APA Style

This handout provides an overview of the American Psychological Association style. It is

based on the fifth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (BF 76.7 P83 2001).

Why cite sources?

When writing a paper, we often build upon the information and ideas of others. When
information is borrowed from others, we must give them credit. Citing sources
accomplishes the following:
• provides a way to give proper credit to the sources used in writing the paper
• enables the reader to find the information for themselves
• adds credibility and provides strength for your arguments

When to cite sources?

Credit must be given whenever:
1. quoting from a source (copying from the source word for word)
2. summarizing or rephrasing information from a source into one's own words

How to cite sources?

APA style requires 2 elements:
1. In-text References
• located in the text of the paper
• tells the reader what information was borrowed and where it came from
2. a list of References
• located at the end of the paper
• tells the reader what sources were used to write the paper and provides
complete information about the sources

The In-text References and list of References work together to give complete credit
to the sources used in writing the paper. The In-text Reference in the paper should
correspond with the beginning of the citation in the list of References.

Revised November 2004 Page 1 of 12

 APA Style Examples
APA style requires brief references in the text of the paper and complete reference information at the end of the paper. Below are
some general guidelines:

In-Text References References

An in-text reference is generally given in one of two ways. The list of sources is titled "References" and is located at the end of
the paper on a new page.
For rephrased information (information put into your own words);
1. use author's surname followed immediately by the alphabetize entries by the first word of the entry
copyright year in brackets within the sentence entries are double spaced and the second line of an entry is a
or hanging indent of a half inch (standard tab space)
2. provide the author's surname and copyright year in
brackets at the end of the sentence before the period use only initials for the first and middle names even if the full name
is given
For quoted information (information copied word for word); in titles of books and articles, capitalize only the first word of the
1. use the author's surname followed immediately by the title, the first word following a colon or dash, and all proper nouns
copyright year in brackets and the page from which the
information was copied in brackets at the end of the in titles of periodicals, capitalize all significant words
sentence (see example on page 8 for details) italicize the titles of books and periodicals
or
one space after all punctuation
2. provide the author's surname, copyright year, and page in
brackets at the end of the sentence before the period (see list only works that were referenced in the text of the paper (except
example on page 8 for details) personal communications)

Formatting Titles of Publications Mentioned in the Text of your Paper

Italicize: titles of books, plays, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, journals, films, compact discs and paintings
Place quotation marks around: titles of articles, essays, short stories, poems, chapters of books and songs
Capitalize: all major words in the title

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 Anatomy of a Reference
(For more examples see pp. 3-9)

In-Text Reference

Reference Page –
Book Reference

Reference Page –
Article Citation

Reference Page –
Website Citation

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 In-text Reference Reference Page
Aronsson (2000) found … or Aronsson, L. (2000). The development of sustainable
Book -
One Author … (Aronsson, 2000). tourism. London: Continuum.
* use "and" between author's names when citing in the
sentence
* in brackets, use "&" between authors' names Cushing, C. E., & Allan, J. D. (2001). Streams: Their
Book -
Two Authors Cushing and Allan (2001) compared … or ecology and life. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
… (Cushing & Allan, 2001).
(1st time citing the work)

Hayes, Strosahl, and Wilson (1999) found … or

Hayes, S. C., Stosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999).
Book - … (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999).
Three to Five Acceptance and commitment therapy. New York:
(Subsequent citations)
Authors The Guilford Press.
Hayes et al., (1999) discovered … or

… (Hayes et al., 1999).

* since the information was edited, do not use the editor's
Editor and name as if he or she wrote it Carlock, C. J. (Ed.). (1999). Enhancing self-esteem (3rd
no Author
… (Carlock, 1999). ed.). Philadelphia: Accelerated Development.
See p. 249 of the APA
manual
Lewis, B. A. (1998). What do you stand for? A kid's guide
Lewis (1998) supports the argument … or
Author and Editor to building character. (P. Espeland, Ed.).
… (Lewis, 1998).
Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.

Chapter or Section Regulus, T. A. (1995). Gang violence. In R. L. Edwards

of a Book – with an Regulus (1995) determined … or (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social work (19th ed., Vol. 2,
author
… (Regulus, 1995). pp. 1045-1055). Washington, DC: National
See pp. 252-253 of the APA
manual Association of Social Workers.

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 In-text Reference Reference Page
* do not use the editor’s name as if he or she wrote it
Anderson, K. N., Anderson, L. E., & Glanze, W. D. (Eds.).
Chapter or Section
(1994). Subcutaneous injection. In Mosby's medical,
of a Book – no … (Anderson, Anderson, & Glanze, 1994).
author nursing, and allied health dictionary (4th ed., p.
1497). St Louis, MO: Mosby-Year Book.

