University of Alberta Library Last update: February 8, 2022

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APA Citation Style QuickGuide
This guide is based on the 7th edition (2020) of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. For further explanation and more
examples, please consult the APA Manual, which is available in print, and the APA Style website.
Components of APA style
APA style includes in-text citations throughout your work and a reference list at the end of your work, which provides full details about your cited sources.
Reference list entries should be organized alphabetically and formatted with a hanging indent. They usually include the following elements (see APA Manual
sec. 9.4 & Website):
Author Who is responsible for this work? E.g., Writer, editor, artist, director.
Date When was this work published? E.g., Year of publication for a book, date of update for a webpage.
Title What is this work called? E.g., Article title, book title, report title.
Source Where can you find the work? E.g., Publisher of a book, volume and issue of an article, DOI or URL of an online work.
In-text citations make brief reference to the complete citations in your reference list (see sec. 8.10).
● An in-text citation includes the author’s surname and the year of publication. E.g., (Smith, 2019)
● You may place an in-text citation in parentheses at the end of a sentence or incorporate it into the text as part of your sentence (see sec. 8.11 & Website).
● Include page numbers only when you are quoting or referring to specific passages. E.g., (Smith, 2019, p. 22) (see sec. 8.13).
Using DOIs and URLs (see secs. 9.34-9.36 & Website)
A DOI (digital object identifier) is a unique string of letters and numbers that refers to a specific article, ebook, or other online work. DOIs usually can be found on
the first page of a work or on the information page about the work. You can also visit crossref.org to look up a DOI. Follow these rules for including DOIs and URLs
in references:
● If a work has a DOI, include it in the reference, even if you used the print version. Do not include a URL.
● If an online work has no DOI:
o If the work is on a website, include a URL directly to the work. You may use a URL shortening service for long links (see sec. 9.36).
o If the work is within a library database, do not provide a URL.
How to Format Author Names (see secs. 8.14, 8.17, 9.8, & 9.12)
Author type Beginning of reference list entry In-text citation (parenthetical) In-text citation (in your sentence)
1 author Moore, T. R. (2014). (Moore, 2014) Moore (2014)
2 authors Hubball, H., & West, D. (2013). (Hubball & West, 2013) Hubball and West (2013)
Wolsink, I., Den Hartog, D. D., Belschak, F. D., &
3-20 authors* (Wolsink et al., 2019) Wolsink et al. (2019)
Oosterwijk, S. (2019).
(American Psychological Association American Psychological Association
Organization American Psychological Association. (1985).
[APA], 1985)** (APA, 1985)**
No author Narcissistic personality disorder. (2019).*** (Narcissistic Personality Disorder, 2019) Narcissistic Personality Disorder (2019)
* For a work with more than 20 authors, include the first 19 authors’ names followed by an ellipsis, then add the final author’s name, as in the example given here.
** If you abbreviate an organization’s name, include the full name and abbreviation the first time you cite it. After that, only include the abbreviated name. E.g., (APA, 1985)
*** For a work with no author, put the title in the author position (see secs. 8.14 & 9.12).
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 Source In-text citation In-text citation
Reference list entry
(in APA Manual) (parenthetical) (in sentence)
Mousseau, M. (2003). The nexus of market society, liberal preferences, and
Journal article democratic peace: Interdisciplinary theory and evidence. International
with a DOI (Mousseau, 2003) Mousseau (2003)
(See sec. 10.1 #1) Studies Quarterly, 47(4), 483–510. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0020-
8833.2003.00276.x

Journal article Bruce, N., & Lamb, L. (2019). The case of a home grown high-tech sector in a
on a website, with no (Bruce & Lamb, 2019, Bruce and Lamb (2019)
small Canadian city. Journal of Rural and Community Development,
DOI p. 64) … (p. 64).
(See sec. 10.1 #2) 14(3), 61–73. https://journals.brandonu.ca/jrcd/article/view/1653/388

Journal article Hubball, H., & West, D. (2008). Silence and authentic reflection strategies:
print or in a library Hubball and West
Holistic learning in an outdoor education program. Physical & Health (Hubball & West, 2013)
database, with no DOI (2013)
(See sec. 10.1 #3) Education Journal, 74(2), 12–14.

