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A Guide to Referencing Using
APA Style
Based on the 6th Edition of the Publication Manual of
the American Psychological Association
Updated September 2012
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Contents
Section 1: Aspects of referencing
What is referencing?
Why do we reference?
What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?
How do I present referred material in my essay?
How do I cite authors in my essay?
How do I use quotations?
What rules apply if there is more than one author?
What information is needed to create a reference list?
How do I reference books and journal articles?
Is an editor cited in the same way as an author?
What if I want to reference an author that someone else has cited?
How do I distinguish between two items by the same author in the same year?
What do I do if publication details are not given?
Where can I find further information on referencing?
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Section 2: Formats for referencing printed material
Details of how to reference various printed materials including government
publications, acts of parliament, newspaper articles and conference proceedings
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Section 3: Formats for referencing electronic information
Details of how to reference electronic information such as internet sites, DVDs,
television programmes and electronic journals.
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What is referencing?
Academic writing involves using the literature and information that you read to justify
and support the answers you give in your essays and assignments. Referencing is a
method of acknowledging those ideas, theories and research which have directly
contributed to your work. The APA Style, which is detailed in this handout, is a
standardised way of presenting references for published and academic work.
Using the APA Style any sources of information need to be referenced both within
the body of your work, which is known as citing, and also within a reference list at
the end of your assignment.
Further details on APA Style can be found within the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association (6th ed).
Why do we reference?
Referencing is an important academic practice and is, therefore, vital for any
academic/published work. The main reasons why you need to reference are:
 To support an argument, make a claim or provide „evidence‟.
 To acknowledge other people‟s contribution to your work.
 To avoid plagiarism – If you don‟t acknowledge the original author, it may look as
though you are presenting their work as your own.
 To show evidence of the breadth and depth of your reading.
 To allow the reader of your work to locate the cited references easily, and so
evaluate your interpretation of those ideas.
 To avoid losing marks!!
What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?
A reference list is an alphabetical list of each of the books, journals, websites and
other sources which you have made direct reference to within the body of your work.
A bibliography contains any material you have used for background reading around
your subject which you have not made direct reference to in your assignment.
Most assessed work does not require a bibliography, although this may differ
depending on the assignment in question. In psychology, you will normally have to
use a reference list.
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How do I present referred material in my essay?
There are two ways of presenting material you have read in your essay. These are
 Paraphrasing – summarising the material you have read, putting the ideas into
your own words and then stating where the information has come from. This is the
most common way to present your sources.
 Quoting – taking samples of the work of others as it appears in the original source
(word for word). Quotes should be used sparingly as your work should not look like
you have simply „copied and pasted‟ other peoples research.
How do I cite authors in my essay?
The author-date method of citation requires that the surname of the author and the
year of publication be inserted into the text at an appropriate place. This can be
done in one of two ways, which are shown in the box below
Example 1: Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological samples...
Example 2: Early onset social anxiety disorder results in a more severe
course (Kessler, 2003)
Example 2: Early onset social anxiety disorder results in a more severe course
(Kessler, 2003)
In example 1, the name of the author appears as part of the narrative so it is only
necessary to cite the year of publication in brackets. The alternative to this is to cite
both the authors name and publication year in brackets, as in example 2.
Early onset social anxiety disorder results in a more severe course (Kessler, 2003)
If two or more authors are cited at the same point in the text then they are included
alphabetically in the same in-text citation, separated by a semicolon e.g. (Brown,
1991; Smith, 2003)
How do I use quotations?
When directly quoting from another source the page number must be given and
double quotation marks placed around the quote as in the example below.
Robbins et al. (2003) suggested that “therapists in dropout cases may have
inadvertently validated parental negativity about the adolescent” (p. 541)
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What rules apply if there is more than one author?
For articles with two authors, the names of both authors should be given in the text
and the reference list as in the example below
Brown and Ryan (2003) found that...
or
Mindfullness also appears to promote wellbeing (Brown & Ryan, 2003).
