APA Style

Taken from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition.

Formatting a Bibliography/Works Cited Section.

General formatting APA 6.22 - 6.25

APA requires a hanging indent in a list of works cited. In a hanging indent, the first line of each citation begins at the margin, and the following lines are indented by 1/2".
Double space within and between entries.
Only the first word of the article or book title is capitalized.
All words in journal titles are capitalized.
Alphabetize by author's last name.
References with the same first author but different second authors are alphabetized by the second author.
Gosling, J.R., Jerald, K. & Belfar S.F. (2000).

Golsing, J.R. & Tevlin, D.F. (1996).
If two entries have the same author (or same 2 or more authors in the same order), list them in order of year (earliest first).
Cabading, J.R. & Wright K. (2000).

Cabading, J.R. & Wright K. (2001).
If two entries begin with the same author(or same 2 or more authors) and were published in the same year, list them in alphabetical order by title and label the dates a, b, c, etc as shown below:
Kuhlthau, C.C. (1993a). Implementing a process approach to information skills: A study identifying indicators of success in library media programs. School Library Media Quarterly, 22, 11-18.

Kuhlthau, C.C. (1993b). A principle of uncertainty for information seeking. Journal of Documentation, 49, 339-55.

Article from a Database APA 7.01

Article with Digital Object Identifier (DOI) 7.01.1

Author Last Name, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Name of Journal, Volume (Issue), pages. doi:####.

Example:

Ward, T. & Birgden, A. (2007). Human rights and correctional clinical practice. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 628-643. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2007.05.001.

In-text Citation: Ward & Birgden (2007) deal with the question of offenders' human rights.

Article without Digital Object Identifier (DOI) APA 7.01.3

Author Last Name, A. A. (Year, and month only if there's no volume #). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume (Issue), pages. Retrieved from (give the URL of database homepage).

Examples:

Scholarly Article

Browne-Krimsley, V. (2004). Lessons learned: Providing culturally competent care in a nurse-managed center. ABNF Journal, 15(4), 71-74. Retrieved from http://galenet.galegroup.com.

In-text Citation: In this case study, nursing students were given the opportunity to work within the cultural and economic framework of a particular community (Browne-Krimsley, 2004).

Newspaper Article from Database

Slatalla, M. (2004, October 14). Dress-up dreams fulfilled. New York Times, p. G4. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.

In-text Citation: Halloween costume options are unlimited thanks to online shopping (Slatalla, 2004).

(Note: If the article has not yet appeared in print, include the date you accessed it, after the word Retrieved and before the URL.)

Online Reference Sources APA 7.02

(Note: Provide as much information as you can find.)

Online Encyclopedia APA 7.02.29

Author Last Name, A.A. (Date or n.d. if no date). Article title. In Editor(s) Name(s) (Ed.), Encyclopedia name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL.

Example:

Shimony, A. (2009). Bell's Theorem. In E.N. Zaltha (Ed.) The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bell-theorem/

In-text Citation: Shimoney (2009) presents two variations of Bell's Theorem...

Online Dictionary APA 7.02.30

Entry name. (Date or n.d. if no date). In Dictionary name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL.

Example:

Pluralism. (n.d.) In Merriam-Webster's online dictionary (11th ed.). Retrieved July 11, 2009, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pluralistic.

In-text Citation: Merriam Webster (n.d.) defines pluralism as "the holding of two or more offices or positions (as benefices) at the same time."

Online Handbook APA 7.02.29-30

Entry Name. (Year or n.d. for no date). In Editor(s) Name(s) (Eds.), Name of manual. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL.

Example:

Eye pain. (2005). In R.S. Porter, J.L. Kaplan, B.P. Homeier & M.H. Beers (Eds.), The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy online. Retrieved June 18, 2009, from http://www.merck.com

In-text Citation: Surface pain tends to indicate a less serious problem than does deep throbbing pain ("Eye pain," 2005).

General Websites APA 6.32

(Note: Provide as much information about the website as you can. You may need to backtrack to the website's homepage to find this information.)

Author Last Name, A.A. (Year, Month Date of last update). Title of website or article. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL.

Notes: If no date is available, use n.d.
If no author is available put the title of the article in the author position
Only include retrieval date if information is likely to change often (i.e. wikis)

Examples:

Corporate Author APA 7.02.19

Mayo Clinic. (2008, June 7). Post partum depression. Retrieved from http://mayoclinic.com/health/postpartum-depression/DS00546

In-text Citation: "An estimated 10 percent of new moms experience a more severe form of emotional distress known as postpartum depression" (Mayo Clinic, 2008, Definition section, para. 2).

