This guide has been created with the following references:
- Association, A. P. (2019). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: 7th edition, official, 2020 copyright. American Psychological Association (APA).
- Horkoff, T. (2021). Citations and Referencing. In Writing for Success – 1st Canadian H5P Edition. essay, BCcampus. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://opentextbc.ca/writingforsuccessh5p/.
APA (created by American Psychological Association) is a set of guidelines for clear and precise scholarly communication that helps authors, both new and experienced, achieve excellence in writing. It is used by millions of people around the world in psychology and also in fields ranging from nursing to social work, communications to education, business to engineering, and other disciplines for the preparation of manuscripts for publication as well as for writing student papers, dissertations, and theses.
The purpose of a citation is to provide the reader with information to find the source of the author's facts or ideas. A citation includes, at the very least, the title, author, source of publication, and date of publication.
Any idea or fact taken from an outside source must be cited, in both the body of your paper and the references. The only exceptions are facts or general statements that are common knowledge. Common knowledge facts or general statements are commonly supported by and found in multiple sources. For example, a writer would not need to cite the statement that most breads, pastas, and cereals are high in carbohydrates; this is well known and well documented. However, if a writer explained in detail the differences among the chemical structures of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, a citation would be necessary. When in doubt, cite!
must provide the name of the author(s) and the year the source was published.
- When a given source does not list an individual author, you may provide the source title or the name of the organization that published the material instead
- When directly quoting a source, you must include the page number where the quote appears in the work being cited. This information may be included within the sentence or in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence.
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Methods |
Description |
Examples |
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Printed Resources (Books, Articles) |
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A Work by One Author |
Always include the author’s name and year of publication. Include a page reference whenever you quote a source directly. |
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Two or More Works by the Same Author |
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Rodriguez (2009a) criticized the nutrition supplement industry for making unsubstantiated and sometimes misleading claims about the benefits of taking supplements. Additionally, he warned that consumers frequently do not realize the potential harmful effects of some popular supplements (Rodriguez, 2009b). |
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Works by Authors with the Same Last Name |
If you are citing works by different authors with the same last name, include each author’s initials in your citation, whether you mention them in the text or in parentheses. Do so even if the publication years are different. |
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A Work by Two Authors |
When two authors are listed for a given work, include both authors’ names each time you cite the work. If you are citing their names in parentheses, use an ampersand (&) between them. (Use the word and, however, if the names appear in your sentence.) |
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A Work by Three to Five Authors |
If the work you are citing has three to five authors, list all the authors’ names the first time you cite the source. In subsequent citations, use the first author’s name followed by the abbreviation et al. (Et al. is short for et alia, the Latin phrase for “and others.”) |
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A Work by Six or More Authors |
If the work you are citing has six or more authors, list only the first author’s name, followed by et al., in your in-text citations. The other authors’ names will be listed in your references section. |
Researchers have found that outreach work with young people has helped reduce tobacco use in some communities (Costello et al., 2007). |
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A Work Authored by an Organization |
When citing a work that has no individual author but is published by an organization, use the organization’s name in place of the author’s name. Lengthy organization names with well-known abbreviations can be abbreviated. In your first citation, use the full name, followed by the abbreviation in square brackets. Subsequent citations may use the abbreviation only. |
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A Work with No Listed Author |
If no author is listed and the source cannot be attributed to an organization, use the title in place of the author’s name. You may use the full title in your sentence or use the first few words—enough to convey the key ideas—in a parenthetical reference. Follow standard conventions for using italics or quotations marks with titles:
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A Work Cited within Another Work |
To cite a source that is referred to within another secondary source, name the first source in your sentence. Then, in parentheses, use the phrase as cited in and the name of the second source author. |
Rosenhan’s study “On Being Sane in Insane Places” (as cited in Spitzer, 1975) found that psychiatrists diagnosed schizophrenia in people who claimed to be experiencing hallucinations and sought treatment—even though these patients were, in fact, imposters. |
