Introduction to APA Style

Introduction to APA Style
The following information is
based on:
1). The American Psychological
Association’s Concise Rules of APA Style;
2). The APA’s Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association, (Fifth
Edition).

Creating the “References” List
 In APA style essays, all works cited in in-
text citations in the body paragraphs are
identified in an alphabetical list of
“References.”
 This list of “References” is then included
as the last page of the document.

The APA System:
In most social science classes, you will be asked to use
the APA system for documenting sources. APA
recommends in-text citations that refer readers to a list
of references:
If the in-text citation looks like this:
Yanovski and Yanovski (2002) reported that “the
current state ofthe treatment for obesity is similar to
the state of the treatmentof hypertension several
decades ago” (p. 600).
The References entry will look like this:
Yanovski, S. Z. & Yanovski, J. A. (2002). Drug
therapy: Obesity[Electronic version]. The New
England Journal of Medicine,346, 591-602.

Most References entries
follow this basic pattern:
Article in a Journal:
Author last name, Author first name. (Year). Title of
article. Title of Journal, volume number, page
number range.
Article in a Book:
Author last name, Author first name. (Year). Title of
Book. State of Publication: Name of Publisher.

Article from a Library Database:
Author name/s as above. (Year). Title of article. Title of
Journal, vol.#(issue#), page range. Retrieved by Month,
Date, Year, from Database Name (Document#).

Some Formatting Notes:
Holliday, R. E., & Hayes, B. K. (2001). Dissociating
automatic andintentional processes in
eyewitness memory. Journal ofExperimental
Child Psychology, 75(1), 1-5. Retrieved
February 21,2001, from Expanded Academic
ASAP database (A59317972).
Article, chapter, Poem, and
story titles are written in lower
case without italics or
quotation marks.
Journal and
Book Titles
are
italicized.
Document #
provided only
when available.
URL’s aren’t provided for
library database sources.

A Quick Note About In-text Citations:
(How Often Do I Cite the Same Source Within a Paragraph?)
•Within a paragraph, you don't need to repeat
the year or other elements of the in-text citation
as long as the reference cannot be confused
with other cited sources (or for your own
thinking);
•If you cite a source in one paragraph and then
refer to the same text again in the next, it’s best
to re-cite it, so as to avoid confusion;
•When in doubt, cite. Better to cite too often than
too little (although you are not required to
provide in-text citations for A2).

Also, About In-text Citations:
•If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT
directly quoting the material, or making reference to an
entire book, article or other work, you only have to make
reference to the author and year of publication in your in-
text reference.
•If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you
only have to make reference to the author and year of
publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines
encourage you to also provide the page number (although it
is not required.)
•If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to
include the author, year of publication, and the page number
for the reference.

Formatting Sources
for which URL’s are Included:
Ashe, D. D., & McCutcheon, L. E. (2001). Shyness,
loneliness, andattitude toward celebrities. Current
Research in Social Psychology,6(9). Retrieved July
3, 2001, from http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/
crisp.6.9.htm
Unlike MLA
Style, entries
with URL’s do
not end in
periods.
The URL follows
the “Retrieved”
by date directly
after a comma.

General Guidelines for Listing Authors:
•Alphabetize entries in the list of references by
authors last names;
•If a work has no author, alphabetize it by its
title;
• The first element of each entry is important
because citations in the text of the paper refer
to it and readers will be looking for it in the
alphabetized list. Make sure the first element of
each entry corresponds with your in-text
citations;
•The date of publication appears immediately
after the first element of the citation.

Examples:
NAME AND DATE CITED IN TEXT:
Duncan (2001) has reported that . . .
BEGINNING OF ENTRY IN THE LIST
OF REFERENCES:
Duncan, B. (2001).

BEGINNING ENTRIES WITH MULTIPLE
AUTHORS:
•List up to six authors by last names followed by
initials.
•Use an ampersand (&) between the names of two
authors or, if there are more than two authors,
before the name of the last author:
DuNann, D. W., & Koger, S. M. (2004).
Sloan, F. A., Stout, E. M., Whetten-Goldstein,
K., & Liang, L. (2000).
•If there are more than six authors, list the first six
and “et al.” (meaning “and others”) to indicate that
there are others.

BEGINNING ENTRY WITH ORGANIZATION AS
AUTHOR:
When the author is an organization, begin with
the name of the organization:
American Psychiatric Association. (2003).
BEGINNING ENTRY WHEN AUTHOR IS
UNKNOWN:
Begin the entry with the work’s title.
Again, titles of books and journals are
italicized; Titles of articles are neither italicized
nor put in quotation marks:
Oxford essential world atlas. (2001).
Omega-3 fatty acids. (2004, November
23).

TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:
Use the author’s name for all entries. List the entries
by year, the earliest first.
Schlechty, P. C. (1997).
Schlechty, P. C. (2001).
TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR
IN THE SAME YEAR:
List the works alphabetically by title. In the
parentheses, following the year, add “a,” “b,” c,” etc.
Use these same letters when giving the year in the
in-text citation.
Durgin, P. A. (2003a). At-risk behaviors in children.
Durgin, P. A. (2003b). Treating obesity with
psychotherapy.

ARTICLE IN A JOURNAL PAGINATED BY
VOLUME:
After the italicized title of the journal, give the
volume number (also italicized), followed by the
page numbers:
Morawski, J. (2000). Social psychology a
century ago. AmericanPsychologist, 55,
1427-1431.
ARTICLE IN A JOURNAL PAGINATED BY
ISSUE:
When each issue of a journal begins with page 1,
include the issue number in parentheses after the
volume number. Italicize the volume number but
not the issue number.
Smith, S. (2003). Government and nonprofits
in the modern age.Society, 40(4), 36-45.

ARTICLE IN A MAGAZINE:
In addition to the year of publication, list the month
and, for weekly magazines, the day. If there is a
volume number, include it (italicized) after the title.
Raloff, J. (2001, May 12). Lead therapy won’t
help most kids. ScienceNews, 15, 292.
ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER:
Begin with the name of the author followed by the
exact date of publication. Page numbers are
introduced with “p.” (or “pp.”).
Lohr, S. (2004, December 3). Health care
technology is a promiseunfinanced. The
New York Times, p. C5.

BASIC FORMAT FOR A BOOK:
Begin with the author’s name, followed by the date
and the book’s title;
End with the place of publication and the name of the
publisher;
Take the information about the book from its title
page and copyright page;
If more than one place of publication is given, use
only the first; if more than one date is given, use the
most recent one.
Example:
Highmore, B. (2001). Everyday life and cultural
theory. New York:Routledge.

BOOK WITH AN EDITOR:
For a book with an editor but no authorFor a book with an editor but no author, begin with the
name of the editor (or editors) followed by the
abbreviation “Ed.” (or “Eds.”) in parentheses:
Bronfen, E., & Kavka, M. (Eds.). (2001). Feminist
consequences: Theoryfor a new century. New
York: Columbia University Press.
For a book with an author and an editorFor a book with an author and an editor, begin with the
author’s name. Give the editor’s name in parentheses
after the title of the book, followed by the abbreviation
“Ed.” (or “Eds.”):
Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals (K. V.
Kukil, Ed.). New York:Anchor.

ARTICLE OR CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK:
After the author, year of publication, and title of
the article or chapter, write “In” and give the
editor’s name, followed by “Ed.” in parentheses;
the title of the book; and the page numbers of the
article or chapter in parentheses. End with the
book’s publication information:
Luban, D. (2000). The ethics of wrongful
obedience. In D. L. Rhode(Ed.), Ethics in
practice: Lawyers’ roles, responsibilities,
and regulation (pp. 94-120). New York:
Oxford University Press.

Report From a Private Organization:
If the publisher is the author, give the word “Author” as the
publisher. If the report has an author, begin with the author’s
name, and the name of the publisher at the end.
Examples: Print Source
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Practice
guidelines for the treatment of patients with
eating disorders (2nd ed.). Washington, DC:
Author.
Web Only Source
Peer to Peer Counseling Group. (n.d.). Teaching
listening skills to large groups. Retrieved July
25,2003, from http://www.peertopeer.org/
listeningskills/00343.html

CITING ELECTRONIC SOURCES
ARTICLE FROM AN ONLINE PERIODICAL
•When citing online articles, follow the guidelines for printed
articles, giving whatever information is available in the online
source.
•If the article also appears in a printed journalIf the article also appears in a printed journal, a URL is not
required; instead, include “Electronic version” in brackets after
the title of the article:
Whitmeyer, J. M. (2000). Power through appointment
[Electronicversion]. Social Science Research,
29(4), 535-555.
•If there is no print versionIf there is no print version, include the date you accessed the
source and the article’s URL:
Ashe, D. D., & McCutcheon, L. E. (2001). Shyness,
loneliness, andattitude toward celebrities. Current
Research in Social Psychology,6(9). Retrieved July
3, 2001, from http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/
crisp.6.9.htm

An article from a newspaper’s searchable
website:
Give the URL for the site, not for the exact source:
Cary, B. (2001, June 18). Mentors of the mind.
Los Angeles Times.Retrieved July 5, 2001,
from http://www.latimes.com

Article from a Database:
To cite an article from a library’s subscription database,
include the publication information from the source. End
the citation with your date of access, the name of the
database, and the document number (if applicable).
Example:
automatic andintentional processes in children’s
Child Psychology, 75(1), 1-5. Retrieved February
21,2001, from Expanded Academic ASAP
database (A59317972).

