APA Style - 6th Edition
What is APA Style?
APA Style is an editorial style developed by the American Psychological Association and used for written materials in the social and behavioral sciences. APA Style requires you to cite the sources you have used in two places: the in-text citation and as part of your reference list at the end of your paper.
How do I Format In-Text Citations?
In APA style, each quotation or paraphrase must include the author's last name and the year of publication. For quotations you must also include the page number.
Paraphrase
By paraphrasing (or summarizing), you convey the author's original meaning in your own words. Below are two examples:
The potential for truly integrated online research continues to develop at a rapid pace (Moore, 2001).
Baker (1989) comments on the fact that students who have a great interest in laboratory work attain good results.
Quotation
It is when a group of words taken are from a text or speech and repeated by someone other than the original author or speaker. The following is an example of a brief quotation:
They point out that, “Informational labels are especially important for nonprint materials because they can furnish critical information which otherwise might not be evident from looking at the item on the shelf” (Driessen & Smyth, 1995, p. 32).
How Do I Create a Reference List?
- Arrange your citations alphabetically by author’s last name
- Arrange anonymous (no author) works by the first significant word in the title
- Double-space between each entry
- Indent the second line of each entry (a hanging indent)
How Do I Create the Citations for my Reference List?
Most of the resources you find electronically through the library will create a citation for you. To create one yourself, you need to know a few pieces of information about your source and then use the examples in the chart below to format your citation.
| Material Type | Reference List Citation Format |
| Book in print |
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher. Dreikurs, R., Grunwald, B., & Pepper, F. (1982). Maintaining sanity in the classroom. New York: Harper & Brothers. |
| Chapter in a print book |
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. Shantz, C. V. (1993). Children’s conflicts: Representations & lessons. In R. R. Cocking & K. A. Renninger (Eds.), The development & meaning of psychological distance (pp. 185-202). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. |
|
eBook
Kindle book |
Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of work. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/ De Huff, E. W. (n.d.). Taytay’s tales: Traditional Pueblo Indian tales. Retrieved from http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/dehuff/taytay/taytay.html Stoker, B. (1897). Dracula [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com |
| Article in a print journal, magazine or newspaper |
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article.Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. Wittmer, D. S. & Honig, A. S. (1994). Encouraging positive social development in young children. Young Children, 49(5), 61-75. |
| Online article in a journal, magazine or newspaper without DOI* |
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page range. Retrieved from http://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/ Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 8. Retrieved from http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html |
| Online article in a journal, magazine or newspaper with DOI* |
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page range. doi:0000000/000000000000 or http://dx.doi.org/10.0000/0000 Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography. European Journal of Marketing, 41, 1245-1283. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161 |
| Websites (professional or personal sites) |
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved from http://Web address Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, May 5). General format. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ |
How to cite a photograph you find online:
Hamilton, D. (1975). South of France fantasy [Photograph]. Retrieved May 20,
2010, from http://www.rennart.co.uk/posters.html
Photograph online (no author):
Radiating ripples [Photograph]. (2006). Retrieved November 10, 2008, from
http://www.bergoiata.org/fe/divers28/10.htm
Photograph online (no author, title or date):
[Untitled photograph of a giraffe]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2009, from
http://www.birminghamzoo.com/animals/
Entry in an Encyclopedia:
(from the Purdue OWL: APA Formatting Guide)
* "Because online materials can potentially change URLs, APA recommends providing a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), when it is available, as opposed to the URL. DOIs are an attempt to provide stable, long-lasting links for online articles. They are unique to their documents and consist of a long alphanumeric code. Many-but not all-publishers will provide an article's DOI on the first page of the document." (Source: Purdue OWL)
Helpful Websites
- Purdue OWLOnline Writing Lab (OWL) with writing resources and instructional material.
- APA StyleOfficial APA hosted website with information on APA citation and related resources.
Books @ Our Library
Publication Manual (OFFICIAL) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association by ISBN: 9781433832154Publication Date: 2019-10-01
