APA Citations

In-Text Citations

Using APA documentation style, you acknowledge your sources with brief parenthetical citations in the text that refer to a reference list that  appears at the end of your paper. 

Here are a few examples:

The brief citation in the text looks like this:

Or, if you mention the author’s name in the sentence,

Author has more than one title from the same year in your list?

Use (Name, Short title, year). e.g. (Allen, Israfel, 2001). 

When at all possible, cite factual data, (method & results, a study or review). When you cite non-factual data, make  it clear in the text, e.g., Allen (2001) theorized that…,(or argued, discussed, ect.)

References in the text from a website:

Setting up your page

The References page has a specific format:

• Start your References page on a new sheet following your paper.

• Type the word References at the top of the page, centered.

• Align each new item on the left margin.  If the entry is longer than one line, indent the next lines five spaces or one-half inch. (instructions about indenting in Word are here)

• Use italics from periodical titles through volume numbers (italicize commas before and after volume numbers).

• Turn off hyperlinks (used with websites, not the databases in APA) on your References page for clearer, more uniform printing. (here's how)

Examples of entries on your references page:

References

Bazzoli, F. (2002).  International Chinese adoption. Shared blessings. Retrieved November 11, 2004, from http://www.night.net/rosie/9802-ics-article.html

Dickinson, A. (2002, August 26). Bicultural kids: Parents who adopt children of a different ethnicity are enjoying the best of both worlds. Time. Retrieved November 4, 2004, from Expanded Academic ASAP Database.

Rojewski, J. W., Rojewski, J. I. (2001). Intercountry adoption from China. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.

Book

Author’s Last name, First name initial. Middle initial. (year). Title of book. City, State of Publication: Publisher.

Senge, P. (1999). The Dance of Change. New York: Doubleday

Hunter, A., & Sexton, J. (1999). Contemporary China. New York: St. Martin’s Press

Journal

Author’s last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of the Article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page numbers.  

Ziegler, Charles E. (2006 Spring) The Energy Factor in China's Foreign Policy. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 11(1), 1-23.

O’Hanlon, M. (2000). Why China Cannot Conquer Taiwan. International Security, 25. 51-87.

Magazine

Author’s last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of Article. Name of Magazine. Volume number(issue number), Page(s).

Long, M.E. (2001, January). Surviving in Space. National Geographic, 116-20.

Sapolsly, R. (2003, March). Bugs in the Brain. Scientific American, 288(3) 94-98.

Print Newspaper

Author’s last name, First initial. Middle initial. (year, Month spelled out day) Title of article. Name of Newspaper, p. Section and page number(s).

Kellerman, L. (2006, June 8). Move to ban gay marriage. News Herald, p. A1.

Articles from an electronic database

 Last Name, First Initials. (Year, Month item was published).  Title of article.  Title of Periodical, journal or magazine, Volume number(issue number if provided), Page numbers. Retrieved date retrieved Month day, year, from Title of database database.

Academic Search Premier

Hisama, E. M. (2000). Feminist Music Theory into the Millennium: A Personal History. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society, 25, 1287. Retrieved April 3, 2002, from Academic Search Premier database.

Biography Resource Center

Germaine G. (1996). In Feminist Writers.  St. James Press: Farmington Hills, MI. Retrieved April 4, 2002, from Biography Resource Center database.

e-Library

Conan, N. (Host), Stern, S. (Guest). (2005, April 19). Analysis: Immigration reform [Radio series episode]. In Talk of the Nation. Washington DC: National Public Radio. Retrieved June 8, 2006 from eLibrary database.

OmniFile Full Text Mega

Klein, J. (2006, May). Bush Is Smart on the Border--and the G.O.P. Isn't. Time, 167(22), 25. Retrieved June 7 2006, from H. W. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega.

New York Times

Kennedy, R., Angles, D. (2006, April 8). Another Picasso sold by Costco is called inauthentic. New York Times. Arts section, p. 11. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from NewsBank database.

Health and Wellness Resources Center

Sadovsky, R. (2000). Vegetarian diet lowers lipids in premenopausal women. American Family Physician, 62, 1660. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from Health and Wellness Resource Center database.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

Dinger, E. (2005). Labor Force Participation. Minorities: A changing role in American society. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center database.

Literature Resource Center

Cook, S. R., (2003 March). Moby-Dick, myth, and classical moralism: Bulkington as Hercules. Leviathan 5(1), 15-19. Retrieved June 8, 2006, from Literature Resource Center database.

E-books

Author’s last name, First initial. Middle initial.  (year). Title of book. City, State of publication: Publisher. Retrieved Date of Access Month Day, Year, from Name of Database.

Reardon, B. (1993). Women and peace. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from netLibrary.

Messina, A. M., ed. (2002). West European Immigration and Immigrant Policy in the New Century. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Retrieved June 7, 2006 from Greenwood Press eBooks.

Web site

Author’s Last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day use n.d. if there isn't a date). Title of web document. Title of online periodical, vol no. (if applicable). Retrieved Month day, year from URL of site

Epilepsy Foundation. (n.d.) Treating Partial Seizures. Retrieved April 3, 2006, from http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/answerplace/Medical/seizures/types/ partialSeizures/treating.cfm

Tyson, Jeff. (n.d.) How Bios Works. Retrieved April 3, 2002, from http://www.howstuffworks.com/bios.htm

Personal Communication

Cite personal communication in the text only.  They do not go on the references page.  Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and provide the date.

 …and Mark Grunder closed his message with a stern warning to those who make war (personal communication, April 6, 2001).

Some hints:

Two authors list as Name., Name. More than two list: Name., Name., & Name.

Be careful! The volume number is italicized but not the issue! 13(2)

Page numbers. more than 2 digits? Pages 333-339 are written like 333-39.

One page is written p. Two or more pages is pp.

Unlike MLA you do not use an internet address unless you are citing a website.

Write the title exactly as it is printed on the article. Don't correct a misspelled title or write out an abbreviation.

Write out the month. It's December not Dec.

Newspaper pages may need to contain a section letter or name. To find it, you may need to look at the "printable" page in Newsbank. It will be on the bottom left.

Subtitles are separated with a colon (:) and subtitle first word is capitalized.

An eBook reference is exactly like a book reference but ends with the database name.

Websites without a date? Use n.d. where the date should go.

The above information came from:

General Form for Electronic References. (2006). American Psychological Association. Retrieved June 7, 2006, from http://www.apastyle.org/elecgeneral.html

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, DC: APA, 2001.

Ask at the Reference Desk for the latest edition. Call number: REF BF76.7 .P83. If you need help, ask at the help desk, third floor or give Ask-a-Librarian a try.