APA CITATION GUIDE
All examples here come from the Publication Manual of the APA, 6th ed., and the APA Style Blog at http://blog.apastyle.org/.
Remember to read your assignment sheet carefully and check with your professor for specific requirements for each assignment.
American Psychological Association uses (Author, Date) citation style. These tips apply to many different types of citations in this style:
! Authors’ names are listed last name first, then first initial. See APA Manual pages 174-177 to determine how many authors to cite.
! For online resources, include a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) if given. If not include the URL and the phrase “Retrieved from.”
! Direct quotes (included in your essay inside quotation marks) should cite the page number of the book or article where you found the phrase. For
phrases quoted from websites, see pages 171-172 in the Manual about how to use paragraph numbers or other identifiers.
SOURCE MATERIAL
TYPE
Blog post
Book (tablet version)
Book (online as
reprinted or scanned
version)
Book (print)
*See also Chapter in a Book
REFERENCE ENTRY
PZ Myers. (2007, January 22). The unfortunate prerequisites
and consequences of partitioning your mind [Web log
post]. Retrieved from
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/01/the_
unfortunate_prerequisites.php
Shotton, M.A. (1989). Computer addiction? A study of
computer dependency [DX Reader version]. Retrieved
from http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/html/index.asp
Freud, S. (1953). The method of interpreting dreams: An
analysis of a specimen dream. In J. Strachey (Ed. &
Trans.), The standard edition of the complete
psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 4, pp. 96121). Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books
(Original work published 1900)
Canda, E.R. & Furman, L.D. (2009). The heart of helping
(2nd ed.) New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
IN-TEXT
CITATION
In his blog, Myers
(2007) states…
PARENTHETICA
L CITATION
(Myers, 2013)
FOR MORE
INFO
APA Manual,
page 215
Shotton (1989)
explains how
“users depend
on…”
Freud (1953)
famously
described…
(Shotton, 2013, p.
64)
APA Manual,
page 203
(Freud, 1953)
APA Manual,
page 203
Canda and
Furman (2009)
claim…
(Canda & Furman,
2009)
APA Manual,
pages 202-203
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Brochure
* for info on use of acronyms
within citations, section 6.13,
p. 167 and other TLC APA
handouts
Chapter within a Book
Ed. = editor
Eds. = editors
Data (published from a
personal or public study
Data (unpublished from a
personal or public study
Federal and State
Statutes
Journal Article (with
DOI)
Journal Article (without
DOI)
Research and Training Center of Independent Learning.
(1993). Guidelines for reporting and writing about
people with disabilities (4th ed.) [Brochure]. Lawrence,
KS: Author.
Dags, J.B., Morris, J.T., & Verick, M.T. (2012). Humanity
from theoretical perspectives. In J. Maxwell & C. Jones
(Eds.), Theoretical perspectives (pp. 20-42). Seattle,
WA: Happy Publishing.
Jackson, J. (2006). The cultural divide: A survey of
university students [Data file and code book]. Retrieved
from http://happystudentdata.org/
Boggs, J.T. & Dexter, L. (2005). [Surveying university
students]. Unpublished raw data.
Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.A. §
12101 et seq. (West 1993).
Basic format (state):
Revised Code of Washington Title. Chapter. Section.
Example: Revised Code of Washington 7.24.101
Hage, S.M. (2006). The role of spirituality in psychology
training programs. Professional Psychology: Research
and Practice, 37(3), 303-310. doi:
10.1037/07357028.37.3.303
Hage, H.M., Hopson, A., Siegel, M., Payton, G., & DeFanti.
E. (2006). Multicultural training in spirituality. The
American Counseling Association: Counseling and
Values, 50, 217-234. Retrieved from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2161007X.2006.tb00058.x/epdf
The Research and
Training Center
on Independent
Living (RTC/IL,
1993) considered
how…
FIRST CITE:
Dags, Morris, and
Verick (2012)
believe…
SECOND CITE:
Dags et al. (2012)
believe…
Jackson (2006)
found that…
(The Research and
Training Center on
Independent Living
[RTC/IL], 1993)
APA Manual,
pages 211-212
FIRST CITE:
(Dags, Morris, &
Verick, 2012)
APA Manual,
pages 202, 204
(Jackson, 2006)
APA Manual,
page 211
Boggs and Dexter
(2005)
measured…
The Americans
With Disabilities
Act of 1990 has
clarified…
(Boggs & Dexter,
2005)
APA Manual,
page 211
First cite: (Revised
Code of Washington
[RCW] 7.24.101)
APA Manual,
page 220
In his article,
Hage (2006)
contends that…
(Hage, 2006)
APA Manual,
page 198
Hage, Hopson,
Siegel, Payton,
and DeFanti
(2006) report
that...
