APA Style: Citing Print Resources
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) is the standard writing guide for psychology and other disciplines in the social sciences. It is used by authors, editors, students, and publishers. The following information is taken from 5th edition (2001). If you don't find the information and/or examples you need here, consult the publication manual (call number: Ref BF 76.7. P83 2001).
ALSO: The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University has created a very good guide to using the APA style that includes examples.
- Citing a book with an author(s) or editor(s)
- Citing a book with no author or editor
- Citing a book with a group author (government agency) as publisher
- Citing an entry from a multivolume encyclopedia
- Citing a Journal article, one author
- Citing a Journal article, two authors, journal paginated by issue
- Citing a Magazine article
Reference Citation in Text
In the text of your paper, you must document the source from which you are quoting or paraphrasing. When paraphrasing, cite the author and date of the work. For quotations, cite the author, date and page number (use paragraph numbers for electronic text). This enables the reader to locate in your reference list the source you used. Note that if a work has no author, you must use the title for the in-text citation. There are two basic methods for in-text citations:
Integrating the author’s name into the sentence:
Walker (2000) compared reaction times . . .Including the author’s name in a parenthetical citation:
In a recent study of reaction times (Walker, 2000) . . .
For works with 2 authors:
Always list both authors' surnames every time you refer to that work.
NOTE: When there are two authors and is used in the text; & is used in the parenthetical citation.
Examples:
as Nightlinger and Littlewood (1993) demonstrated . . .
as has been shown (Nightlinger & Littlewood, 1989) . . .
For works with 3-5 Authors:
List all the authors' surnames the first time you refer to the work. After that, list only the surname of the first author followed by et al.
Examples:
First occurrence: Eley, Lichenstein, and Stevenson (1999) studied differences in . . .
Second occurrence: Eley et al. (1999) found that . . .
For works with 6 or more authors:
List only the surname of the first author followed by et al. in all instances. (see example above)
The Reference List
Start the Reference List on a new page. Type the word References (Reference, if there is only one) in uppercase and lowercase letters, centered at the top of the page. Double-space all reference entries. Entries that are more than one line long should have a hanging indent.
Citing a book with an author(s) or editor(s):
Format:
Author/Editor's last name, Author/Editor’s initial(s). (Publication year). Title [in italics]. Place of Publication: Publisher.
[NOTE: Not all title words are capitalized; see examples below.]
Examples:
Benner, D. G. (Ed.). (1987). Psychotherapy in Christian perspective. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Reno, R. R. (2002). Redemptive change: Atonement and the Christian cure of the soul. Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity Press International.
Citing a book with no author or editor:
Format:
Title (Edition - if there is one). (Publication year). Place of publication: Publisher.
Example:
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Citing a book with a group author (government agency) as publisher:
Format:
Group author government agency). (Publication year). Title (edition – if there is one). Place of publication: Publisher.
(When the author and publisher are identical, use the word Author as the name of the publisher.)
Example:
U. S. Census Bureau. (2001). Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2001 (121st ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Citing an entry from a multivolume encyclopedia:
Format:
Author's (of the entry) last name, Author's initial(s). (Publication year). Entry title. In Title of encyclopedia (Edition, volume number, pages). Place of publication: Publisher.
Example:
Thomas, R. M. (1994). Religious education. In The International encyclopedia of education (2nd ed., Vol. 9, pp. 4995-5008). New York: Elsevier Science.
NOTE: If an encyclopedia entry has no author, place the title in the author position.
Citing a Journal article, one author:
Format:
Author’s Last Name, Author’s initial(s). (year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal [italics], volume number(issue number for journals paginated by issue), pages.
Example:
Moreland, J. P. (2001). Intelligent design psychology and evolutionary psychology: A comparison of rival paradigms. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 29(4), 361-377.
Citing a Journal article, two authors, journal paginated by issue:
Format:
Authors’ Last Names, Initial(s) [both inverted, separated by the & symbol]. (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal [italics], volume number(issue number), pages.
Example:
Beck, R. & McDonald, A. (2004). Attachment to God: The attachment to God inventory, tests of working model correspondence, and an exploration of faith group differences. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 32(2), 92-103.
Citing a Magazine article:
Format
Author’s Last Name, Initial(s). (Date of publication). [Give the date shown on the publication—month for monthlies or month and day for weeklies.] Title of article. Title of magazine, volume number(issue number), pages.
Example:
Jeschke, M. (2005, August). Fixing church discipline. Christianity Today, 49(8), 30-32.
Based on a document created by Nancy Getty, Glendale College Librarian, 2003. Edited by Kimberley Wilcox, APU, 2005.
Page Last Modified August 2, 2006