Research Guides: Citation Guide: APA 6th

APA Style: 6th Edition

The information presented on this page is relevant to the APA 6th edition. For information on APA 7th edition, please see the corresponding tab in the guide navigation.

APA Style

The APA style manual (American Psychological Association) is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. It refers to the rules and conventions established by the American Psychological Association for documenting sources used in a research paper. APA style requires both in-text citations and a reference list. For every in-text citation there should be a full citation in the reference list and vice versa.

Locations:

Dirac Science Library Reserves BF76.7 P83 2010

Strozier Library Undergraduate Collection 2nd Floor BF76.7 P83 2010

Medical Library Reference WZ 345P976 2010

Resources

In-Text Citation

What You Are Citing

In-Text Citation

Entire work

(Rogers, 2008)

Specific page

(Rogers, 2008, p.39)

If author’s name is included in the text of the sentence

Rogers (2008, p.9) claims that…

**Use only the year, and page number(s) if applicable.

Online article with no page numbers

(Mayers, 2009, para.3)

(Childs, 2003, Introduction, para.2)

One author

Reference List:

Chance, K. (2005)

(Chance, 2005)

Two authors

Reference List:

Matthews, A. & Keats, J. (1999)

(Matthews & Keats, 1999)

Three to five authors

Reference List:

Hunt, G. , Vail, M., & Plum, T. (1986)

First Citation:

(Hunt, Vail, & Plum, 1986)

Subsequent Citations

(Hunt et al., 1986)

Six or seven authors

Reference List:

Phelps, B. , Lima, M., Gomez, L., MacArthur, T., Gansu, S., & Jepes, N. (2001)

(Phelps et al., 2001)

Group author

Reference List:

American Library Association. (2009)

First Citation:

(American Library Association [ALA], 2009)

Subsequent Citations:

(ALA, 2009)

No author(s) listed

Reference List:

None to claim their bones: Relics of an old Brooklyn graveyard. (1888, April 12). New York Times, pp.3-4. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

(“None to Claim Their Bones”, 1888)

**If the title contains a colon, only use the text before the colon in the in-text citation.

Undated sources

(King, n.d.)

Citing a source within a source

Reference List:

Linhares, A., & Brum,P.(2007). Understanding our understanding of strategic scenarios: What role do chunks play? Cognitive Science, 31 (6), 989-1007.

Fredericks study (as cited in Linhares & Brum, 2007) found that…

**Your in-text citations gives credit to second source

Citing Electronic Sources

APA Style Guide to Electronic References (6th ed.)
both eBook and print copy available.
Supplement to APA Publication Manual with detailed information on citing electronic sources.

Reference List

Books

Type of Source

Reference List Citation

Edited book

Format:

Editor, A.A. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work. Location: Publisher.

Example:

Duncan, J., & Gunn, K. (Eds.). (1993). Consequences of fame. Chicago: Sage Press.

Article or chapter in an edited book

Format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A.A. Editor & B.B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.

Example:

McCarthy, A. (2001). Studying soap opera. In Glen Creeber (Ed.), The television genre book (pp. 47-49). London: BFI Publishing.

Electronic-only book

Format:

Author, A. (Year of Publication). Title of book. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url

Example:

Kornblum, W. (2002). At sea in the city: New York from the water’s edge. Retrieved from http://www.workman.com/Algonquin

Articles

Type of Source	Reference List Citation
Article in a periodical (journal/magazine) **If articles from a library database are “easily located, do not provide database information. If the article is difficult to locate, then you can provide database information.” ~Purdue Online Writing Lab.	Journal Format: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. Journal Example: Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(30), 5-13. Magazine Format: Author(s). (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Periodical, issue number, pages. Magazine Example: Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, 28-31.
Newspaper article	Print Format: Author(s). (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, page(s). Print Example: Brown, P.L. (1999, September 5). Tiffany glass and other tales from the crypt. New York Times, pp. A1, A5. Electronic Format: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url Electronic Example: Foreman, J. (2003, August 12). Allston gothic. Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/03_8_12/allston
Article From online periodical (no DOI)	Format: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Publication Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number if available), page(s). Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/ Example: Berns, D. (2002). 10 tips on writing. Writer’s Guide, 10(2), 25-30. Retrieved from http://www.writersguide.com/articles/10tips
Article From online periodical (DOI provided)	Format: Author, A.A., Author, B.B., & Author, C.C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, pp-pp. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxx Example: Herbst-Damm, K.L., & Kulik, J.A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.

Other

Type of Source

Reference List Citation

Entire web site

Format:

In APA style there is no need to include an entry for an entire website in your reference list as long as you identify the source clearly in the text of your paper.

Example:

The Purdue University Online Writing Lab was extremely helpful in understanding the differences between APA and MLA style (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/).

Image

Electronic Format:

Last name, F. (Year Created). Title of image. [Format]. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Electronic Example:

O’Sullivan, T. (1863). Incidents of the war. A harvest of death, Gettysburg, July 1863 [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003001110/PP

Print Format:

Last name, F. (Year Created). Title of image [Format]. Location: Museum/Institution.

Print Example:

Wyeth, A. (1948). Christina's world [Painting]. New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art.