What is the proper way of citing an internet source in a research paper?

Not in the works cited page, but the actual research paper.

What is the proper way of citing an internet source in a research paper?
It depends on what reference guide your school / college / uni is using; for example, the Harvard Guide is used by many colleges and unis, and there are other referencing guides. If you do not follow the one your institution demands, you will lose marks.





In the actual research paper it does not change from how you would cite books -- but instead of page numbers [as internet sites generally do not have page numbers], you cite the paragraph. For example:





(Smith, 2007, para. 5)





or





(Smith, 2007, Conclusion section, para. 2)








If there is no author, then simply cite the website address.





(http://mywebsite.com/interestingpage.htm...








As I said, this is for the Harvard Referencing System. If your institution uses something else, you will need to check what they recommend. A quick Google with the name of the reference system [e.g. "Harvard Reference System", "Oxford Reference System", "American Psychological Association Reference System"] should give you further information -- or check your institution's web page -- here is mine for example [http://www.bell.uts.edu.au/referencing]