Wolsink, I., Den Hartog, D. D., Belschak, F. D., & Oosterwijk, S. (2019). Do you
Journal article feel like being proactive today? Trait-proactivity moderates affective
with article number (Wolsink et al., 2019) Wolsink et al. (2019)
(See sec. 10.1 #6) causes and consequences of proactive behavior. PLoS ONE, 14(8),
Article e0220172. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220172

Journal article Fairley, M., Humphreys, K., & Joyce, V. R. (2021). Cost-effectiveness of
advance online
treatments for opioid use disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. Advance online (Fairley et al., 2021) Fairley et al. (2021)
publication
(See sec. 10.1 #7) publication. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.0247

Magazine article Brownell, C. (2019, October 1). Where all the weed went. Maclean’s.
on a website (Brownell, 2019) Brownell (2019)
(See sec. 10.1 #15) https://archive.macleans.ca/article/2019/10/1/where-all-the-weed-went

Magazine article Moyer, M. W. (2019, June). Vaccines reimagined. Scientific American, 320(6),
print or in a library 54–61.
(Moyer, 2019) Moyer (2019)
database, with no DOI
NOTE: Some magazines have volumes and issues, while others do not. If there is a volume
(See sec. 10.1 #15)
and/or issue, include it in the reference.

Newspaper article Heil, E. (2019, October 22). The pizza box hasn’t evolved in decades, but now
on a website Pizza Hut is trying out a new round design. The Washington Post. (Heil, 2019) Heil (2019)
(See sec. 10.1 #16) https://wapo.st/35WJxUk

Newspaper article
print or in a library
Hughes, L. (2006, October 26). Blue-box blues. The Globe and Mail, p. A20. (Hughes, 2006) Hughes (2006)
database
(See sec. 10.1 #16)

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 Source In-text citation In-text citation
Reference list entry
(in APA Manual) (parenthetical) (in sentence)

Authored book Gibson, R. (2020). Desire in the age of robots and AI: An investigation in science
with a DOI fiction and fact. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030- (Gibson, 2020) Gibson (2020)
(See sec. 10.2 #20) 24017-2

Authored book
print or in a library Meikle, G. (2016). Social media: Communication, sharing and visibility.
(Meikle, 2016) Meikle (2016)
database, with no DOI Routledge.
(See sec. 10.2 #21)

Ebook Marks, D. F., Murray, M., & Estacio, E. V. (2018). Health psychology: Theory,
on a website, with no
research and practice (5th ed.). https://amazon.ca/Health-Psychology- (Marks et al., 2018) Marks et al. (2018)
DOI
(See sec. 10.2 #22) Theory-Research-Practice-ebook/dp/B0785M2VS9

Book, specific
edition Cohen, D. (2017). How the child’s mind develops (3rd ed.). Routledge.
(Cohen, 2017) Cohen (2017)
with a DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315201375
(See sec. 10.2 #31)

Edited book
print or in a library Shulman, D., & Stroumsa, G. G. (Eds.). (1999). Dream cultures: Explorations in (Shulman & Stroumsa, Shulman and Stroumsa
database, with no DOI the comparative history of dreaming. Oxford University Press. 1999) (1999)
(See sec. 10.2 #25)

Ward, L. M., & Harrison, K. (2005). The impact of media use on girls’ beliefs
Chapter in an about gender roles, their bodies, and sexual relationships: A research
edited book (Ward & Harrison, 2005, Ward and Harrison
synthesis. In E. Cole & J. Henderson (Eds.), Featuring females: Feminist
with a DOI pp. 4–5) (2005) … (pp. 4–5)
(See sec. 10.3 #38) analyses of media (pp. 3–23). American Psychological Association.
https://doi.org/10.1037/11213-001

Chapter in an
edited book Li, W.-Y. (1999). Dreams of interpretation in early Chinese historical and
print or in a library philosophical writings. In D. Shulman & G. G. Stroumsa (Eds.), Dream
database, with no DOI (Li, 1999) Li (1999)
cultures: Explorations in the comparative history of dreaming (pp. 17–42).
(See sec. 10.3 #39; see
sec. 9.8 for directions on Oxford University Press.
hyphenated first names)

