Basic Rules of APA Style
Authors names are always inverted, (last name first); although you
use the last name and initials for the authors, such as Boyd, L.J.
Your reference list should also be alphabetized by the authors last names.
Formatting your reference list begins on page 181 of the APA manual.
If you have more than one work by a particular author, order them according to
publication date.
Use & instead of and when listing multiple authors of a single work. See
journal article examples.
All lines after the first line of each entry should be indented one-half inch from the
left margin. This is called hanging indentation. Your citations should also be
double spaced. See Chapter 6, page 181 of the APA manual for guidelines to
setting up your paper.
Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title and subtitle of a work
Italicize titles of books and journals, and note that italics continue beyond both commas
and periods.
Unpublished communications, such as email and private interviews are not cited in a
reference list because they are non-retrievable. You make reference to these types of
sources in your in-text citations.
When citing sources from the Internet, such as Web pages, use n.d. (no date) if a
publication date is not available.
Reference Citations in Text
APA Citation Style uses an author/date citation (author, date) format within the text of your paper.
Your citations in text enable your reader to locate the full citations to the research you have used
in your reference list. This process ensures that the ideas and words of others have been
acknowledged.
One author
If there is only one author of the work, use the last name of the author and
the publication year of the work.
Example: McLaughlin (2005) argues that there is no single conception of school choice.
If the authors name does not appear in the text of your sentence, insert the last name and
publication year within parentheses:
Two authors
If there are two authors of the work, include both names each time you cite their work in text.
Use the word and to connect their names.
Example: Davies and Quirke (2002) examine the rationale motives
More than two authors, less than six
If the work has more than two authors, but fewer than six, include all of the authors
names the first time you reference the source, then in subsequent references use the first
authors last name followed by the phrase et al. and the publication date.
Example: First reference- Henig, Holyoke, Brown and Paquet (1998) challenged
Following references- Henig et al. (1998) challenged
More than six authors
If there are six or more authors, include only the last name of the first author followed by
the phrase et al. and the publication date.
Example: Belfield et al. (2002) provide a relatively simple set of policy instruments
Groups as Authors
If the work is authored by a corporation, association, or government agency, spell out the
complete name of the group for the first reference, then in subsequent references use an
abbreviation for the group, if possible.
Example: First reference- In a recent survey, (National Institute of Mental Health
[NIMH], 2004)
Following reference- . significant survey results showed (NIMH, 2004).
No Author Listed
If the work does not list an author (e.g. Web page), include words from the title in quotation
marks and the publication year. You italicize the title of periodicals, books, brochures and reports.
Example: How to use APA citation style effectively (Peabody Library, 2005)
The book School choice: Examining the evidence (1993)
Secondary Sources
Every effort should be made to cite only those sources you have actually read; however sometimes it
is necessary to cite a source you have not read due to circumstances such as the original work is out
of print or cannot be located. You list the secondary source in your reference list, but in-text you
name the original work and provide a citation for the secondary source.
Example: Orth (as cited in Russert, 2004) states that APA is a very confusing citation style.
Specific Parts of a Source
To cite a specific part of source, you will need to indicate the page, chapter, table, or figure
within the citation in text. It is very important to give page numbers for quotations that you use.
Example: (Davies and Quirke, 2002, p. 439) (Guttmann, 1999, chap. 19)
For electronic sources that do not provide page numbers, use the paragraph number, preceded by
the symbol or you can use the para abbreviation. If neither paragraph nor page numbers are
available, you will need to cite the heading and the number of the paragraph so your reader can find
the location of the material you have cited.
Example: (Wolfe, 2003, 2) (Coons, 2005, Conclusion section, para. 9)
Personal Communication
To cite personal communications such as letters, email, interviews, or telephone
conversations, you need to cite the initials and the last name of the communicator,
and provide the exact date of the communication.
Example: (L.J. Foutch, personal communication, March 26, 2006)
Note: You cite personal communications in text only since the material cannot be recovered
by the person reading your paper, therefore be sure to not list them in your reference list.
Quick Citation Guide
Note: All APA references should be double-spaced and have a hanging indent.
Article or chapter in an edited book:
Author of article or chapter. (Date). Title of the article or chapter. In Book
Editors name(s) (Eds.), Book title ( pp. page numbers). Place: Publisher.
Hasbrouck, J.E. (1998). Inclusive classrooms. In J. Kagan, & S. Gall (Eds.),
The Gale encyclopedia of childhood and adolescence (pp. 367-368).
Detroit: Gale Research.
Book, with an author or editor:
Author/Editor. (Date of Publication). Title: Subtitle (Edition).
Place: Publisher.
Conkin, P.K. (2002). Peabody College: From a frontier academy to the frontiers
of teaching and learning. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
Book, no author or editor:
Title. (Edition). (Date of Publication). Place: Publisher.
Websters ninth new collegiate dictionary (9th ed.). (1987). Springfield, MA:
Merriam-Webster.
Encyclopedia or dictionary:
Editor. (Date). Title of the encyclopedia (Edition number, Volume
Number). Place: Publisher.
Bankston, C.L., & Rasmussen, R.K. (1999). Encyclopedia of family life
(1st ed., Vols. 1-5). Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.
Document from the Internet, no author or date identified:
Title of document. (n.d.). Retrieved (date), from
http://Web address
Google. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2005, from
http://www.google.com/
Document from the Internet, with author and date given:
Author. (Date of publication). Title of article. Retrieved (date), from
http://Web address
Weiner, S.G. (2005, February 10). Resources on Grants. Retrieved February
18, 2003, from http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/books/guides/
grants.html
Journal article in print form, journal paginated by issue:
Author. (Date). Title of the article. Journal title, volume number
(issue number), page numbers.
Abeles, N., & Victor, T. (2003). Unique opportunities for psychology in mental
health care for older adults. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(1),
120-124.
In June 2007, changes were made to the APA citation style
guidelines for citing electronic scholarly journal articles. Many
scholarly publishers have begun assigning a unique identifier
known as a DOI (digital object identifier) number to the final
version of a journal article. The DOI (or doi) has replaced the
database name, the URL address and retrieval date in the list of
references, so you no longer need to add those elements if a DOI
number is present.
Look for the doi number in your articles citation or abstract or
it also may be listed on the first page of PDF articles.