Koopman, W. J. (2001). Research advances in rheumatoid

Koopman (2001) researched … or
Journal Article arthritis. Journal of the American Medical
… (Koopman, 2001).
See pp. 239-241 of the APA
Association, 285(5), 648-650.
manual
* cite the source the same as for a journal article and include the
retrieval information (date of retrieval and full name of database
used)

Full Text Article

According to Brindle and Fahey (2002) … or Brindle, P., & Fahey, T. (2002). Primary prevention of
from a
Database … (Brindle & Fahey, 2002). coronary heart disease. British Medical Journal,
325(7355), 56-57. Retrieved August 26, 2002, from
See pp. 271-272 of the APA Academic Search Elite database.
manual

Magazine Article Kluger and Dorfman (2002) evaluated the … or Kluger, J., & Dorfman, A. (2002, August 26). The

… (Kluger & Dorfman, 2002). challenges we face. Time, 160(9), 32-38.

See pp. 241-242 of the APA
manual

In the article "Rotor Blades Fail Inspection" (2002)

Newspaper article
Rotor blades fail inspection. (2002, July 27). Medicine Hat
… or
– no author News, p. A1.
… ("Rotor Blades Fail Inspection,” 2002).
See pp. 242-243 of the APA
manual

Page 5 of 12
 In-text Reference Reference Page

Travel Alberta. (2002). Official Alberta vacation guide

Brochure In the brochure by Travel Alberta (2002) … or
[Brochure]. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Author.
See p. 251 of the APA … (Travel Alberta, 2002).
manual
*provide the primary contributors such as producer and/or director
In the video Faces of Reality produced by Gillespie
Gillespie, M. (Producer), & Ashworth, S. (Director). (2000).
Video (2000) … or
Faces of reality [Videotape]. Alberta, Canada:
… (Gillespie, 2000).
See p. 266 of the APA Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission.
manual
*in the text cite the original source and in brackets cite the *cite only the secondary source in the Reference list
secondary source with the phrase “as cited in”

Kiel and Elliott's study found … (as cited in Eve, Eve, R. A., Horsfall, S., & Lee, M. E. (Eds.). (1997). Chaos,
Secondary Source
Horsfall, & Lee, 1997). complexity, and sociology. London: Sage
See p. 247 of the APA Publications.
manual
*in square brackets use the phrase “Review of the” and the type of
material reviewed (book, video, etc.)
A Review In Osborne’s (1998) review of the book … or
Osborne, R. E. (1998). [Review of the book The fabric of
… (Osborne, 1998).
self: A theory of ethics and emotions]. Choice,
(See pp. 264-265 of the APA 36(1), 223.
manual)
*a group author / publisher happens when corporations, *when the author and publisher are identical use the word author as
associations, government agencies or study groups act as the publisher
author and publisher
Group Author and *spell out the full name of the group publisher and author, do Health Canada. (2003). The flu [Brochure]. Ottawa,
Publisher not use abbreviations or acronyms
Ontario, Canada: Author.
According to Health Canada (2003)… or
(See p. 209–210 in the APA …(Health Canada, 2003).
manual)

Page 6 of 12
 In-text Reference Reference Page
*use the title in place of the author *place the title in the author position
*see the text box at the bottom of page 2 for information on
formatting titles in the text of your paper

No Author or Editor According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993).
Dictionary (1993)… Springfield, MA: Merriam Webster.
(See pp. 210-211 of the APA or
manual)
…(Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 1993).
* cite electronic information the same way as printed works, * provide as many of the bibliographic elements as are available
use the author and date of electronic publication * include date of retrieval and the complete web address for the page
of information (cut and paste the web address to ensure accuracy)

Website – One URL The National Crime Prevention Council (2000) National Crime Prevention Council. (2000, June). Crime
determined that … or prevention through social development. Retrieved
(See pp. 268-281 of the APA
manual) … (National Crime Prevention Council, 2000). August 26, 2002, from http://www.crime-prevention.
org/english/publications/fact-sheet/cpsdE.pdf
* be sure that the Website hosting a document is the actual author; a
Report from a Website might be hosting the information for other organizations
A report from the United Nurses of Alberta (2004)
Private
says that … United Nurses of Alberta. (2004, August 19). Registered
Organization nursing care is as crucial as ever in health care: Care
or
– on a Website that makes a difference. Retrieved November 5, 2004,
… (United Nurses of Alberta, 2004).
(See pp. 268-281 of the APA from http://www.una.ab.ca/pdfs/info/rnkit.pdf
manual)

* use n.d. to indicate no date

No Date
In the text by Rosenthal (n.d.)… Rosenthal, R. (n.d.). Social research procedures. Newbury
(See pp. 225–226 of the APA
manual) or Park, CA: Sage.
…(Rosenthal, n.d.).

