APA Style

Jump To: Print Sources | Internet and Electronic Sources | Media Sources

Print Sources

Book

7.02.18

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Title. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Examples:

Arnheim, R. (1971). Art and visual perception. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Calfee, R.C., & Valencia, R.R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Miller, P.H. & Scholnick, E.K. (Eds.). (2000). Toward a feminist developmental psychology. New York: Routledge.

Note: List all authors up to seven names. If more than seven authors, see section 7.01.2 in the Publication Manual.

Chapter in a Book

7.02.25

Format:

Chapter Author(s). (Date). Chapter title. In Editors (Eds.), Book Title (Chapter page numbers). Place of Publication: Publisher.

Example:

Massaro, D. (1992). Broadening the domain of the fuzzy logical model of perception. In H.L. Pick Jr., P. van den Broek, & D.C. Knill (Eds.), Cognition: Conceptual and methodological issues (pp.51-84). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Note: If there are no editors, include the word "In" before the book title.

Note: For chapter in a volume in a series, list the series editor first and the volume editor second.

Article in a Reference Book

7.02

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Article title. Title of dictionary or encyclopedia. (Volume, Page Numbers). Place of Publication: Publisher.

Examples:

Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia britannica (15th ed., Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.

Symbolism. (1993). In Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed., p.1116). Springfield, MA: MerriamWebster.

Note: If there is no author, the title moves to the author position, and the entry is alphabetized by the first significant word of the title.

Journal Article

7.01.3

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Article title. Periodical title, Volume (Issue number, if available), Page numbers.

Example:

Harlow, H.F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal of Psychology, 55, 893-896.

Note: If the journal uses continuous pagination, list only the volume number, (e.g. International Education, 14 …) If each issue of the journal begins on page 1, however, list the issue number after the volume, (e.g. Mosaic, 19 (3)…) For multiple authors, list all authors up to 7 names. If more than 7 authors, see section 7.01.2 in the Publication Manual.

Magazine Article

7.01.7

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Article title. Periodical title, Page Numbers.

Example:

Kauffmann, S. (1993, October 18). Stanley Kauffman on films. The New Republic, 209(16), 30-31.

Note: If the magazine is published monthly, then list the year and then the month - e.g. (1999, May).

Newspaper Article

7.01.10

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Article title. Newspaper title, Page Numbers.

Example:

Monson, M. (1993, September 16). Urbana firm obstacle to office project. The Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, pp. 1, 8.

Government Publication

7.03.31

Format:

Government Agency. (Date). Title (Report number). Place of Publication: Publisher.

Example:

National Institute of Mental Health. (1990). Clinical training in serious mental illness (DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1679). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Internet and Electronic Sources (Back to Top)

Website with No Author or Date

APA website

Format:

Name of Site. (Date). Retrieved Month Day, Year, from web address

Example:

Webhosting.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2000, from http://www.webhosting.com

Note: If no date is listed, put “n.d.” Include retrieval dates only if text may potentially change over time.

Page from a Web Site

APA website

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Title of work. Retrieved from web address

Example:

Jones, R. B. (1999, January 10). Magnesium and lactation in dairy cattle. Retrieved from http://www.dairycattle.com/elements/

Note: If no date is listed, put “n.d.” Include retrieval dates only if text may potentially change over time.

Document Available on a University Program or Department Web Site

APA website

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Title of work. Retrieved from web address

Example:

Chou, L., McClintock, R., Moretti, F., & Nix, D. H. (1993). Technology and education: New wine in new bottles: Choosing pasts and imagining educational futures. Retrieved from Columbia University, Institute for Learning Technologies Web site: http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications/papers/newwine1.html

Note: If citing one page from a multi-page Web site, identify the host organization and department before giving the web address for the document itself. The web address is preceded by a colon.

Online Book

7.02.19-24

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Title. Retrieved from web address or database name.

Example:

Dutton, D. G. (2007). The abusive personality: violence and control in intimate relationships. Retrieved from Highline Community College Library catalog.

Chapter/Section of an Online Book

7.02.19-24

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Title of article. In Title of book. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxx

Example:

Strong, E.K., Jr., & Uhrbrock, R.S. (1923). Bibliography on job analysis. In L. Outhwaite (Series Ed.), Personnel Research Series: Vol. 1. Job Analysis and the curriculum (pp. 140-146). doi:10.1037/10762-000

Note: If web content is assigned a DOI, give the DOI as shown in the example. No web address or database name is needed.

Journal Article from a Library Database (i.e. Proquest, Academic Search Complete, etc.):

LIU Library

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Article title. Journal title, Volume, Page Numbers. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxx

Example:

Lever, A. (2009). Liberalism, democracy, and the ethics of voting. Politics, 29(3), 223-227. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9256.2009.01359.

VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role of reference elements in the selection of resources by psychology undergraduates. Journal of Bibliographic Research, 5, 117-123. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Note: If no DOI assigned, include database name as shown in example.

Article from a Web Periodical (not from a database)

7.01.1-5

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume, Page Numbers. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxx

Example:

Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography. European Journal of Marketing, 41(11/12), 1245-1283. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161

Note: If no DOI is assigned, give the web address of the journal home page.

Online Government Publication

7.03.31

Format:

Government Agency. (Date). Title. Retrieved from web address

Example:

United States Sentencing Commission. (n.d.). 1997 sourcebook of federal sentencing statistics. Retrieved from http://www.ussc.gov/annrpt/1997/sbtoc97.htm

Email/Personal Communication

APA website

“Because they do not provide recoverable data, personal communications are not included in the reference list. Cite personal communications in text only. Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible.”

Example of in-text citation: T.K. Lutes (personal communication, April 18, 2001)

Blog Posting

7.11.76

Format:

Author(s). (Date). Title of post. Retrieved from web address

Example:

Gravely, S. (2007, June 12). Re: Letter writing for small businesses [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.writinghelptools.com/blog/

Media Sources (Back to Top)

Motion Picture (Film, DVD, or Video):

7.07

Format:

Contributor(s) (Person’s Role). (Date). Title [Medium]. Location of Distributor: Distributor.

Examples:

David, L., Bender, L., & Burns. S.Z. (Producers), & Guggenheim, D. (Director). (2006). An inconvenient truth [Motion Picture]. United States: Paramount Classics.

Elsanhouri, T. (Writer, Producer, Director). (2005). All about Darfur [DVD]. San Francisco, CA: California Newsreel.

Television Broadcast

7.07

Format:

Producer(s). (Producer). (Year, Month Day of Broadcast). Title of show [Television broadcast]. Location of Broadcasting Company: Broadcasting Company.

Example:

Crystal, L. [Executive Producer]. (1993, October 11). The MacNeil/Lehrer news hour [Television broadcast]. New York and Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service.

Podcast or Sound Clip Posted to an Internet Site:

Compiled from online examples

Format:

Contributor(s). (Contributor’s Role). (Date). Series Title if applicable. Title of recording. [Medium if applicable]. Location of Distributor: Distributor.

Example:

Bell, T. & Phillips, T. (2008, May 6). A solar flare. Science @ NASA Podcast.. Podcast retrieved May 23, 2006, from http://science.nasa.gov/podcast.htm

Sexton, A. (Speaker). (1999). Anne Sexton reads [Cassette]. New York: HarperAudio.

Note: For sound clips posted to an internet site, include Month Day, Year of retrieval and web address as shown in first example.

Videoclip Posted to an Internet Site (i.e. YouTube):

7.11.77

Format:

Contributor(s). (Contributor’s Role). (Date). Video title [Video file]. Retrieved from web address

Examples:

Slingshot fun [Video file]. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCmZYce0J2E

University of Chicago. (2007, December 12). European cartographers and the Ottoman world, 1500--1750 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xax5d4IKqrQ

A Painting, Sculpture, Photograph, or Image:

Compiled from online examples

Format:

Creator. (Year of Publication if available). [Description of graphic representation]. Title of source. Retrieved from web address

Examples:

[Image of Earth]. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.battledawn.com/temp/earth.jpg

Rousseau, H. (1896). [Painting]. The ship in the storm. Retrieved from ARTstor database.

Note: For untitled works, create a brief title and place in brackets, unitalicized as shown in first example.

Note: For works reproduced in a printed source, the plate/image number (or page number on which the image is printed) should follow the publisher’s name.

Note: For U.S. cities other than Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, include abbreviation of state after the city ex: “Chatham, MA.” For foreign cities other than Amsterdam, Jerusalem, London, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Vienna, include name of country with state or province if appropriate ex: “Brisbane, Australia” or “Toronto, Ontario, Canada.”

Interview/Personal Communication

6.20

Because they do not provide recoverable data, personal communications are not included in the reference list. Cite personal communications in text only. Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible.

Example of in-text citation: T.K. Lutes (personal communication, April 18, 2001)

Reference Citation in Text

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. For quotations, cite the author, date and page number (use paragraph numbers for electronic text). 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:

Integrating the author's name into the sentence: Walker (2000) compared reaction times . . .

Including the author's name in a parenthetical citation: In a recent study of reaction times (Walker, 2000) . . .

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 by et al. (unless there are two authors with the same last name). (see example above)

Source:
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Examples provided by:
APA Online http://www.apastyle.org/elecsource.html
Diana Hacker http://www.dianahacker.com
Glendale Community College's APA Style Guides http://www.glendale.edu/library/research/APAelec.pdf
Long Island University http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm
The Online Writing Lab at Purdue http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html
 

Highline Community College Library
Last updated October 1, 2009
For comments, send email to refhelp@highline.edu