If three, four or five authors are named then you should cite all the authors‟ names
the first time the reference occurs in the text. However, in subsequent citations you
should list only the first author followed by et al and the year. For example:
First citation: Wasserstein, Zapulla, Rosen and Rock (1999) found that …
Subsequent citations: Wasserstein et al. (1999) also found that....
If there are six or more authors, cite only the surname of the first author followed by
et al. and the year for the first and subsequent citations.
What information is needed to create a reference list?
The table below shows what information is necessary to create a reference list.
Please note that not all details will necessarily be applicable to your sources
Type of Information
Book
 Name of author
 Publication year
 Title
 Edition number
 Volume number
 Place of publication
 Name of publisher
Journal
 Name of author
 Publication year
 Title
 Journal name
 Volume/issue number
 Page numbers
Electronic Information
For any information taken
from the internet you will
need to note the Digital
Object Identifier (DOI) if
one exists. If not you will
need to quote the URL
(web address)
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How do I reference books and journal articles?
The most common sources which you will need to reference are books and journal
articles. Below are some examples of how these references are formatted in the
APA style. Formats for other sources can be found in section 2 and 3 of this
handout.
Books:
Author (s)
Year
Title (in italics)
Mack, C. (2005). Looking at the Renaissance: Essays toward a conceptual
appreciation. London, UK: Taylor & Francis.
Place of Publication
Publisher
Journals
Authors
Year
Title
Petermann, J., Trus, P., Niess, C., & Gotzen, L. (1999). A modified Pivot-Shift test
for diagnosis confirmation in anterior cruciate ligament rupture. The Knee, 6(2),
131-136.
Page numbers
Journal name (in italics)
Journal no. Issue no.
Is an editor cited in the same way as an author?
Yes, but make sure that it is an editor that you are citing not the writer of one of the
chapters. In the reference list use the abbreviation (Ed) or (Eds) to indicate
editorship e.g.
Smith, L. (Ed.). (1987). Statistics for psychologists. London: Helman.
Some edited books will have a number of authors, each writing different chapters on
different topics. To refer to a specific author‟s ideas from a particular chapter you
should cite or quote the name of the chapter author in your work, then in your
reference list reference the book that the information was taken from, as in the
example below.
Piaget, J. (1970). The stages of the intellectual development of the child. In P.H.
Mussen, J.J. Congor & J. Kagan (Eds.), Readings in child development and
personality (pp. 291-302). New York: Harper & Row.
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What if I want to reference an author who someone else has cited?
A journal article or book someone else cites that you have not seen yourself is called
a ‘primary source’. If you wish to use a primary source within your work you
should...
1. Attempt to find the original article yourself and cite it in the normal way.
Remember it is vital that you are evaluating sources for yourself rather than
simply borrowing the arguments of others. Taking details about a study
„second hand‟ could also lead to inaccuracies in your work.
2. If the information is vital to your work and you cannot gain an original copy
then you can still cite the article although you should make reference to the
fact that you have taken the information from a secondary source (Example1).
In the reference list only give details of the source you have read (Example 2)
Example 1: ... a change in family circumstances can affect a child‟s emotional
stability (Pollock, 1995, as cited in Jones, 1996, p.10.)
Example 2: Jones, P. (1996). A family affair. London: Butterworth.
How do I distinguish between two items by the same author in the
same year?
Occasionally authors publish two or more books or journal articles in any given year.
This would make the text citation identical for both. To distinguish between different
articles, letters (a, b, c etc.) are used with the date in the text e.g.
Johnson (1991a) has progressed both experimental and practical aspects of
software technology to the point where they provide a serious challenge to Pacific
Belt dominance (Johnson, 1991b)…
In the reference list the articles should be ordered alphabetically, unless they are
part of a series in which case they should appear in series order.
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What do I do if publication details are not given?
Occasionally sources will lack basic publication information. In these cases you must
let the reader know that this information is missing by using one of the abbreviations
below.





Author not given
No date
No place (sine loco)
No publisher (sine nomine)
Not known
Use [Anonymous]
Use [n.d.]
Use [s.l.]
Use [s.n.]
Use [n.k.]
Where can I find further information on referencing?