Encyclopedia or
dictionary entry Population control. (2008). In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.), International encyclopedia of
with editor but no author, the social sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 6, pp. 377–378). Gale. (“Population Control,” “Population Control”
print or in a library
NOTE: If the entry has both an author and a book editor, cite it like a chapter in an edited book 2008) (2008)
database, with no DOI
(See secs. 8.14, 9.12, & (see previous examples).
10.3 #47)

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 Source In-text citation In-text citation
Reference list entry
(in APA Manual) (parenthetical) (in sentence)
(Brown & Lawton, 2013,
Encyclopedia or para. 4)
dictionary entry Brown, D. J., & Lawton, S. B. (2013, December 16). Charter schools. In The
Brown and Lawton
with author, on a Canadian encyclopedia. NOTE: To quote a source
with no page numbers, give (2013) … (para. 4)
website, with no DOI https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/charter-schools
(See sec. 8.28 & 10.3 #48) a section heading or
paragraph number instead.

First citation: First citation:

Government or Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Truth and
organization report Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to action. (Truth and Truth and
with group author, on a
https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp- Reconciliation Reconciliation
website Commission of Canada Commission of Canada
(See sec. 10.4 #50 & #54) content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf
[TRC], 2015) (TRC, 2015)
Government or MacLaurin, B., Trocmé, N., Fallon, B., Pitman, L., & McCormack, M. (2003).
organization report Northwest Territories incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect,
with individual author, (MacLaurin et al., 2003) MacLaurin et al. (2003)
NWTIS-2003: Major findings. University of Calgary.
on a website
(See sec. 10.4 #51) https://cwrp.ca/sites/default/files/publications/NWTIS2003_en_0.pdf

Canadian statute
(See sec. 11.5 #8, APA Privacy Act, RSC 1985, c P-21 (1985). https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-
Manual, & sec. 2.1, (Privacy Act, 1985) Privacy Act (1985)
Canadian Guide to 21/index.html
Uniform Legal Citation)

Dissertation or Leonard, W. H. (2018). Living in an unreal world: Fake news, social identity
thesis theory, and media literacy (Publication No. 10976562) [Master’s thesis, (Leonard, 2018) Leonard (2018)
in a library database
(See sec. 10.6 #65) University of Alabama]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Mangold, J. (Director). (1999). Girl, interrupted [Film]. Columbia Pictures.

Film or video (Mangold, 1999) Mangold (1999)
(See sec. 10.12 #84) NOTE: If you watched a particular version of the film, you may specify that as part of the
format. E.g., [Film; three-disc special edition].

Shelton, L. (Director), Schur, M. (Writer), & Law, A. (Writer). (2017, September

TV episode 21). What’s my motivation (Season 1, Episode 11) [TV series episode]. In
(See sec. 9.29 & 10.12 (Shelton et al., 2017) Shelton (2017)
#87) M. Schur, D. Miner, M. Sackett, & D. Goddard, (Executive Producers),
The good place. Fremulon; 3 Arts Entertainment; Universal Television.

CBN News. (2015, August 24). Slowing down Alzheimer’s one exercise at a time
Streaming video [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTYYAgcqLjE
(CBN News, 2015) CBN News (2015)
(See sec. 10.12 #90)
NOTE: For retrieval purposes, the uploader is considered the author even if they did not create
the work.

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 Source In-text citation In-text citation
Reference list entry
(in APA Manual) (parenthetical) (in sentence)

Slides or lecture Jones, S. (2019, January 22). An introduction to the limbic system [PowerPoint
notes Slides]. eClass. https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/
(Jones, 2019) Jones (2019)
on eClass or a website NOTE: If the slides or notes are on a site that requires a login (e.g., eClass), provide a URL to
(See sec. 10.14 #102) the login page. If not, provide a URL directly to the slides or notes.