Personal Author APA 7.02.19

Montgomery, K. (2006, October 20). What is the difference between "universal coverage" and a "single-payer system"? Retrieved from http://healthinsurance.about.com/od/faqs/f/universalsp.htm

In-text Citation: Government funded health care is categorized as a "single-payer system" (Montgomery, 2006).

Corp. Author / No Date APA 7.02.19

The AGS Foundation for Heath in Aging. (n.d.) What is a geriatrics healthcare professional? Retrieved from http://www.healthinaging.org/caregiver/geriatric.asp

In-text Citation: The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging (n.d.) outlines several career options in the field of geriatric care.

Newspaper Article from Internet APA 7.01.11

Slatalla, M. (2004, October 14). Dress-up dreams fulfilled. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/technology/circuits/14shop.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=dress-up+dreams+fulfilled&st=nyt

In-text Citation: Halloween costume options are unlimited thanks to online shopping (Slatalla, 2004)

Wiki APA 6.32

Behavioural genetics. (n.d.) Retrieved June 24, 2009, from The Psychology Wiki: http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Behavioral_genetics

In-text Citation: Today, behavioral genetics is used to study psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia ("Behavioral Genetics," n.d.).

Blog post APA 7.11.76

PZ Myers. (2009, June 24). Good news about Daniel Hauser. Posted to http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/06/good_news_about_daniel_hauser.php#comment-1731441

In-text Citation: Many people in the scientific community, including University of Minnesota, Morris biologist and blogger PZ Myers (2009), remain skeptical about homeopathic treatments for cancer.

Video Blog Post APA 7.11.76

ScienceOnTheBrain. (2006, September 1). How much sugar is in a can of soda? [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F10EyGwd57M

In-text Citation: ScienceOnTheBrain (2006) explains that fruit juice has just as much sugar as soda.

Podcast APA 7.07.50

Van Nuys, D. (Producer). (2009, April 24). Healing troubled relationships with David Burns, MD [Show 205]. Shrink Rap Radio [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.shrinkrapradio.com

In-text Citation: Burns suggests that a major problem in human relationships is not a fear of intimacy, but rather an addiction to conflict (Van Nuys, 2009).

Print Sources

Book
Article or chapter in a book
Journal article
Encyclopedia article
Magazine article
Newspaper article

Book APA 7.02.18

Author Last Name, First Initial, Middle Initial. (Year). Title of work. Location: Publisher.

Examples:

Single Author

Watson, J. D. (1968). The double helix. New York: Atheneum.

In-text Citation: Watson (1968) recalls that "much more difficulty came from the necessity to fabricate representations of the inorganic icons" (p. 85).

Multiple Authors

Campbell, C.T. & Campbell T.M. (2006). The China study. Dallas, TX: Benbella.

In-text Citation: Campbell & Campbell (2006) concluded that "one of the strongest predictors of Western diseases was blood cholesterol" (p. 77).

Corporate Author

Nursing Theories Conference Group. (1980). Nursing theories: The base for professional nursing practice. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

In-text Citation: Nursing Theories Conference Group (1980) presents different nursing theories in terms of diagnosis, treatment and evaluation.

Article or chapter in a book APA 7.02.25

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (page numbers). Location: Publisher.

Example:

Catalano, R., & Pickett, K. E. (2000). Taxonomy of research concerned with place and health. In G. L. Albrecht, R. Fitzpatrick & S. C. Scrimshaw (Eds.), The handbook of social studies in health and medicine (pp. 64-83). London: Sage Publications.

In-text Citation: The economics of a community is a strong determinant of the overall health of its population (Catalano & Pickett, 2000).

Journal Article APA 7.01

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Name of Journal, Volume(Issue), pages.

(Notes: Drop the issue number if the journal is paginated continuously throughout the year. If more than 6 authors, include the first 6 and replace the rest with et al.)

Examples:

Continuous pagination

Chiang, A.C. & Massague, J. (2008). Molecular origins of cancer: Molecular basis of metastasis. New England Journal of Medicine, 359, 2814-2823.

In-text Citation: According to Chiang and Massague (2004), "Not only are cancer cells able to traverse the structural boundaries of the primary tumor, but they can also co-opt local and bone marrow-derived stromal-cell responses to their advantage" (p. 2817).

Paginated by issue

Crowley, A.A. & Kulikowich, J.M. (2009). Impact of training on child care health consultant knowledge and practice. Pediatric Nursing, 35(2), 93-100.

In-text Citation: One study showed an improvement in child care quality when care-givers had adequate training (Crowely & Kulikowich, 2009).

