APA Style: A Guide for BC Students

APA Style Guidelines
American Psychological Association.

(Based on 7th ed., revised December 2019)

For more examples, see:

• APA — Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
• APA — University of Wisconsin

Format Guidelines for Reference List:

• Double-space the reference list.
• One space follows a period.
• Use a hanging indent format (first line is flush left, all other lines are indented .5 inch. In MS Word, use Format→Paragraph→Hanging Indent).
• Arrange the list of references alphabetically by authors' last names (or by title if no author).
• Authors' names are inverted, followed by the initials of their first and middle names (Last name, A.A.).
• If no author is listed, list the source by title, followed by date of publication in parentheses.
• The date of publication follows the author's name in parentheses.
• Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle of a book or article.
• Capitalize the titles of journals, magazines, and newspapers normally.
• Italicize titles of books, journals, magazines, etc., and the volume numbers of journals as well.
• Do not include "retrieved from" information, such as the name of the database, nor a URL for the source unless it is an active URL to a website.
• Do not include place of publication for books (no city and state).

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) provides extensive examples covering a wide variety of sources. Some of the most commonly cited kinds of sources are included on this page. If your particular source is not listed, check the Publication Manual [Ref BF 76.7 .P83 2019] or consult the APA style website. For more examples, go to Purdue OWL.

Basic Formats for Sources in Print and From Subscription Databases

(Note: Do not list the name of the database. Articles cited same whether print or digital)

A journal or magazine article

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year, add month and day of publication for daily, weekly, or monthly publications). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number, if paginated by issue), pages.

NOTE: List only the volume number if the periodical uses continuous pagination throughout a volume. If each issue begins with page 1, then list the issue number as well. For magazines and newspapers, the issue number is not required. Unlike book or article titles, periodical titles are capitalized.

Example: Journal article, one author

Nichols, S. (2008). An exploration of students' belongingness beliefs in one middle school. Journal of Experimental Education 96, 145-169.

Example: Journal article, two authors

Conner, M., & White, J. (2007). Fatherhood in contemporary black America: An invisible presence. Black Scholar 37 (2), 2-8.

NOTE: Use a comma between authors, even when there are only two.

Example: Journal article, three to twenty authors (list all 20!)

Rehm, J., Room, R. & Taylor, B. (2008). Method for moderation: Measuring lifetime risk of alcohol-attributable mortality as a basis for drinking guidelines. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 17, 141-151.

Example: Journal article, more than twenty authors

Author, A. A., B. B. Author, C. C. Author, D. D. Author, E. E. Author, F. F. Author, G. G. Author, H. H. Author, I. I. Author, J. J. Author, K. K. Author, L. L. Author, M. M. Author, N. N. Author, O. O. Author, P. P. Author, Q. Q. Author, R. R. Author, S. S., . . . Author, Z. Z.

NOTE: List the first 19 authors, then … the last author.

Example: Journal article with DOI (Digital Object Identifier)

Stultz, J. (2006). Integrating exposure therapy and analytic therapy in trauma treatment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76, 482-488. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.76.4.482

NOTE: All URLs, including for DOIs, must by hyperlinked in your References. DOIs must follow the standard format shown above (https://doi.org/…).

Example: Magazine article, one author

Bowers, C. (2005, July). Address thoughts and actions of teens with addicted parents. Addiction Professional, 3(4), 42-43.

A newspaper article

Example: Newspaper article, one author

Carey, B. (2006, March 21). Revisiting schizophrenia: Are drugs always needed? New York Times, F1.

Example: Newspaper article, no author named

Setback for equality: Voters in three states approve bans on same-sex marriage. (2008, November 9). The Washington Post, B6.

NOTE: The date includes the month and day of the issue, but the order is inverted (Year, Month Day). Also, the in-text citation for this source would include a shortened form of the title and date: (Setback, 2008). Page numbers are preceded by either p. for a single page or pp. for multiple pages.

A book or part of a book

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.

NOTE: Do not include city and state of publication. Cite e-books and articles from books found in a subscription database the same as you would a print book. If a DOI is provided, include the DOI in the standard format (https://doi.org/…).

Example: A book with a single author

Nydegger, R.V. (2008). Understanding and treating depression: Ways to find hope and help. Praeger.

Example: Part of a book or an essay from an edited collection or reference book

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. of chapter). Publisher.

NOTE: Only specify page numbers when you are referring to parts of books: (pp. 1-21).

Example: Essay in an edited collection

O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: Metaphor for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). Springer.

Example: Article from a reference book

Weinstein, R. M. (2001). Deinstitutionalization movement. In C. D. Bryant (Ed.) Encyclopedia of criminology and deviant behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 171-174). Brunner-Routledge.

Example: Dictionary entry

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Culture. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved September 9, 2019 from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture.

NOTE: Because entries in on-line dictionaries are updated over time, include a retrieval date and URL.

Basic Forms for Internet Documents and Audiovisual Media

Webpage or Internet Document (see APA publications for more information)

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Website name. http://web-address

NOTE: Do not use a period at the end of the URL. Provide a URL that links directly to the section, not the home page of the website, and is a live hyperlink. Do not include the "retrieved from" statement.

Example: Webpages with complete information

Phelps, J. (2007, November). Weight gain and bipolar disorder treatment. Psych Education. http://www.psycheducation.org/hormones/Insulin/weightgain.htm

Example: Webpages with organization as author

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, October 11). Zombie preparedness. https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/zombie/index.htm

NOTE: Omit website name when it is the same as the author.

Web pages with no author or date listed

Title of document. (n.d.). Retrieved month, day, year, from http://web-address

NOTE: When the author is not listed, begin the entry with the title. When the publication or update date is unavailable, use (n.d.) for no date and use the date of retrieval in the citation.

Fact sheet: Sexual abuse of boys. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://member.preventchildabuse.org/site/DocServer/sexual_abuse_of_boys.pdf?docID=127

Government documents or reports

National Cancer Institute. (2019). Taking time: Support for people with cancer (NIH Publication No. 18-2059). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/takingtime.pdf

Webpages designed to change over time (such as Google maps)

Google. (n.d.). [Google Maps directions for driving from La Paz, Bolivia, to Lima, Peru]. Retrieved October 19, 2019, from https://goo.gl/YYE3GR

NOTE: Include retrieval date if the work is designed to change over time. To help identify works other than books, articles, reports, etc., provide a description of the work in square brackets [] after the title and before the period. Capitalize the first letter of the description, but do not italicize.

YouTube video

Harvard University. (2019, August 28). Soft robotic gripper for jellyfish [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRoWTYfxMs

Instagram or Twitter post (Tweet)

Lego Academics [@LegoAcademic]. (2016, May 6). Editor's clarification: Please convert all in-line citations we told you to convert to endnotes back to in-line. [Image attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://www.twitter.com/LegoAcademics/status/728566802968662017

Reformatted and modified with permission from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.