Generally speaking, if you cannot identify the author of a source, you move the title to the author position in the reference list/works cited and use a shortened version of the title for the in-text citation. If you cannot identify the publication date, you substitute n.d. for “no date.” Here are examples of how it works in the three major citation styles:
Reference List (don’t forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):
Per the APA Manual (6th edition), p. 184 and 185:
In a reference to a work with no author, move the title to the author position, before the date of publication. A period follows the title.
The College of William and Mary. (n.d.). College mission statement. Retrieved from http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/provost/mission/index.php
Per the APA Manual (6th edition), p. 176:
When a work has no identified author, cite in text the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title of an article, a chapter, or a web page and italicize the title of a periodical, a book, a brochure or a report:
on free care (“Study Finds,” 2007)
the book College Bound Seniors (2008)
For additional examples and tips on citing sources with no author or date in APA Style, check out the APA Style Blog’s post on Missing Pieces, or the Purdue OWL (Reference List, In-Text Citations).
Per the MLA Handbook (8th edition), p. 24-25:
If no author’s name is given for the article you are citing and there isn’t a corporate author that can be identified, begin the entry with the title. Ignore any “A”, “An”, or “The” when you alphabetize the entry.
If a book has no author’s or editor’s name on the title page, begin the entry with the title. Do not use “Anonymous” or “Anon”.
American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Houghton, 2005.
Beowulf. Translated by Alan Sullivan and Timothy Murphy, edited by Sarah Anderson, Pearson, 2004.
When a source does not indicate the publisher or the date of publication, supply as much of the information as you can, enclosing it in square brackets to show it did not come from the source. If a date is approximate, put after circa. Do not use n.d. unless your professor asks you to do so. See. 2.6.1. for more information or the MLA Style Center.
Per the MLA Handbook (8th edition), p. 55 and 56:
In a parenthetical reference to a work alphabetized by title in the list of works cited, the full title (if brief) or a shortened version precedes the page, paragraph, section, or reference number or numbers (if any), unless the title appears in your text. When abbreviating the title, begin with the word by which it is alphabetized.
International espionage was as prevalent as ever in the 1990s (“Decade”).
“Decade of the Spy.” Newsweek 7 Mar. 1994: 26-27.
Per the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition):
Notes and Bibliography method (p. 697 and 722) (don’t forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):
If the author or editor is unknown, the note or bibliography entry should normally begin with the title. An initial article is ignored in alphabetizing.
A True and Sincere Declaration of the Purpose and Ends of the Plantation Begun in Virginia, of the Degrees Which It Hath Received, and Means by Which It Hath Been Advanced. London, 1610.
When the publication date of a printed work cannot be ascertained, the abbreviation n.d. takes the place of the year in the publication details. A guessed-at date may either be substituted (in brackets) or added.
Edinburgh, [1750?] or Edinburgh, n.d., ca. 1750
Author-Date References (p. 801) (don’t forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):
If the author or editor is unknown, the reference list entry should normally begin with the title. An initial article is ignored in alphabetizing. Text citations may refer to a short form of the title but must include the first word (other than the initial article).
A True and Sincere Declaration of the Purpose and Ends of the Plantation Begun in Virginia, of the Degrees Which It Hath Received, and Means by Which It Hath Been Advanced. 1610. London.
(True and Sincere Declaration 1610)
When the publication date of a printed work cannot be ascertained, the abbreviation n.d. takes the place of the year in the reference list entry and text citations. Though it follows a period in the reference list, n.d. remains lowercased to avoid conflation with the author’s name; in text citations, it is preceded by a comma. A guessed-at date may be substituted (in brackets).