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APA Quick Citation Guide

Here are some examples of common citation formats in APA (American Psychological Association) Style. For complete citation information, see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The following guidelines are based on the sixth edition (2009) of the Publication Manual. For information on using APA style for in-text citations, see our APA In-text Citation Guide.

Many additional examples of APA citation formats can be found on the Research and Documentation Online guide.

A tutorial on the basics of APA style is available on the APA website.

Download a PDF with the APA citation formats shown on this page.

Note: Citations with more than one line of text should have a hanging indent of 1/2 inch or 5 spaces.

 

Print Resources - including books and articles

Books

Important Elements:

  • Author (last name, initials only for first & middle names)
  • Publication date
  • Title (in italics; capitalize only the first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns)
  • Place of publication
  • Publisher

 

Citing Books
Source Example Citation
Book by a single author Rollin, B. E. (2006). Science and ethics. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Book by two authors Sherman, C., & Price, G. (2001). The invisible web: Uncovering information sources search engines can’t see. Medford, NJ: CyberAge Books.
Book by three or more authors Goodpaster, K. E., Nash, L. L., & de Bettignies, H. (2006). Business ethics: Policies and persons (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Book by a corporate author American Medical Association. (2004). American Medical Association family medical guide (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Article or chapter within an edited book Winne, P. H. (2001). Self-regulated learning viewed from models of information processing. In B.J. Zimmerman & D.H. Schunk (Eds.), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement (2nd ed., pp. 160-192). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Translation

Tolstoy, L. (2006). War and peace. (A. Briggs, Trans.). New York, NY: Viking. (Original work published 1865).

Articles from Print Periodicals (magazines, journals, and newspapers)

Important Elements:

  • Author (last name, initials only for first & middle names)
  • Date of publication of article (year and month for monthly publications; year, month and day for daily or weekly publications)
  • Title of article (capitalize only the first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns)
  • Title of publication in italics (i.e., Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Newsweek, New York Times)
  • Volume and issue number
  • Page numbers of article

 

Citing Articles from Print Periodicals
Source Example Citation
Article in a monthly magazine (include volume # if given) Swedin, E. G.  (2006, May/June). Designing babies: A eugenics race with China? The Futurist, 40, 18-21.
Article in a weekly magazine (include volume # if given) Will, G. F. (2004, July 5). Waging war on Wal-Mart. Newsweek, 144, 64.
Article in a daily newspaper

Dougherty, R. (2006, January 11). Jury convicts man in drunk driving death. Centre Daily Times, p. 1A.

Rimer, S. (2003, September 3). A campus fad that’s being copied: Internet plagiarism seems on the rise. New York Times, p. B7.
Article in a scholarly journal Stock, C. D., & Fisher, P. A. (2006). Language delays among foster children: Implications for policy and practice. Child Welfare, 85(3), 445-462.
Book review Rifkind, D. (2005, April 10). Breaking their vows. [Review of the book The mermaid chair, by S.M. Kidd]. Washington Post, p. T6.
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Electronic Resources - including online articles, websites, and blogs

The following guidelines for electronic sources follow the recommendations in the sixth edition (2009) of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Articles from the Library’s Online Subscription Databases

Important Elements:

  • Publication information (see Print Periodicals, above)
  • DOI number (if available). More information about DOI numbers is available on the American Psychological Association's APA Style page.
  • If the DOI number is not available, APA recommends giving the URL of the publication. If the URL is not known, include the database name and accession number, if known: Retrieved from ERIC database (ED496394).

 

Citing Articles from the Library’s Online Subscription Databases
Source Example Citation

Magazine article with URL

Poe, M. (2006, September). The hive. Atlantic Monthly, 298, 86-95. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com

Journal article with DOI

Blattner, J., & Bacigalupo, A. (2007). Using emotional intelligence to develop executive leadership and team and organizational development. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 59(3), 209-219. doi:10.1037/1065-9293.59.3.209

Articles in Online Journals, Magazines and Newspapers

Important Elements

  • Author (last name, initials only for first & middle names)
  • Date of publication of article
  • Title of article
  • Title of publication (in italics)
  • Volume and issue number (for scholarly journals, if given)
  • Page numbers, if given
  • DOI number, if given. More information about DOI numbers is available on the American Psychological Association's APA Style page.
  • If the DOI is  not available, give the URL (Web address) of the article.

