APA Style - 6th Edition
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 provides a standard system for giving credit to others for their contribution to your work. To do this, 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. The purpose of citing sources is to allow you to use the ideas and works of other researchers while avoiding plagiarizing them.
In-Text Citation
When you paraphrase a source or include a direct quote in your paper, you need to provide enough information for a reader to easily locate the citation in your list of references at the end of the paper. APA Style does this with the author-date method of in-text citation. Each quotation or paraphrase must include the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number (only for quotations).
By paraphrasing (or summarizing), you convey the author's original meaning in your own words. Page numbers are not required for paraphrased citations. Here are some examples of paraphrased infomration:
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.
Quotations can be used to give definitions of key concepts or to restate an author's main idea. 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).
Reference List
- Arrange 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)
| 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/ |
* "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)
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More Citation Help
For detailed help on formatting citations, take a look at our Cite Your Sources library guide!
Websites - APA
- 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 - APA
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by Call Number: REF BF76.7 .P83 2010
APA Style Guide to Electronic References by