Further details on referencing and academic style can be found in the Publication
Manual of the APA and on the APA Style website at www.apastyle.org
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
The following guide also provides useful information regarding referencing:
Curtin University of Technology, Library and Information Service. (2010) APA
referencing. Retrieved June 8, 2010, from http://library.curtin.edu.au/study-andresearch-tools/referencing.cfm
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Section 2: Formats for referencing printed material
Source
Corporate
author
According to guidance from the Royal College of
Nursing (1993)....
Royal College of Nursing. (1983). Guidance on the handling of patients in
the hospital and community. London: Author.
No author
(Employment the Professional Way, 2000)
Employment the professional way: A guide to understanding the Australian
job search process for professionally qualified migrants. (2000).
Carlton, Vic: Australian Multicultural Foundation.
Government
Publications
(Department of Health and Social Services, 1980)
Department of Health and Social Services. (1980). Inequalities in health:
report of a research working group. London: Author.
Conference
proceedings
Published: (Webb 1993)
Webb, N. L. (1993). Mathematics education reform in California. In R. Clark
(Ed.), Science and Mathematics Education in the United States: Eight
innovations: Proceedings of a conference, (pp. 29-40). Paris: OECD.
Unpublished: (Lanktree & Briere, 1991)
Lanktree, C. & Briere, J. (1991, January). Early data on the Trauma
Symptom Checklist for Children (TSC-C). Paper presented at the
meeting of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of
Children, San Diego, CA.
Known author: Peters (2003)
Peters, R. (1992, June 23). Picking up Maxwell‟s bills. Independent, p. 28.
No author: („Ingenuity and Hardwork‟, 2009)
Ingenuity and hard work - 20 years of internet in Australia. (2009, November
26). Sydney Morning Herald, p. 35.
Law report/Case: Holgate v Duke (1984)
Holgate v. Duke, 2 All ER 660 (1984).
Newspapers
Legislation
In text example
Reference list example
Give the abbreviated name of the law report and the page number on
which it starts
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Legislation
Patents
Act of Parliament: The Mental Health Systems
Act (1988)
European Patent No. GB2322334 (1998)
Unpublished Lawler (1987)
Material
Mental Health Systems Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9401 (1988)
Legislation would usually only be required in a reference list if it is
important to the understanding of the work. If required you would
normally put the name of the act, the source and section number of the
statute and the publication date of the statutory compilation.
Bryant, S. J. (1998). European Patent No. GB2322334.
Munich, Germany: European Patent Office.
Lawler, C. (1987). Childhood vaccinations. Unpublished manuscript, Brunel
University, London.
If the unpublished work is not associated with a particular university
then this information can be omitted.
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Section 3: Formats for referencing electronic material
Source
Document
taken from
the internet
In text example
Beckleheimer (1994)
Reference list example
Beckleheimer, J. (1994). How to cite URLs in a bibliography? Retrieved
December 13, 1995, from
http://www.nrlssc.navy.mil/meta/bibliography.html
It is important that you give the date on which you accessed the material
as websites are subject to change
Image from
the internet
(Autumn Ivy, 2007)
Autumn ivy [Image]. (2007). Retrieved July 8, 2010 from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtinuniversitylibrary/1440410713/
TV Program
Miller (1989)
Miller, R. (Producer). (1989). The mind [Television series]. New York: WNET.
The name of the director can also be used in place of the producer. A
single programme is called a television broadcast. The broadcast date
should be specified for a single programme
DVD and
video
recordings
Online
Journal
Article
American Psychological Association (2000)
American Psychological Association. (Producer). (2000). Responding
therapeutically to patient expressions of sexual attraction [DVD].
Washington, DC: Author.
VandenBos, Knapp and Doe (2001)
VandenBos, G. Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role of reference elements in the
selection of resources by psychology undergraduates.
Journal of
Bibliographic Research, 5, 117-123. Retrieved October 13, 2001, from
http://jbr.org.articles.html
If available you should include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) instead of
the URL. The DOI is a unique number which distinguishes a document on
the internet from all others published electronically.
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