More than 6 authors

Garber, J., Clarke, G.N., Weersing, V.R., Beardslee, W.R, Brent, D.A., Gladstone, T.R.G., et al. (2009). Prevention of depression in at-risk adolescents: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA 301, 2215 - 2224.
(After the 6th author's name use et al.)

In-text Citation: Cognitive Behavior treatments were shown to be less effective for adolescents whose parents were actively suffering from depression (Garber et al., 2009).

Encyclopedia Article APA 7.02.27 & 29-30

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. In Title of encyclopedia (Vol. number, page numbers). Location: Publisher.

Example:

Webb, W. B. (1997). Sleep and dreaming. In McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of science & technology (Vol. 16, pp. 520-525). New York: McGraw-Hill.

In-text Citation: The electroencephalogram (EEG) was first used in the late 1930's to monitor sleep activity (Webb, 1997).

Magazine Article APA 7.01.7

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of article. Name of Magazine, volume, pages.

(begin with title when there is no author)

Examples:

Author

Sparaco, P. (2009, March 2) Supersonic soul searching. Aviation Week & Space Technology, 170, 40.

In-text Citation: The invention of the Concord 40 years ago failed to spur the technology that would make ultra-fast air travel available to the masses (Sparaco, 2009).

No Author

Procrastination is bad for student's health. (1997, June 9). Jet, 92, 3

In-text Citation: "Researchers from Case Western Reserve in Cleveland found that, come deadline time, students who put off assignments suffered more stress" ("Procrastination is bad," 1997, p. 3).

Newspaper Article APA 7.01.10

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of article. Name of Newspaper, pp. page numbers.

Example:

Burton, T. M. (2000, December 12) Older treatment for manic illness may be superior. Wall Street Journal, pp. B1, B4.

In-text citation: Studies showed that Depakote, an older treatment, was equally effective in treating manic illness and it produced less side affects than Zyprexa (Burton, 2000).

Audiovisual Material

Motion pictures
Television/radio broadcast
Episode from a television series

Motion Pictures APA 7.07

Last Name, First Initial, Middle Initial of primary originator. (Function of primary originator). (Year). Title of film [Motion picture]. Country of Origin where available: Name of movie studio. (Name of distributor and complete address if motion picture is of limited availability i.e. training videos.)

Examples

Motion Picture

Harris, M.J. (Director) & Dench, J. (Performer). (2000). Into the arms of strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport [Motion picture]. Australia: Warner Brothers.

In-text Citation: Approximately 10,000 children traveled to England via the Kindertransport to escape the Holocaust (Harris & Dench, 2000).

Limited Edition Motion Picture (i.e. training videos or documentaries)

Paxton, H. (Executive Producer), Podolski, M. (Director/Editor) & Price, C.A. (Commentator). (2006). The once and future Newark [Motion picture]. (Available from Office of Communications, Rutgers University, Blumenthal Hall, Rm 210, 249 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102).

In-text Citation: Despite crime and poverty, the city of Newark remains a cultural center of New Jersey (Paxton, Podolski & Price, 2006).

Television/Radio Broadcast APA 7.07

Last Name, First Initial, Middle Initial of primary originator. (Function of primary originator). (Year. Month Date). Name of broadcast [Television/Radio broadcast]. City of Origin: Network.

Example:

Winslow, L. (Executive Producer). (2009, June 24 ) The MacNeil/Lehrer news hour. [Television broadcast]. New York and Washington D.C.: Public Broadcasting Services.

In-Text Citation: The Iranian legislation would not call for a new election despite nearly a week of protests (Winslow, 2009).

Episode from a Television Series 7.07.51

Last Name, First Initial, Middle Initial of primary originator(s). (Function of primary contributor to episode). (Year). Episode name [Television series episode]. In First Initial Last Name of series producer (Producer), Series name. City: Broadcasting Company Name.

Example:

Piznarski, M. (Director), Thomas, R. (Writer), Sachs, G. (Writer) & Judah, J. (Writer). (2008). We're not in Kansas anymore [Television series episode]. In G. Sachs & J. Judah (Executive producers) The new 90201. New York: CW Television Network.

In-text Citation: The episode's casual depiction of sexual activity in the school parking lot sets a poor example for its teen viewers (Piznarski, Thomas, Sachs & Judah, 2008.)

Legal Sources

For complete information on legal citations, use: The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (17th ed., 2000). Call number REF KF245.B58 2000.

Statutes
Cases

Statutes APA A7.04

Name of Act, Volume Source § section number (Year).