Notice Placement of punctuation and other key
elements of the entry:
automatic andintentional processes in children’s
Child Psychology, 75(1), 1-5. Retrieved February
21,2001, from Expanded Academic ASAP
database (A59317972).
Vol. # +
Issue # +
page #’s
Retrieval
Date
Document
#

Non-Periodical Web Documents:
To cite a non-periodical Web document, such as a
report, list as many of the following elements as are
available:
•Author’s name;
•Date of publication (if there is no date, use “n.d.”);
•Title of document (in italics);
•Date you accessed the source;
•A URL that will take readers directly to the source.

Example Non-Periodical Web Source Entries:
In the first model, the source has both an author and a
date; in the second, the source lacks a date.
Cain, A., & Burris, M. (1999, April). Investigation of the
use of mobilephones while driving. Retrieved
January 15, 2000, fromhttp://www.cutr.eng.usf.edu/
its/mobile_phone_text.htm
Archer, Z. (n.d.). Exploring nonverbal communication.
Retrieved July18, 2001, from http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/
~archer
If a source has no author, begin with the title and follow it
with the date in parentheses:
Exploring nonverbal communication. (1999, April).
Retrieved July18, 2001, from http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/
~archer

Government Document:
U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Statistical abstract of
the United States.Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office.
Report from a Private Organization:
If the publisher is the author, give the word “Author” as
the publisher. If the report has an author, begin with the
author’s name, and name the publisher at the end.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Practice
guidelines for thetreatment of patients with eating
disorders (2nd ed.). Washington,DC: Author.

Television Program:
To cite a television program, list the producer and the
date it was aired. Give the title, followed by “Television
broadcast” in brackets, the city, and the television
network or service:
Pratt, C. (Executive Producer). (2001, December 2).
Face the nation[Television broadcast].
Washington, DC: CBS News.

Email and Personal Interviews:
•Email messages and other personal
communications are not included in the list of
APA style references.
•Must, however, use in-text citations within your
body paragraphs when information (quotations,
paraphrases and summaries) comes from
email, letters and face-to-face interviews:
The pregnancy rate continues to decrease
but is still many times higher than in other,
comparable countries (E. Robbins, personal
communication, January 5, 2006).

Citing Lectures:
There is some contention as to whether or not to cite
lectures in the references list, since some people
consider them “personal communications.” For our
purposes, please cite them as follows:
•Write the speaker’s last name, followed by a comma, followed by their
first name;
•Give the title of the presentation in quotes marks;
•Include the name of the institution or conference title, followed by the
class title (if applicable);
•Include the location of the lecture, i.e., the city;
•Follow with the day, month (abbreviated) and year (four digits), i.e., 28
Sept. 2005.
Mesian, Bill. Woman online: fronteering a new feminine
power. University of Texas., SOC. 159: Feminist
Theory. Austin, Texas. 4 Apr. 2005.

If the lecture material (notes or slides) is available in electronic
format, use the format for referencing electronicsources to
reference this material even if you read the material first
elsewhere (ie: in class).Example:
Smith, P.R. (2003) . New approaches to leadership. Retrieved
August 25, 2003 from the University of Auckland, BBIM
MGMT 192 Cecil website: http://www.cecil.edu/interface/
cwiframes.asp?UserID=mgmt192

MISCELLANEOUS FORMATTING GUIDELINES:
•Begin your list of references on a new page at the end of the paper.
•Center the title References about one inch from the top of the page.
•Double-space throughout.
•APA recommends using a hanging indent: Type the first line of an entry flush
left and indent any additional lines one-half inch (or five spaces).
ALPHABETIZING THE LIST
•Alphabetize the reference list by the last names of the authors (or editors);
• When a work has no author or editor, alphabetize by the first word of the title
other than A, An, or The.
•If your list includes two or more works by the same author, arrange the
entries by year, the earliest first. If your list includes two or more works by the
same author in the same year, arrange them alphabetically by title. Add the
letters “a,” “b,” and so on within the parentheses after the year.

AUTHORS’ NAMES
Invert all authors’ names and use initials instead of first names. With two
or more authors, use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name.
Separate the names with commas. Include names for the first six authors;
if there are additional authors, end the list with “et al.” (Latin for
“and others”).
TITLES OF BOOKS AND ARTICLES
Italicize the titles and subtitles of books; capitalize only the first word of
the title and subtitle (and all proper nouns). Capitalize names of
periodicals as you would capitalize them normally.
ABBREVIATIONS FOR PAGE NUMBERS
Abbreviations for “page” and “pages” (“p.” and “pp.”) are used before
page numbers of newspaper articles and articles in edited books but not
before page numbers of articles appearing in magazines and scholarly
journals.
BREAKING A URL
When a URL must be divided, break it after a slash or before a period. Do
not insert a hyphen.Click here for a sample list of references.

Introduction to APA Style

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Introduction to APA Style