How to Cite Sources in APA Format  Tags: apa citations style_guides how_to  

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) is the standard writing guide for psychology and other disciplines in the social sciences. It is used by authors, editors, students, and publishers. The following information is taken from 6th edition (2010). If you don't find the information and/or examples you need here, consult the publication manual (copies are available in all APU libraries).

In the text of your paper, you must document the source from which you are quoting or paraphrasing. When paraphrasing, cite the author and date of the work, plus the page number if it would help the reader locate the original information. For quotations, cite the author, date and page number. This enables the reader to locate in your reference list the source you used. Note that if a work has no author, you must use the title for the in-text citation. There are two basic methods for in-text citations:

1. Integrating the author’s name into the sentence:
   Walker (2000) compared reaction times and found . . .
2. Including the author’s name in a parenthetical citation:
   A recent study found that a 0.04 BAC caused a slight impairment of reaction time (Walker, 2000, p. 8).

For works with 2 authors:

Always list both authors' surnames every time you refer to that work.
NOTE: When there are two authors and is used in the text; & is used in the parenthetical citation.

Examples:
. . . as Nightlinger and Littlewood (1993) demonstrated . . .
As has been shown (Nightlinger & Littlewood, 1989) . . .

For works with 3-5 Authors:

List all the authors' surnames the first time you refer to the work. After that, list only the surname of the first author followed by et al.

Examples:
First occurrence: Eley, Lichenstein, and Stevenson (1999) studied differences in . . .
Second occurrence: Eley et al. (1999) found that . . .

For works with 6 or more authors:

List only the surname of the first author followed by et al. in all instances. (see example above)

These examples are for printed books and periodicals only. Please consult the "Citing Electronic Sources" tab if you are attempting to cite an eBook, a web site, an online document, or an article obtained through an online database.

Start the Reference List on a new page. Type the word References (Reference, if there is only one) in uppercase and lowercase letters, centered at the top of the page. Double-space all reference entries. Entries that are more than one line long should have a hanging indent.

Note: Not all title words are capitalized; see examples below. Generally, only the first word of the title, the first word of the subtitle, acronyms, and proper nouns are capitalized.

Citing a book with one author or editor:

Format:

Author/Editor's last name, Author/Editor’s initial(s). (Publication year). Title [in italics]. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Examples:

Benner, D. G. (Ed.). (1987). Psychotherapy in Christian perspective. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Reno, R. R. (2002). Redemptive change: Atonement and the Christian cure of the soul. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International.

Citing a book with multiple authors:

Format:

Author 1's last name, Author 1’s initial(s)., Author 2's last name, Author 2's initial(s)., & Author 3's last name, Author 3's initial(s). (Publication year). Title [in italics]. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Examples:

Wicks, R. J., Parsons, R. D., & Capps, D. (Eds.). (1993). Clinical handbook of pastoral counseling. New York: Paulist Press.

Harris, M., & Moran, G. (1998). Reshaping religious education: Conversations on contemporary practice. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Citing a book with no author or editor:

Format:

Title (Edition - if there is one). (Publication year). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

Citing a book with a group author (government agency) as publisher:

Format:

Group author (or government agency). (Publication year). Title (edition or report number, if there is one). Place of publication: Publisher.

(When the author and publisher are identical, use the word Author as the name of the publisher.)

Example:

U. S. Census Bureau. (2001). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2001 (121st ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Citing an entry from a multivolume encyclopedia:

Format:

Entry author's last name, Entry author's initial(s). (Publication year). Entry title. In Editor's initials, Editor's last name (Ed.), Title of encyclopedia (Edition, volume number, pages). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:

Thomas, R. M. (1994). Religious education. In T. Husen & N. Postlethwaite (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of education (2nd ed., Vol. 9, pp. 4995-5008). New York: Elsevier Science.

NOTE: If an encyclopedia entry has no author, place the title of the entry in the author position.

Citing a journal article, one author:

Format:

Author’s Last Name, Author’s initial(s). (year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number for journals paginated by issue), pages.

Example:

Moreland, J. P. (2001). Intelligent design psychology and evolutionary psychology: A comparison of rival paradigms. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 29(4), 361-377.

Citing a journal article, two authors:

Format:

Author 1's last name, Author 1’s initial(s)., & Author 2's last name, Author 2's initial(s). (Publication year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number for journals paginated by issue), pages.

Example:

Beck, R., & McDonald, A. (2004). Attachment to God: The attachment to God inventory, tests of working model correspondence, and an exploration of faith group differences. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 32(2), 92-103.

Citing a magazine or newspaper article:

Format

Author’s Last Name, Initial(s). (Publication year, Month, day). [Give the date shown on the publication—month for monthly publications or month and day for weekly/daily publications.] Title of article. Title of magazine, volume number(issue number), pages [for newspaper articles, precede the page number with p. for articles on one page, or pp. for articles that cover multiple pages].

Example:

Jeschke, M. (2005, August). Fixing church discipline. Christianity Today, 49(8), 30-32.

Clements, M. (2009, September 30). Get your Kaleo fastpass. The Clause, 46(2), pp. 1, 4.