Example:

"Service First" Initiative Act, 43 U.S.C. § 1701 (2002).

Cases APA A7.03

Name v. Name, Volume Source Page (Court Date).

Example:

Lessard v. Schmidt, 349 F. Supp. 1078 (E.D. Wis 1972).

Citing Sources Within Your Text

Use parenthetical citation with the author's last name and year of publication just next to the material that you are citing.
Example: (Smith, 2000).
If you already mention the author's name in your text, simply provide the year.
Example: Shimoney (2009) presents two variations of Bell's Theorem...
If there is no author, provide the first few words of the title (use parentheses for articles or chapters of books and italics for titles of books) and the year.
Example: ("Behavioral Genetics," n.d.)
If you are using a direct quotation, include the page number (where available) after the quote.
Example: Campbell & Campbell (2006) concluded that "one of the strongest predictors of Western diseases was blood cholesterol" (p. 77).
If two or more sources are listed in the same citation, separate them with a semicolon.
Example: (Campbell & Campbell, 2006; Catalano & Pickett, 2000)
If a source has 3, 4 or 5 authors, list them all the first time you cite them. Each time after that, list the name of the first author followed by et al.
Example: (Foster, Gal, Murphy, Port & Schmidt, 1997) becomes (Foster et al., 1997) after the first in-text citation.
Online and print sources are cited the same way.

Example Text:

(the text below is taken from: Ercegovac, Z., & Richardson, J. V., Jr. (2004) Academic dishonesty, plagiarism included, in the digital age: A literature review. College & Research Libraries, 65, 301-18. Some of the citations have been changed for illustrative purposes.)

For example, in the chapter titled "Youth: Changing Beliefs and Behavior" in The State of Americans, (Bronfenbrenner, McClelland, Wethington, Moen, & Ceci, 1996), it is said that 58.3 percent of high school students let someone else copy their work in 1969 and 97.5 percent did so in 1989. Moreover, the percentage of students who report ever using a cheat sheet doubled from 34 to 68 percent. Surprisingly, nearly 90 percent of college students "strongly agree or somewhat agree" that it is wrong to "hand in someone else's writing as one's own," to "use the Internet to copy text to hand in as one's own," and to "purchase papers from print term-paper mills" (Scanlon & Neumann, 2002, p. 379).

Kibler (1993) reviewed literature that demonstrates that various forms of academic dishonesty have been with us since ancient civilizations and that academic dishonesty, for a variety of reasons, has increased. In his Plagiarism Handbook, Harris (2001) noted that a "free-term-paper site, run by a 16-year-old, receives 13,000 hits a day" (p. 184). Harris gave an example of a librarian who studied plagiarism herself and could not order a paper from a paper mill because the site was "flooded with 800 orders a day" (p. 196). His book marshals lively instructional cartoons that could be used in teaching and discussing the subject of plagiarism.

The works cited section for these paragraphs would appear:

References

Bronfenbrenner, U., McClelland, P., Wethington, E., Moen, P., & Ceci S. J. (1996). The state of Americans: This generation and the next New York: The Free Press.

Harris, R. A. (2001). The plagiarism handbook: Strategies for preventing, detecting, and dealing with plagiarism. Los Angeles: Pyrczak.

Kibler, W. L. (1993). Academic dishonesty: A student development dilemma. NASPA Journal, 30, 252-67.

Scanlon, P. M., & Neumann, D. R. (2002). Internet plagiarism among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 374-85.

Additional Citation Resources

For more information and more examples, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed., located in the Reference Section, Call # BF76.7.P83 2010.M

APA Style Guide -- University of Southern Mississippi Libraries
Writer's Handbook: APA Documentation: References -- University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center
The Style pages directly from the American Psychological Association, perhaps the best way to stay up to date.

Welcome!

Reference Chat

Reference Chat

Library Information...

APA Style

Formatting a Bibliography/Works Cited Section.

General formatting APA 6.22 - 6.25

Online Sources

Article from a Database APA 7.01

Online Reference Sources APA 7.02

General Websites APA 6.32

Print Sources

Book APA 7.02.18

Article or chapter in a book APA 7.02.25

Journal Article APA 7.01

Encyclopedia Article APA 7.02.27 & 29-30

Magazine Article APA 7.01.7

Newspaper Article APA 7.01.10

Audiovisual Material

Motion Pictures APA 7.07

Television/Radio Broadcast APA 7.07

Episode from a Television Series 7.07.51

Legal Sources

Statutes APA A7.04

Cases APA A7.03

Citing Sources Within Your Text

Additional Citation Resources