APA Citation Format
6th Edition
Dr. David B. Ross
Nova Southeastern University
Table of Contents
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When to cite
Authors
References
Punctuation
Numbers
Seriation
When to cite?
Whenever you are referring to an idea that
(a) is not uniquely your own, or (b) one
that has been drawn from another source,
you must “cite” that idea as someone
else’s. The most common example is
from a periodical or book:
In order to transform their school culture in a new
direction, the learning community consisting of teachers,
staff, students and parents, must realize the need for
strong leadership (Reinhartz & Beach, 2004).
When to cite?
The order of the citation is important, and should
include, in parenthesis, the author’s name, a
comma, and the year of publication:
In order to transform their school culture in a new direction,
the learning community consisting of teachers, staff, students
and parents, must realize the need for strong leadership
(Reinhartz & Beach, 2004).
Authors’ names
Year
Note* If you use the same author and year within the same
paragraph, you must repeat the author and year in
parenthesis.
When to cite?
The citation follows the expression of the
idea; typically at the end of a sentence (an
exception would be when you express two
or more ideas in one sentence):
In order to transform their school culture in a new
direction, the learning community consisting of teachers,
staff, students and parents, must realize the need for
strong leadership (Reinhartz & Beach, 2004).
This is the citation
When to cite?
You must cite the particular book each time you draw from
it; not just the first time you use it in a text. You must cite
the author and year in every paragraph; however, once you
cite the author and year in that paragraph, the next time
you do not have to repeat the year, except as stated in the
previous slide when the author and year are in parenthesis.
Kotter (2002) stated, “Management is about coping with
complexity. Leadership is about coping with change” (p. 36). At the
very least a school principal will need to be able to calm their people
and share what needs to be done during change. Kotter informs us
that school and business leadership have fundamental things in
common in terms of challenges and solutions.
When to cite?
If your citation refers to a specific page or
pages, you should also include that in your
citation:
“One of the principal’s primary leadership tasks is to guide
the school faculty and students in the process of accepting
and maintaining high standards of educational goal
achievement” (Kimbrough & Burkett, 1990, p. 117).
Page number
When to cite?
Important: if you directly quote a text, you
must put the quote in quotation marks:
“One of the principal’s primary leadership tasks is to guide
the school faculty and students in the process of accepting
and maintaining high standards of educational goal
achievement” (Kimbrough & Burkett, 1990, p. 117).
Note the gray portion is a direct quote from
the Kimbrough & Burkett source
When to cite? (p. 174 APA)
Almost without exception, your in-text citation
should “connect” to an entry in your references
list toward the end of your paper. References
list formats are covered later:
“One of the principal’s primary leadership tasks is to guide
the school faculty and students in the process of accepting
and maintaining high standards of educational goal
achievement” (Kimbrough & Burkett, 1990, p. 117).
Kimbrough, R., & Burkett, C. W. (1990). The principalship: Concepts
and practices. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
When to cite?
You may also at times refer to the authors
without the parenthesis, if it “flows” better
with your paper:
DuFour and Eaker (1992) found that “the essential
foundation of a school improvement initiative must be
recognition of the need to invest in people, support
people and develop people” (p. 5).
Note the author is left out because it
was mentioned earlier in the sentence
When to cite?
Here is another example of not using
parenthesis with author and year:
In 1992, DuFour and Eaker found that “the essential
foundation of a school improvement initiative must be
recognition of the need to invest in people, support
people and develop people” (p. 5).
In this instance the author and the year are mentioned in the prior
sentence. The page number (specific to the idea/direct quote) is the
only citation listing.
Expressing Two or More
Ideas in One Sentence
Two or more authors:
Other doctoral dissertations found no
demographic differences in leadership (e.g.,
gender, educational level, years of
administrative experience) (Condren, 2002;
Fagan, 2001; Green, 1999; Patterson, 2002;
Taylor, 2002).
Make sure you separate authors with a semi-colon,
and list them alphabetical
Expressing Two or More
Ideas in One Sentence
As mentioned earlier, you might have two
ideas from two different sources (notice the
placement of the first citation after the first
idea, then the second citation after the idea):
Whether a person works for private corporations, such
as Southwest Airlines, Home Depot, or the St.