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Two or More Works Cited in One Reference |
At times, you may provide more than one citation in a parenthetical reference, such as when you are discussing related works or studies with similar results. List the citations in the same order they appear in your references section, and separate the citations with a semicolon. |
Some researchers have found serious flaws in the way Rosenhan’s study was conducted (Dawes, 2001; Spitzer, 1975). |
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A Famous Text Published in Multiple Editions |
In some cases, you may need to cite an extremely well-known work that has been repeatedly republished or translated. Many works of literature and sacred texts, as well as some classic nonfiction texts, fall into this category. For these works, the original date of publication may be unavailable. If so, include the year of publication or translation for your edition. Refer to specific parts or chapters if you need to cite a specific section. Discuss with your instructor whether he or she would like you to cite page numbers in this particular instance. |
In New Introductory Lectures on Psycho Analysis, Freud explains that the “manifest content” of a dream—what literally takes place—is separate from its “latent content,” or hidden meaning (trans. 1965, lecture XXIX). |
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An Introduction, Foreword, Preface, or Afterword |
To cite an introduction, foreword, preface, or afterword, cite the author of the material and the year, following the same format used for other print materials. |
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Electronic Resources |
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Whenever possible, cite electronic sources as you would print sources, using the author, the date, and where appropriate, a page number. For some types of electronic sources—for instance, many online articles—this information is easily available. Other times, however, you will need to vary the format to reflect the differences in online media. |
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Online Sources without Page Numbers |
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If an online source has no page numbers but you want to refer to a specific portion of the source, try to locate other information you can use to direct your reader to the information cited. Some websites number paragraphs within published articles; if so, include the paragraph number in your citation. Precede the paragraph number with the abbreviation for the word paragraph and the number of the paragraph (e.g., para. 4). |
As researchers have explained, “Incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into one’s diet can be a challenge for residents of areas where there are few or no easily accessible supermarkets” (Smith & Jones, 2006, para. 4). |
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Personal Communication |
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For personal communications, such as interviews, letters, and emails, cite the name of the person involved, clarify that the material is from a personal communication, and provide the specific date the communication took place. Note that while in-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, personal communications are an exception to this rule. They are cited only in the body text of your paper. |
J. H. Yardley, M.D., believes that available information on the relationship between cell phone use and cancer is inconclusive (personal communication, May 1, 2009). |
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provides more extensive information than In-text citations
The references page should be list entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name
4.1 For books, the city of publication
4.2 For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
4.3 For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
4.4 For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located
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Methods |
Description |
Examples |
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Printed Resources (Books) |
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A Book by Two or More Authors |
List the authors’ names in the order they appear on the book’s title page. Use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name. |
Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. |
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An Edited Book with No Author |
List the editor or editors’ names in place of the author’s name, followed by Ed. orEds. in parentheses. |
Myers, C., & Reamer, D. (Eds.). (2009). 2009 nutrition index. San Francisco, CA: HealthSource, Inc. |
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An Edited Book with an Author |
List the author’s name first, followed by the title and the editor or editors. Note that when the editor is listed after the title, you list the initials before the last name. |
Dickinson, E. (1959). Selected poems & letters Emily Dikinson. R. N. Linscott(Ed.). Garden City, NY: Doubleday. |
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A Translated Book |
Include the translator’s name after the title, and at the end of the citation, list the date the original work was published. Note that for the translator’s name, you list the initials before the last name. |
Freud, S. (1965). New introductory lectures on psycho-analysis (J. Strachey, Trans.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1933). |
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Two or More Books by the Same Author |
List the entries in order of their publication year, beginning with the work published first. |
Swedan, N. (2001). Women’s sports medicine and rehabilitation. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers. |