(Hage, Hopson,
Siegel, Payton, &
DeFanti, 2006)
APA Manual,
page 199
SECOND CITE:
(Dags et al., 2012)
*See p. 177 for
explanation &
demonstration of
first citation and
second/subsequen
t citations
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Lecture
Roberts, K. F. (1998). Federal regulations of chemicals in
the environment [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
http://siri.uvm.edu/ppt/40hrenv/index. htm
Roberts (1998)
explained that all
respondents
would need…
(Roberts, 1998)
Henry, W.A., & Mehta, N.S. (1990, April 9). Beyond the
melting pot. Time, 135, 28-31.
Henry and Mehta
(1990) reacted
by…
(Henry & Mehta,
1990)
APA Manual,
page 200
Movie (Video)
American Psychological Association. (Producer.) (2000).
Responding therapeutically to patient expressions of
sexual attraction [DVD]. Available from
http://www.apa.org/videos/
(American
Psychological
Association, 2000)
APA Manual,
page 209
Movie (iTunes)
Dunning, B. (Producer). (2011, January 12). inFact:
Conspiracy theories [Video podcast]. Retrieved from
http://itunes.apple.com/
In the video
“Responding
Therapeutically...
” the American
Psychological
Association
(2000) suggests…
Dunning (2011)
shows…
(Dunning, 2011)
APA Blog, query
Apsolon (2011)
exemplified…
(Apsolon, 2011)
(such as a Power Point
presentation on Canvas)
*See also Personal
Communication
Magazine Article
*if online, add “Retrieved
from” and the URL
*Cited as a “video podcast”
Movie (YouTube)
*The person who created the
video is the “author.”
Apsolon, M. [markapsolon]. (2011, September 9). Real
ghost girl caught on Video Tape 14 [Video file].
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=6nyGCbxD848
APA Blog,
query “lecture.”
Webpage also
covers how to cite
course notes.
“Cite What You
See, Cite What
You Use”
APA Blog,
query
“YouTube”
*Inside the brackets is the creator’s screen name.
Music
(musician or band recording)
Newspaper Article (with
author)
lang, k.d. (2008). Shadow and the frame. On Watershed
[CD]. New York, NY: Nonesuch Records.
lang’s (2008)
lyrics suggest…
(lang, 2008)
APA Manual,
page 210
Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects
economic, social status. The Washington Post, pp. A1,
A4.
Schwartz (1993)
reports…
(Schwartz, 1993)
APA Manual,
page 200
“All 33 Chile
miners freed in
flawless rescue”
(2010)
(“All 33 Chile miners APA Manual,
freed in flawless
page 200
rescue,” 2010)
*if online, add “Retrieved from” and the URL
Newspaper Article
(without author)
All 33 Chile miners freed in flawless rescue. (2010, October
13). MSNBC. Retrieved from
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39625809/ns/world_news
-americas/
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Personal
Communication
NOT LISTED ON THE REFERENCES PAGE
(such as unrecorded interviews
or conversations, email
messages, private letters, etc.)
* See also Lecture.
Because personal communications are not archived and cannot be
retrieved for reference by your readers, they are not listed on the
References page.
Podcast
Reference Entry
(without author or
editor)
According to
Lutes (personal
communication,
April 18, 2001),
…
(T.K. Lutes,
personal
communication,
April 18, 2001)
APA Manual,
page 179
Van Nuys, D. (Producer). (2007, December 19). Shrink rap
radio [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.shrinkrapradio.com/
Heuristic. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary
(11th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.m-w.com/
dictionary/heuristic
Van Nuys (2007)
recorded the
opinions…
“Heuristic” (n.d.)
is defined as…
(Van Nuys, 2007)
APA Manual,
page 210
(“Heuristic,” n.d.)
APA Manual,
page 204
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National
Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute. (2003). Managing asthma: A guide for schools
(NIH Publication No. 02-2650). Retrieved from
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/asth_sc
h.pdf
In its report on
asthma, the U.S.
Department of
Health and
Human Services
(2003) suggests...
(U.S. Department of
Health and Human
Services, 2003)
APA Manual,
pages 205-206
U.S. Department
of Health and
Human Services
(HHS, 2003)
(U.S. Department of
Health and Human
Services [HHS],
2003)
APA manual
page 205
The College of
Joy (2012)
Smith and Burks
(2012)
(The College of Joy,
2012)
(Smith & Burks,
2012)
APA Manual
pages 214-15
APA Manual
pages 214-15
*n.d. = no date
Report (e.g., Technical
Report or Task Force
Report)
Website
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National
(Corporate/Government)
Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute. (2003). Managing asthma: A guide for schools
(NIH Publication No. 02-2650). Retrieved from
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/ast
hma/asth_sch.pdf
Website (General-no
The College of Joy. (2012). Happy citations. Retrieved from
specific author)
http://www.collegejoyhappycitations.org
Website (GeneralSmith J.B., and Burks, C.J. (2012). Happy citations [PDF
specific author)
format]. Retrieved from
http://www.collegejoyhappycitations.org
*The author may
be the names of
individuals or the
name of the
organization.
For more information on citing a website that doesn’t
contain all of the above information see:
http://blog.apastyle.org/files/how-to-cite-something-youfound-on-a-website-in-apa-style---table-1.pdf
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