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 In-text Reference Reference Page
*for example letters, e-mail, personal interviews, notes taken
in class, etc.

Personal S. L. Rainsforth (personal communication, August

∗ do not list personal communications in the reference
Communication 20, 2002) suggested … or list
… (S. L. Rainsforth, personal communication,
(See p. 214 of the APA
manual) August 20, 2002).
*place quotation marks around the information that was copied
word for word from the source
*include the page number of the information

As Olson (2000) states, "Teachers are at the nexus

Short Quotation ∗ Format your reference page entry according to the type
of curriculum implementation" (p.171). of material you quoted from (i.e. book, journal article,
(less than 40
words) or website). Refer to the examples already listed.

"Teachers are at the nexus of curriculum

(See pp.117-122 of the APA
manual) implementation" (Olson, 2000, p. 171).
*start a new line and indent a half inch from the side margins
*do not use quotation marks
*copy word for word and double space
*place finishing punctuation marks before the page reference

Olson (2000) concluded that:

enacting curriculum decisions within classrooms is a
∗ Format your reference page entry according to the type
complex, multistoried narrative in a dynamic process
Long Quotation of material you quoted from (i.e. book, journal article,
(more than 40 of continual negotiation. Because preservice website). Refer to the examples already listed.
words) teachers enter an ongoing narrative in process,
finding their place within the story can be confusing
and frustrating. Finding space to create their own

(See pp.117-122 of the APA curriculum story with students is difficult. (p.175)
manual)

Page 8 of 12
 In-text Reference Reference Page
*use a paragraph number or paragraph number and heading
to mark the location of the quotation
*to insert a paragraph symbol (¶) in Microsoft Word go to
Insert>Symbol>Special Characters

Example 1. Paragraph number:

Quotation- As Olson (2000) states, "Teachers are at the nexus
no page numbers ∗ Format your reference page entry according to the type
in the text of curriculum implementation" (¶17). of material you quoted from (i.e. book, journal article,
website). Refer to the examples already listed.
Example 2. Heading and paragraph number:
As Olson (2000) states, "Teachers are at the nexus
of curriculum implementation" (Conclusion section,
(See p. 120 in the APA
¶17).
manual)

Figure 1. Property and Violent Crime in

Major Metropolitan Areas, 1996
∗ Despite including the full reference below the figure (or
∗ label the visual table), you should still list it on your reference page,
with a descriptive and format your reference page entry according to the
title type of material you quoted from (i.e. book, journal
∗ place the reference
article, website). Refer to the examples already listed.
Visuals
below the visual
∗ If you are seeking to publish your paper and used a
∗ label and reference figure (or table) from another source, you must get
should line up with Note. From The Canadian Criminal Justice
permission to reprint that particular material. You do not
the left of the System (p. 36), by S. Ramcharan, W. de
visual
need take this step for your unpublished undergraduate
(See pp. 174-175 of the APA Lint and T. Fleming, 2001, Toronto, Ontario,
manual) papers.
Canada: Prentice Hall. Copyright 2001 by
Pearson Education Canada. Reprinted [or
Adapted] with permission.

Page 9 of 12
 Using Nursing Science 2

Using Nursing Science does not Guarantee Nursing Excellence Place header in top right
hand corner. Include
Nursing excellence is usually defined in terms of having and applying more and shortened version of title
and page number.
The header information
more knowledge, especially from nursing science—the more nurses know the better their
begins on the title page.
practice. This conceptualization of nursing practice has similarities with the ancient Greek

mode of reasoning called techne, but cannot adequately deal with the ambiguities of everyday
Include the full title of
nursing. Nursing excellence does occur, however, with phronetic, ontological practice in your paper only on
the first page of text.
which a nurse's morals, habits, and dispositions guides practice. Center the title.

