APA Style Citations (American Psychological Association)

APA Style Citations

(American Psychological Association)

This guide provides basic guidelines and examples for citing sources using the Publication Manual of

the American Psychological Association

, 6

ed.

APA style requires that sources receive attribution in the text by the use of parenthetical in-text

references. General guidelines for in-text references are included on page 5 of this guide.

Books

Book:

One Author

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title. Publisher Location:

Publisher.

Sample Citation:

Welch, K.E. (1999). Electric rhetoric: Classical rhetoric, oralism, and a

new literacy. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Book:

Two or More

Authors

Format:

Author Last, First Initial, & Author Last, First Initial. (Year of Pub). Title.

Location of Publisher: Publisher.

[Note: If an article has seven or fewer authors, all names should be included in the

reference list. If there are more than seven authors, list the first six in this format and

complete the author section of the citation with  et al. ]

Sample Citation:

Lunsford, A., & Ede, L. (1990). Singular texts/plural authors: Perspectives

on collaborative writing. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

Masters, W.H., Johnson, V.E., & Levin, R.J. (1974). The pleasure bond: A new

look at sexuality and commitment. Boston: Little, Brown.

Electronic

Book

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year). Title. Available from doi: or URL

[Note: The doi (digital object identifier) number should be used any and all cases

where it is available.]

Sample Citation:

Dickens, C. (1910). A tale of two cities. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/

books?id=Pm0AAAAAYAAJ

Chapter

in a Book

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year of Pub). Title of Chapter/Article. In Editor's

First Initial Last (Ed.), Title (pp. inclusive page numbers). Location of

Publisher: Publisher.

Sample Citation:

Wells, I.B. (1995). Lynch law in all its phases. In S.W. Logan (Ed.),

With pen and voice: A critical anthology of nineteenth-century

African-American women (pp. 80-90). Carbondale: Southern

Illinois University Press.

Encyclopedias,

Dictionaries, &

Other Reference

Works

Format:

Editor Last, First Initial (Ed.). (Year of Pub.) Title (# of edition ed., Vols.

total # of volumes). Location of Publisher: Publisher.

Sample Citation:

Shally-Jensen, M., et al. (Eds.). (2004). Encyclopedia Americana (2004 ed.,

Vols. 30). Danbury: Scholastic Library Publishing.

An Entry in an

Encyclopedia,

Dictionary, or

Other Reference

Works

Format:

Entry Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Pub.) Title of Entry.

In First Initial Last Name of editor (Ed.), Title of Work (# of edition ed., Vol. #

of volume, pp. inclusive page numbers). Location of Publisher: Publisher.

[Note: If the entry has no author listed, place the title in the author position.]

Sample Citation:

Stout, J.J. (2004). Hydroelectric power. In M. Shally-Jensen, et al. (Eds.),

Encyclopedia Americana (2004 ed.,Vol. 14, pp. 646-651). Danbury:

Scholastic Library Publishing.

An Entry in an

Electronic

Encyclopedia,

Dictionary, or

Other Reference

Work

Format:

Entry Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Pub.) Title of Entry. In First Initial

Last Name of editor (Ed.), Title of Work. Retrieved from URL

[Note: Use the doi number instead of the URL when available.]

Sample Citation:

Kania, A. (2007). Philosophy of music. In E.N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia

of philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/music/

Journals

Journal Article:

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year). Title. Journal Title, volume number(issue number)

inclusive page numbers.

[Note: If a journal is paginated by issue instead of volume, the issue number should

be included in parentheses immediately after the volume number. Example: 42(3).

The sample below does not require the inclusion of the issue number.]

Sample Citation:

Haraway, D.J. (1994). A game of cat's cradle: Science studies,

feminist theory, cultural studies. Configurations, 2, 59-71.

Journal Article

with DOI

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Article title. Journal Title,

volume #(issue number), start page-end page. doi: alphanumeric string

[Note: See the published APA Style Guide to Electronic References for more

information on the use of digital object identifiers (doi).]

