. 2021.

In-Text

(Starbucks Corp. page# [if available])


Country Profiles can be cited using a similar citation format, but they do have a date, so add that (2019 in this picture), and leave out the Retrieved/Accessed date:

APA References:

Costa Rica: Country Profile. (2019). Mergent Online. http://apdfs.mergentassets.com/country/CostaRica.pdf

In-Text: (Costa Rica, 2019)


MLA Works Cited:

Costa Rica: Country Profile. Mergent Online, 2019, apdfs.mergentassets.com/country/CostaRica.pdf

In-Text: (Costa Rica 3 [any pg #])

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