The scientific supremacy of knowledge application is rooted in society's love affair

Use 12 pt size font
with science. What has happened, according to Saul (1992), is that knowledge-based experts and choose Arial,
Times New Roman
and technocrats, originally experts only in technical matters, have become leaders in all or Courier font.

societal spheres, including the practical and political. However, what Sockett (1987) says

about context in teaching is appropriate for nursing practice. He states that,

One-inch (2.54 cm)
context, personality, temperament, and style are not merely adjuncts to the margin on all sides of
each page of the
paper.
knowledge base; they are the very stuff of practice…[context] is not a set of

abstractions, but is the social, perhaps political, base for practical day-to-day,

hour-to-hour decisions made by teachers. (p. 209) Use double space

throughout the paper.
Nurses, assuming that scientific knowledge is sufficient, may stop communication prematurely

with a patient or client. Adaptive nursing assumes a high level of continuity across situations,

but nursing practice is not, as Nussbaum (2000) says about life, a matter of "weighing,
Align text with the left
counting, and measuring" (p. 106). margin.

Phronetic practice, or nursing excellence, requires that nurses make deliberate,

ethical choices (Kenny, 1978). Undeliberated acceptance of a generalized predetermined

See page 113 in the
action is consistent with techne, but not with phronesis. Gadamer (1981) states that good APA Manual for
information on
practice involves making deliberate choices, not just blindly applying knowledge. Practice is formatting headings.

not wishing for something to happen, but involves making informed judgements and choosing

one thing against another in particular situations. See page 297 & 306
in the APA Manual
for title page and
Please note: This sample page of a research paper was pieced together to provide as paper layout.
many in-text examples as possible.

Taken from: Flaming, D. (2002). Using nursing science does not guarantee nursing
excellence. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 16(3), 147-159.

Page 10 of 12
 Using Nursing Science 12

References

Adler, M. (1985). Ten philosophical mistakes. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

Audi, R. (Ed.). (1995). The Cambridge dictionary of philosophy. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge

University Press.

Forsythe, D., Delaney, C., Maloney, N., Kubesh, D., & Story, D. (1989). Can caring behavior

be taught? Nursing Outlook, 37(4), 164-166.

Gadamer, H. G. (1981). Reason in the age of science. (F. G. Lawrence, Trans.). London: The

MIT Press.

Kenny, A. (1978). The Aristotelian ethics. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.

Leonard, V. W. (1996). Mothering as a practice. In S. Gordon, P. Benner, & N. Nodding

(Eds.), Caregiving (pp. 124-140). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

MacIntyre, A. (1984). After virtue. (2nd ed.). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.

Nussbaum, M. C. (2000). The fragility of goodness [Updated version]. Cambridge, MA:

Cambridge University Press.

Reed, P. (1999). A treatise on nursing knowledge development in the 21st century: Beyond

postmodernism. In E. C. Polifroni, & M. Welsh (Eds.), Perspectives on philosophy of

science in nursing (pp. 478-490). Philadelphia: Lippincott.

Saul, J. R. (1993). Voltaire's bastards: The dictatorship of reason in the West. Toronto,

Ontario, Canada: Penguin Books.

Sherman, N. (1989). The fabric of character: Aristotle's theory of virtue. Oxford, England:

Clarendon Press.

Sockett, H. T. (1987). Has Shulman got the strategy right? Harvard Educational Review,

57(2), 208-219.

Taylor, C. (1995). The dialogical self. In R. F. Goodman, & W. R. Fisher (Eds.), Rethinking

knowledge (pp. 57-66). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Webster's new collegiate dictionary. (1997). Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam.

Taken from: Flaming, D. (2002). Using nursing science does not guarantee nursing
excellence. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 16(3), 147-159.

Page 11 of 12
 Formatting a Paper in APA Style

- Use standard 8.5 x 11 inch good quality white paper.

- Avoid fonts that are hard to read. The recommended fonts in APA style are 12-pt Arial, Times
Roman and 12-pt Courier.

- Double space throughout the paper. Only use triple or quadruple spacing when adding a
graphic, table, etc.

- Use a one-inch (2.54 cm) margin on all sides of each page.

- Left justify your margins, meaning the left margin will be flush to the left side of the page and
the right margin will be uneven.

- Indent the first line of every paragraph five spaces or a standard tab key space.

- One space after all punctuation.

- Order of the paper (not all of these elements are a necessary part of every paper);
- title page
- abstract
- text
- references
- appendices

- Number all pages of the paper, beginning with the title page.

- Although headings are not necessary, they may be useful in your paper. Typically one to four
levels of headings are used. The following outlines the format for two levels of headings. For
more than two levels of headings refer to the APA manual.

Level 1 Centered, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

Level 2 Flush Left, Italicised, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

- Visuals may include graphs, photographs, tables, etc. Clearly label each visual with a title that
concisely describes its subject. In the text of your paper refer to the visual by the title.

Page 12 of 12