Webpage Moore, T. R. (2018, April 11). Diabetes mellitus and pregnancy. Medscape.
with personal author (Moore, 2018) Moore (2018)
(See sec. 10.16 #112) http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/127547-overview

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, September 5). Anxiety and First citation: First citation:
Webpage depression in children. (Centers for Disease Centers for Disease
with group author https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/depression.html
(See sec. 10.16 #111) Control and Prevention Control and Prevention
NOTE: When the author and the title of the website are the same, omit the website title. [CDC], 2014) (CDC, 2014)
Webpage with no
date Pfizer. (n.d.). Ongoing vaccine research at Pfizer. Retrieved October 28, 2019,
with group author (Pfizer, n.d.) Pfizer (n.d.)
from https://www.pfizer.com/science/vaccines/research
(See sec. 9.16, 9. 17, &
10.16 #114)

Webpage Narcissistic personality disorder. (2019, February 7). Psychology Today.

with no known author (Narcissistic Personality Narcissistic Personality
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/conditions/narcissistic-personality-
(See secs. 8.14, 9.12, & Disorder, 2019) Disorder (2019)
10.16 #112) disorder

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. (n.d.). Anterior cruciate ligament First citation: First citation:
Photograph or (ACL) tear [diagram]. OrthoInfo. Retrieved April 16, 2021, from
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/globalassets/figures/a00325f04_resize.jpg (American Academy of American Academy of
image
(See sec. 10.14)
Orthopaedic Surgeons Orthopaedic Surgeons
NOTE: If the image has no author, start the reference with the title. If no title is provided, [AAOS], n.d.) (AAOS, n.d.)
include only a description of the content in square brackets (e.g., [diagram of ACL tear]).

Obama, B. [@POTUS44]. (2015, June 26). Today is a big step in our march
toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry
Social media post [Tweet]. Twitter.
(Obama, 2015) Obama (2015)
(See sec. 10.15 #103) https://twitter.com/POTUS44/status/614435467120001024
NOTE: Begin the reference with the user’s real name, if known, followed by the screen name in
square brackets. In place of a title, provide the content of the post, up to the first 20 words.

NOTE: Personal communications are works that cannot be recovered by readers.

Personal (J.T. Smith, personal J.T. Smith (personal
They include emails, letters, personal interviews, phone conversations,
communications communication, communication,
unrecorded lectures, and more. Personal communications are cited only in the
(See sec. 8.9) September 24, 2019) September 24, 2019)
text and not in your reference list.

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 Sample Reference List

References

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. (n.d.). Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear [diagram]. OrthoInfo. Retrieved April 16, 2021, from

https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/globalassets/figures/a00325f04_resize.jpg

Brownell, C. (2019, October 1). Where all the weed went. Maclean’s. https://archive.macleans.ca/article/2019/10/1/where-all-the-weed-went

Bruce, N., & Lamb, L. (2019). The case of a home grown high-tech sector in a small Canadian city. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 14(3), 61–

73. https://journals.brandonu.ca/jrcd/article/view/1653/388

CBN News. (2015, August 24). Slowing down Alzheimer’s one exercise at a time [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTYYAgcqLjE

Cohen, D. (2017). How the child’s mind develops (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/978131520137

Heil, E. (2019, October 22). The pizza box hasn’t evolved in decades, but now Pizza Hut is trying out a new round design. The Washington Post.

https://wapo.st/35WJxUk

Hughes, L. (2006, October 26). Blue-box blues. The Globe and Mail, p. A20.

Jones, S. (2019, January 22). An introduction to the limbic system [PowerPoint Slides]. eClass. https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/

MacLaurin, B., Trocmé, N., Fallon, B., Pitman, L., & McCormack, M. (2003). Northwest Territories incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect, NWTIS-

2003: Major findings. University of Calgary. https://cwrp.ca/sites/default/files/publications/NWTIS2003_en_0.pdf

Meikle, G. (2016). Social media: Communication, sharing and visibility. Routledge.

Moore, T. R. (2018, April 11). Diabetes mellitus and pregnancy. Medscape. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/127547-overview

Mousseau, M. (2003). The nexus of market society, liberal preferences, and democratic peace: Interdisciplinary theory and evidence. International Studies

Quarterly, 47(4), 483–510. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0020-8833.2003.00276.x

Obama, B. [@POTUS44]. (2015, June 26). Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry [Tweet].

Twitter. https://twitter.com/POTUS44/status/614435467120001024

Population control. (2008). In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 6, pp. 377–378). Gale.

Shelton, L. (Director), Schur, M. (Writer), & Law, A. (Writer). (2017, September 21). What’s my motivation (Season 1, Episode 11) [TV series episode]. In M.

Schur, D. Miner, M. Sackett, & D. Goddard (Executive Producers), The good place. Fremulon; 3 Arts Entertainment; Universal Television.

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