Sample Citation:

Welch, K.E. (2005). Technical communication and physical location: Topoi and

architecture in computer classrooms. Technical Communication

Quarterly, 14(3), 335-344. doi: 10.1207/s15427625tcq1403_12

Journal Article

without DOI

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Article title. Journal Title,

volume number(issue number), start page-end page. Retrieved from URL

Sample Citation:

Fisher, D., Russell, D., Williams, J., & Fisher, D. (2008). Space, time & transfer in

virtual case environments. Kairos, 12(2), 127-165. Retrieved from http://

kairos.technorhetoric.net/12.2/binder.html?topoi/fisher-etal/articleIntro.html

Journal Article:

Multiple Authors

For

mat:

Author Last, First Initial, & Author Last, First Initial. (Year). Title. Journal Title,

volume number(issue number), inclusive page numbers.

[Note: If there are more than seven authors, list the first seven in this format and

complete the author section of the citation with  et al. ]

Sample Citation:

Gautreau, R., & Cohen, J.M. (1997). Birth and death of a black hole.

American Journal of Physics, 65, 444-446.

Richardson, J.R., Aldridge, A.E., & Endersby, I.D. (2007). Post settlement

behaviour of brachiopods on hard and soft substrates. New Zealand

Journal of Zoology, 34(1), 43-49.

Magazines

Magazine Article:

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year, Month Day of Pub). Title. Magazine Name,

volume number(issue number), inclusive page numbers.

Sample Citation:

Swartz, M. (2002, May 6). An Enron yard sale. New Yorker, 78(10), 50-52.

Magazine Article:

Online

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year, Month Day of Pub). Title. Magazine

Name. Retrieved from URL

Sample Citation:

Leonard, A. (2005, May 18). Embracing the dark side of the brand. Salon.

Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2005/05/18/

star_wars_lego/index_np.html

Magazine Article:

from a

Full-Text Database

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year, Month Day of Pub). Title. Magazine Name,

volume number(issue number). Retrieved from URL

[Note: As of 2009, database names are not required in APA citations for magazines.

Instead, include the doi if available. If a doi is not available, provide a link to the home

page of the publication. See sample.]

Sample Citation:

Swartz, M. (2002, May 6). An Enron yard sale. New Yorker, 78(10).

Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/

Magazine Article:

Multiple Authors

Format:

Author Last, First Initial, & Author Last, First Initial. (Year, Month Day of

Pub). Title. Magazine Name, volume number(issue number), inclusive page

numbers.

Sample Citation:

Silver, M., & Pethokoukis, J.M. (2002, May 13). Attack of the cloned

light sabers. U.S. News & World Report, 132(16), 63.

Burnsed, B., Gloeckler, G., Grover, R., Lawyue, M., Lowry, T., & Polek, D. (2008,

October 13). The power 100. Business Week, (4103), 52-57.

Newspapers

Newspaper Article:

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of Article. Newspaper

Name, p. page number.

[Note: When citing a newspaper article in APA style, all page numbers should be

included. If an article is published over several pages, replace the "p." above with

"pp." and then include each additional page separated by commas.]

Sample Citation:

Lewin, T. (2005, May 15). SAT essay scores are in, but will they be used?

The New York Times, p. A22.

Newspaper Article:

Online

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year, Date of Publication). Article Title.

Newspaper Name. Retrieved from URL

Sample Citation:

Mapes, L.V. (2005, May 25). Unearthing Tse-whit-zen. Seattle Times.

Retrieved from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com

Newspaper Article:

from a

Full-Text Database

Format:

Author Last, First Initial. (Year, Date of Publication). Title of Article.