 

Citing Articles in Online Journals, Magazines and Newspapers
Source Example Citation
Article in an online scholarly journal

Overbay, A., Patterson, A. S., & Grable, L. (2009). On the outs: Learning styles, resistance to change, and teacher retention. Contemporary Issues inTechnology and Teacher Education, 9(3). Retrieved from http://www.citejournal.org/vol9/iss3/currentpractice/article1.cfm
Article in an online magazine Romm, J. (2008, February 27). The cold truth about climate change. Salon.com. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com
Article in an online newspaper McCarthy, M. (2004, May 24). Only nuclear power can now halt global warming. Earthtimes. Retrieved from http://www.earthtimes.org
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Web Sites

Important Elements

  • Author (if known)
  • Date of publication, copyright date, or date of last update
  • Title of Web sitei
  • Date you accessed the information (APA recommends including this if the information is likely to change)
  • URL (Web address) of the site

 

Citing Web Sites
Source Example Citation

Web site with author

Kraizer, S. (2005). Safe child. Retrieved February 29, 2008, from http://www.safechild.org/

Web site with corporate author

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2008, February 15). Stop underage drinking. Retrieved February 29, 2008, from http://www.stopalcoholabuse.gov

Web site with unknown author

Penn State myths. (2006). Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/myths.html

Page within a Web site (unknown author)

Global warming 101. (2012). In Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved December 14, 2012, from http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/global_warming_101/

Blogs & Wikis

Note: Wikis are collaborative web pages that anyone can write and edit. Information found on a wiki is not necessarily contributed by experts.

 

Citing Blogs & Wikis
Source Example Citation
Blog post Jeremiah, D. (2007, September 29). The right mindset for success in business and personal life [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.myrockcrawler.com
Wiki entry Happiness. (n.d.). In Psychwiki. Retrieved December 7, 2009 from http://www.psychwiki.com/wiki/Happiness
 

Electronic Books

Important Elements:

  • Author (last name, initials only for first & middle names)
  • Publication date
  • Title (in italics; capitalize only the first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns)
  • Place of publication
  • Publisher
  • URL (Web address) of the site from which you accessed the book
Citing Electronic Books
Source Example Citation
Electronic Book

McKernan, B. (2005). Digital cinema: The revolution in cinematography, postproduction, and distribution.  New York, NY: Mc-Graw Hill. Retrieved from www.netlibrary.com.

Post, E. (1923). Etiquette in society, in business, in politics, and at home. New York, NY: Funk & Wagnalls. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books.
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Entry in an Online Reference Work

Important Elements

  • Author 
  • Publication date
  • Title of entry
  • Editors
  • Title of reference work (in italics)
  • Retrieval statement with URL

Citing an Entry in an Online Reference Work
Source Example Citation
Entry from Gale Virtual Reference Library Rey, G. (2006). Behaviorism. In D. M. Borchert (Ed.), Encyclopedia of philosophy. (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/
 

Multimedia Resources - including motion pictures and television

Motion Picture (film, video, DVD)

Important Elements

  • Director
  • Date of release
  • Title (in italics)
  • Country where motion picture was made
  • Studio

 

Citing Films, Videos, DVDs
Source Example Citation
Motion Picture Johnston, J. (Director). (2004). Hidalgo. [Motion Picture]. United States, Touchstone/Disney.

Television Program

Important Elements

  • Producer
  • Date of broadcast
  • Title of television episode
  • Title of series (in italics)
  • Location of network and network name

 

Citing Television Programs
Source Example Citation
Television program in series Buckner, N. & Whittlesey, R. (Writers, Producers & Directors). (2006). Dogs and more dogs. [Television series episode]. In P. Apsell (Senior Executive Producer), NOVA. Boston: WGBH.
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Other Formats: ERIC documents, government publications

ERIC Documents

Important Elements

  • Author
  • Date of publication
  • Title (in italics)
  • Publisher, if given
  • ED Number

 

Citing Other Formats
Source Example Citation
ERIC document Harris, H.L., & Coy, D.R. (2003). Helping students cope with test anxiety. Greensboro, NC: ERIC Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse. Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED 479355)

Government Publications

Important Elements

  • Government Agency
  • Date of publication
  • Title of document (in italics)
  • Place of publication
  • Publisher

 

Citing Government Publications
Source Example Citation
Government document U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. (2000). Breaking the cycle of domestic violence: Know the facts. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
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Personal Communication - including interviews

Interviews and Other Personal Communication

In APA style, interviews and other forms of unpublished personal communication, such as e-mail, letters, memos or class notes, are not included in the reference list. Cite interviews and personal communication in parentheses within the text of your paper:

Professor Smith contends that the use of educational technology in the classroom increases student engagement (J. Smith, personal communication, September 4, 2007).

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Citing Indirect Sources

If you refer to a source that is cited in another source, list only the source you consulted directly (the secondary source) in your reference list. Name the original source in the text of your paper, and cite the secondary source in parentheses: “Wallace argues that…. (as cited in Smith, 2009).” In this example, only the Smith source would be included in the reference list.

Whenever possible, try to find and consult the original source. If the Penn State University Libraries does not have the original source, we can try to get it for you through interlibrary loan.

 



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