Petersburg Times (Harris, 1996; Maxwell, 1998), or a
school board (DuFour & Eaker, 1992), people want to
be treated in a professional manner while their needs
are not compromised.
2nd “idea”
Examples: No authors
(p. 176-7 APA)
What if your source does not have an
author listed anywhere? You will list the
first few words of the title of the work:
If a principal does not develop an understanding of
human nature, his or her employees will not follow
(Leadership in Action, 2005).
Title of source
Examples: Personal
Communications (p. 179 APA)
• Personal communications, such as e-mails, interviews,
phone interviews, etc. are cited within your text, but they
are NOT listed in the references list:
A secondary school principal (G. McKee, personal interview,
June 12, 2003) stated he has a love for this job and is proficient
at interacting with students, teachers, parents and the
community.
Please notice the personal interview in gray…This will NOT be
listed in the references list
Examples: No date
(p. 185 APA)
What if your source does not have a
publish date listed anywhere? You will list
the author, and “n.d.” for “no date”
If a principal does not develop an understanding of
human nature, his or her employees will not follow
(Ross, n.d.).
n.d. = “no date”
Examples: Two authors
Your book or periodical might have more than
one author. You must list both authors every
time you draw and idea from that particular
source:
Reinhartz and Beach (2004) comment in order to transform their school
culture in a new direction, the learning community consisting of teachers,
staff, students and parents, must realize the need for strong leadership.
***or***
In order to transform their school culture in a new direction, the learning
community consisting of teachers, staff, students and parents, must realize
the need for strong leadership (Reinhartz & Beach, 2004).
Examples: More than Six
Authors
If you have more than six authors, you cite two different
ways. The first time you cite the source, you list all authors:
– They need dedicated cooperation and involvement by teachers,
staff, parents and community to create a learning environment
(Kosslyn, Koenig, Barrett, Cave, Tang, & Gabrieli, 2003).
– Each additional time you cite this source in your paper,
you only list the first author, and follow it up with et al.
– “A new brand of leadership is needed to accomplish renewal –
one committed to personal empowerment and the building of
community” (Kosslyn et al., 2003, p. 3).
“et al.” stands for “and others”
Examples: Agency as Author
• Perhaps you have a source that lists an agency, such as
a government agency, as the author (and not an
individual). In this instance you simply list that agency
within the citation:
Teachers in Florida have been more involved in preparing their
students for the FCAT (Florida Department of Education, 2003).
Agency listed
Florida Department of Education. (2003). Retrieved May 8, 2005, from
http://www.firn.edu/doe/eias/eiaspubs/notchrs.htm
References section
References (p. 37 APA)
the word References should appear in
uppercase and lowercase letters, and
centered and bold.
You will notice that the word References
is plural.
References - Formatting
• Reference lists are in alphabetical order by the author’s
last name.
• Multiple authors for the same reference are listed in
alphabetical order.
• If you have more than one reference by the same author,
you list them in order by the year of publication.
• Use “&” as opposed to “and” in references and
between parenthesis (Smith & Jones, 2003)
• Use “and” between authors when in the actual text
…Olina and Sullivan (2002) note that feedback helps
learners…
References
Recall that almost without exception, your in-text
citation should “connect” to an entry in your
references list toward the end of your paper.
Lael (2002) emphasizes that principals empower
teachers most by demonstrating their own commitment
to being lifelong learners and teachers themselves.
Lael, A. (2002). Instructional leadership: Learning on the
job. Principal, 81(4), 65.
References – Formatting
(p. 177 APA)
References are formatted in the fashion below.
The reference is in “hanging indent” style, with
the first line not indented and all lines that follow
indented.
Durocher, E. A. (1995). Leadership orientations of school administrators:
A survey of nationally recognized school leaders. (Doctoral
dissertation, Columbia University Teachers College, 1995).
Lael, A. (2002). Instructional leadership: Learning on the job.
Principal, 81(4), 65.
“Hanging indent”
References – Formatting a
Book (p. 202 APA)
In general, the author is listed first; last name
first, first initial. The year is listed in parenthesis
after that. The title is then displayed (in italics
for a book). If it is a book, the city and state of
publication is offered, followed by a colon and
the publishing company name.
Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard
Business School Press.