Newspaper Name. Retrieved from URL

Sample Citation:

Flores, M. (2001, December 18). San Antonio, Texas-area business students

manage real portfolio. San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved

from http://www.mysanantonio.com

Electronic Sources

For a more comprehensive listing of citation formats for electronic sources,

download our guidelines for  APA Style for Electronic Sources.

Multi-Page

Internet Site:

Entire Site

Format:

Corporate Author Name or Last Name, First Initials of Author. (Year,

Month Day of Pub). Title of Site. Retrieved from URL

[Note: Retrieval dates are only necessary when it is likely that the information will

change, as in a Wikipedia entry.]

Sample Citation:

Bird Studies Canada. (2005). Avibase: The world bird database.

Retrieved from http://www.bsc-eoc.org/avibase/avibase.jsp?pg=

home&lang=EN

Multi-Page

Internet Site:

Single Page

on Site

Format:

Author Last, First Initials or Corporate Author Name. (Year, Month Day

of Pub). Title of Page. In Title of multi-page site. Retrieved

from URL

Sample Citation:

Lileks, J. (2008). Comic sins: Lesser examples of a long-beloved medium.

In The Institute of Official Cheer. Retrieved from http://www.lileks.com/

institute/funny/index.html

Personal

Home Page

Format:

Author Last, First. (Year, Month Day of Pub). Title of home page.

Retrieved from URL

[Note: The APA does not encourage the use of personal home pages as scholarly

sources of information. Consult your instructor or course syllabi before including a

citation for personal home pages on your References page.]

Sample Citation:

Harvey, Billy. (2004). Billy Harvey has had hair longer than yours.

Retrieved from http://www.billyharvey.com

In-Text Parenthetical References in APA Style

To cite the use of a source in the text of an essay, APA advocates two methods: parenthetical

citation and attribution within the essay s content. Parenthetical references should be included

immediately after the quotation marks used in direct quotations or immediately after the use of the

source, even if this means including the parenthetical reference in the middle of the

sentence. The following is the general form for parenthetical citations in APA style:

Parenthetical Citation: (Author Last Name, Year of Publication)

Example: (Smith, 1988)

To make the citation of the source less distracting, the APA also suggests mentioning the author

in the

essay s content so that only the year of publication and page number may be required in the

parenthetical reference.

Attribution in text: Author Last Name (Year of Publication) has argued this point.

Example: Smith (1988) has argued this point.

Page numbers are not required in APA in-text citation. However, it is highly suggested that these

be included. To include references to a specific part of the text, add the page number or chapter

number after the year.

Examples: Smith (1988, p. 244) has written that... or Smith (1988, chap. 5) has written

that...

When a work has two authors, both names should be cited in every parenthetical reference. Use

an ampersand (&) to separate the names of authors. If a work has three or four authors, all

authors should be included in the first parenthetical reference. After the first parenthetical

reference, only the last name of the first author and the phrase  et al. may be used.

First mention of the reference: Johnson, Smith, and Brown (1999) agree that...

Subsequent mention: Johnson et al. (1999) also argue...

If a text has been authored by more than five individuals, the full listing of authors is not required

in the first reference or any subsequent in-text references.

If a group or corporation is the author, the full name of the group or corporation should be

included in place of an author's name. If an organization has a recognizable abbreviation, this

may be used in subsequent references.

First mention of the reference: (American Medical Association, 2002)

Subsequent mention: (AMA, 2002)

If no author is given for a specific text, use the first few words of the title in place of the author's

last name. Title fragments should be formatted using the same punctuation as titles on the

References page.

Examples of attribution in the text:

The recent publication

Plagiarism and You (2002) offers some explanation...

In "Five Ways to Protect Yourself" (2000) one can find...

Examples of parenthetical attribution: (

Plagiarism and You, 2002) or ("Five Ways to Protect

Yourself," 2000)

When no date is given for the publication of a text (as is the case with many websites), include

the abbreviation  n.d. in place of the year of publication.

For other considerations related to in-text referencing using the APA format, see the

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. (pages 174-179).