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A Book Authored by an Organization |
Treat the organization name as you would an author’s name. For the purposes of alphabetizing, ignore words like the in the organization’s name (e.g., a book published by the American Heart Association would be listed with other entries whose authors’ names begin with A.) |
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders DSM-IV (4th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. |
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A Book Authored by a Government Agency |
Treat these as you would a book published by a non-governmental organization, but be aware that these works may have an identification number listed. If so, include the number in parentheses after the publication year. |
U.S. Census Bureau. (2002). The decennial censuses from 1790 to 2000(Publication No. POL/02-MA). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Offices. |
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Printed Resources: Periodicals |
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An Article in a Scholarly Journal |
Include the following information: Author or authors’ names, Publication year, Article title (in sentence case, without quotation marks or italics), Journal title (in title case and in italics), Volume number (in italics), Issue number (in parentheses), Page number(s) where the article appears |
DeMarco, R. F. (2010). Palliative care and African American women living with HIV. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(5), 1–4. |
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A Journal Article with Two to Seven Authors |
List all the authors’ names in the order they appear in the article. Use an ampersand before the last name listed. |
Tremblay, M. S., Shields, M., Laviolette, M., Craig, C. L., Janssen, I., & Gorber, S. C. (2010). Fitness of Canadian children and youth: Results from the 2007–2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Health Reports, 21(1), 7–20. |
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A Journal Article with More Than EightAuthors |
List the first six authors’ names, followed by a comma, an ellipsis, and the name of the last author listed. The article in the following example has 16 listed authors; the reference entry lists the first six authors and the 16th, omitting the seventh through the 15th. |
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A Magazine Article |
After the publication year, list the issue date. Otherwise, magazine articles as you would journal articles. List the volume and issue number if both are available. |
Marano, H. E. (2010, March/April). Keen cuisine: Dairy queen. Psychology Today, 43(2), 58. |
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Electronic Resources |
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An Article from an Online Periodical with a DOI |
List the DOI if one is provided. There is no need to include the URL if you have listed the DOI. |
Bell, J. R. (2006). Low-carb beats low-fat diet for early losses but not long term. OBGYN News, 41(12), 32. doi:10.1016/S0029-7437(06)71905-X |
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An Article from an Online Periodical with No DOI |
List the URL. Include the volume and issue number for the periodical if this information is available. (For some online periodicals, it may not be.) |
Laufer-Cahana, A. (2010, March 15). Lactose intolerance do's and don'ts. Salon. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2010/03/15/lactose_intolerance_ayala |
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An Entry from an Online Encyclopedia or Dictionary |
Because these sources often do not include authors’ names, you may list the title of the entry at the beginning of the citation. Provide the URL for the specific entry. |
Addiction. (n.d.) In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addiction |
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An Electronic Book |
Electronic books may include books available as text files online or audiobooks. If an electronic book is easily available in print, cite it as you would a print source. If it is unavailable in print (or extremely difficult to find), use the format in the example. (Use the words Available from in your citation if the book must be purchased or is not available directly.) |
Chisholm, L. (n.d.). Celtic tales. Retrieved from http://www.childrenslibrary.org/icdl/BookReader?bookid= chicelt_00150014&twoPage=false&route=text&size=0&fullscreen=false&pnum1=1&lang= English&ilang=English |
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A Dissertation or Thesis from a Database |
Provide the author, date of publication, title, and retrieval information. If the work is numbered within the database, include the number in parentheses at the end of the citation. |
Coleman, M. D. (2004). Effect of a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet on bone mineral density, biomarkers of bone turnover, and calcium metabolism in healthy pre- menopausal females. Retrieved from Virginia Tech Digital Library & Archives: Electronic Theses and Dissertations. (etd-07282004-174858) |
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A Nonperiodical Web Document |
The ways you cite different nonperiodical web documents may vary slightly from source to source, depending on the information available. In your citation, include as much of the following information as you can: Name of the author(s), whether an individual or organization, Date of publication (Use n.d. if no date is available.), Title of the document, Address where you retrieved the document |
American Heart Association. (2010). Heart attack, stroke, and cardiac arrest warning signs. Retrieved from http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053 |