Reference Examples
(p. 198 APA)
All authors are listed in alphabetical order.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (1990). Leadership
orientations. Brookline, MA: Leadership Frameworks.
Capelluti, J., & Nye, K. (2003). Make one courageous
decision a day. Principal Leadership, 3(7), 8-9.
Esty, K., Griffin, R., & Hirsch, M. S. (1995). Workplace
diversity. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation.
***notice the placements of periods, commas and spaces***
Reference Examples: More
than 6 authors
The first six authors are listed, every author after
that is referred to as “et al.” (“and others”).
Stuebing, K., Fletcher, J., LeDoux, J., Lyon, G., Shawitz, S.,
Shaywitz, B., et al. (2002). Validity of IQ-discrepancy
classifications of reading disabilities. American Educational
Research Journal, 39(2), 469-518.
Reference Examples:
Periodical (p. 198 APA)
A periodical, such a journal, magazine or
newspaper, is referred to like below. The title of
the article is listed after the year. The name of
the periodical is next (italics), followed by the
volume (italics), number and pages.
Lael, A. (2002). Instructional leadership: Learning on the
job. Principal, 81(4), 65-68.
The periodical name and volume
number are in italics
Number and
Page #s are not in
italics
Reference Examples:
Internet Periodical
An Internet periodical is listed in a reference list like any
other periodical; however, it also includes the retrieval
date and web address:
Logan, J. P. (1998). School leadership of the 90s and
beyond: A window of opportunity for women educators.
Retrieved July 18, 2003, from http://www.
advancingwomen.com/awl/summer98/LOGAN.html
The website can not be a “hyperlink” (no underline)…
To remove the hyperlink ,once typed, right click and select “remove hyperlink”
Note** the retrieval date may differ from the publish date. In this case
the publish date is 1998 and the retrieval date is 2003.
Reference Examples: Govt. /
Private Organization
• Internet publications from organizations, government or
private, will many times not display an author. The
agency name is listed instead of the author.
Florida Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8,
2005, from http://www.firn.edu/doe/eias/eiaspubs/
notchrs.htm
Note: (n.d.) for
“no date.” This can
**Notice the website is
be used for any
separated to fill the line…
reference without
and NO hyperlink
a date
Reference Examples: Govt. /
Private Organization (p. 205
APA)
What about a private organization? Here
is an example:
Ross Institute. (1999). Education in America.
Retrieved May 8, 2005, from http://ross.
inst. com
Seriation (p. 63 APA)
No Bullets in APA Example below…
Note** When listing in the sentence use (a), (b), and (c)...
Separate with commas…exception – if any sections have a comma within its phrase, separate with
semicolons:
(a) word, word and word; (b) word, and (c) word.
When listing by numbers (not bullet symbols) notice the numbers (1, 2, 3 , 4) are indented
in line with a paragraph indent.
There are four elements necessary for an organization to become successful in
accomplishing goals: (a) respect, (b) trust, (c) commitment, and (d) recognition (Wycoff, 1995).
1. Respect is the concern for the person and recognition of how important every single
member of the organization is to the whole (p. 50).
2. Trust is having open, honest communication, fair dealings for all stakeholders, and a
system for resolving conflict (p. 51). A primary contributor to an environment of trust is a high level
of corporate ethics (p. 50).
3. Commitment, that is, when all employees are pointed in the same direction transforming
a collection of people into a motivated team with a goal (p. 53).
4. Recognition means putting people first and customers second; recognizing their
potential, creativity, and allowing people to contribute (p. 56).
Important Points
• You must “credit” others for their work; APA will
do this for you;
• If this credit is not given, you might be
committing plagiarism; and
• You must connect your citations to a link in the
reference list (with the exception of personal
interviews)…always double check that you have
included them in-text as well as the reference
section.
Important Points
• Consult the APA Publication Manual;
• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research
/r_apa.html (Purdue University’s English Lab
APA website) for further information. This
Powerpoint is merely a basic primer in APA
formatting;
• Disclaimer: Be careful of some online APA
formats…always refer to the APA manual; and
• Please remember NSUs changes.
I hope this slide presentation will be of some
assistance…please note, I did not cover every issue
in the APA manual…but this is a start.
Good luck – Dr. David B. Ross