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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.

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

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

Print Publications

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

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 within a 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)

Find out more about the different types of periodicals here.

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

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]. Washington Post, p. T6.

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Electronic Resources

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 here.
  • 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).

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 here.
  • If the DOI is  not available, give the URL (Web address) of the article.

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 in Technology 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

Web Sites

Find out more about using Web resources here.

Important Elements

  • Author (if known)
  • Date of publication, copyright date, or date of last update
  • Title of Web site
  • Date you accessed the information
  • URL (Web address) of the site

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

The Nittany Lion Mascot. (2006). Retrieved February 29, 2008, from http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittanymascot.html

Page within a Web site (unknown author)

Global warming solutions. (2007, May 21). In Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved February 29, 2008, from http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/soultions

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.

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

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Multimedia Resources

Motion Picture (film, video, DVD)

Important Elements

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

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

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

Important Elements

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

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
     

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.

Interviews and Other Personal Communication

In APA style, interviews and other forms of unpublished personal communication, such as e-mail, letters, or memos, 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).

Please address questions and comments to Library Learning Services

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