APA Citation Guide
All information on this page can be found in print
at the Kresge Library Reference Desk:
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001).
(BF 76.7.P83 2001)
APA Style guide to electronic references (update). (2007).
(BF 76.7.P84 2007)
Most commonly cited:
Jump to:
For more information on citing electronic resources in APA style check out:
http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
Citing Books:
Book: no author or editor (p.249)
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC. : American Psychological Association.
Book: one author (p. 248)
Friedman, T.H. (2005). The world is flat. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Book: two or more authors (p. 248)
Neubauer, P.B. & Neubauer, A. (1990). Nature’s thumbprint : the new genetics of personality. Reading, MA : Addison-Wesley.
(For books with more than 6 authors, see page p. 240, example 4)
Edited Book (p. 249)
Gates, H.L., & Higginbotham, E.B. (Eds.). (2004). African American Lives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Article or chapter in an edited book (p. 252)
Lessin, B. (2001). Merging science/technology libraries: a valuable planning option. In M.C. Schlembach (Ed.), Information practice in science and technology (pp. 3-16). Binghamton, NY: Haworth.
For more on chapters in books, volumes, and translations see p. 252-255 in the APA manual.
Book review (p. 265)
Collins, J. W. (2006). Betsy O. Barefoot, et al. [Review of the book Achieving institutional excellence for the first year of college]. College & Research Libraries, 67, 88.
Encyclopedia or Dictionary (p. 250)
Borgatta, E.F., & Montgomery, R.J. (2000). Encyclopedia of sociology (2nd ed., Vols 1-5). New York : Macmillian.
The APA manual notes: “For major reference works with a large editorial board, you may list the name of the lead editor, followed by et al.” (p. 250)
Encyclopedia entry (p.254)
Leiter, S.L. (1998). Merman, Ethel. In The Scribner encyclopedia of American lives (Vol. 1, pp. 560-562). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Dissertations found in Dissertation Abstracts International (p.260)
Frischknecht, J.L. (2006). Peer influences on the behavior of adolescent females in residential treatment. Dissertation Abstracts International, 66, 12B.
Lesser-used citations such as non-English books, technical and research reports, government documents, audio-visual materials, and meeting proceedings can be found in the APA manual.
Citing Journal Articles and Newspapers
(Periodicals p. 239-247):
NOTE: According to the 2007 APA update, "for journal articles, always include the journal issue number
(if available) along with the volume number, regardless of whether the journal is paginated separately or continuously by volume. This change . . . is intended to make the format for journal article references more consistent" (2).
Journal Article from the print: one author (p. 240)
Palmaffy, T. (1997). See Dick flunk. Policy Review, 86, 32-40.
Journal Article: two authors (p. 240)
Maynard, M.L., & Scala, M. (2006). Unpaid advertising: A case of Wilson the volleyball in Cast Away.The Journal of Popular Culture, 39(4), 622-625.
Citation of a work discussed in a secondary source (unless you retrieve the actual article cited in the article you have in hand, you must cite in this way) (p.247)
In the text of you paper cite:
Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (as cited in Dalrymple, 2002)
In your reference list cite:
Dalrymple, C. (2002). Perceptions and practices of learning styles in library instruction. College & Research Libraries, 63(3), 261-273.
Journal article in press: (p. 241)
Kraemer, E.W. (in press). Keeping up with the journals: A library journal club at Oakland University. The Journal of Academic Librarianship.
Internet-based journal article, based on a print source (p. 271)
Buhs, E., Ladd, G.W., & Herlad, S.L. (2006). Peer exclusion and victimization: processes that mediate the relation between peer group rejection and children’s classroom engagement and achievement [Electronic version]. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 1-13.
According to the APA 5th edition, the above applies to “articles that are exact duplicates of those in their print versions and are unlikely to have additional analyses and data attached. If you reference an article that may have changed from the print version, such as being in different format (not pdf), without page numbers, or including additional data, you must follow the following format” (p. 271-272):
Rangell, L. (2006). An analysis of the course of psychoanalysis: The case for a unitary theory. Psychoanalytic Psychology,
23(2), 217-238. Retrieved September 19, 2006, from http://content.apa.org/journals/pap/23/2/
NOTE: The 2007APA update changes internet-only journal articles references: "When a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is available, include the DOI instead of the URL in the reference."
For more on citing internet-only journals, newsletters, and more please see p. 272-275 in the APA manual and the 2007 APA Style Guide to Electronic References.
Journal Article: from a database (ex. Lexis-Nexis, InfoTrac OneFile, Wilson OmniFile) (p. 278-279)
NOTE: The APA 2007 update states: "With the exception of hard-to-find books and other documents of limited circulation delivered by electronic databases, the database name is no longer a necessary element of the reference. This change is made in the interest of simplifying reference format. If you do include the database name in a reference, do not include the database URL" (3).
Alridge, D.P. (2005). From civil rights to Hip Hop: toward a nexus of ideas. The Journal of African American History,
90(3), 226-254. Retrieved September 19, 2006, from InfoTrac OneFile database.
Daily newspaper article: print version, discontinuous pages (p. 243)
Bodipo-Memba, A. (2006, September 19). Gas at $2: maybe soon. Detroit Free Press, pp. 1A, 8A.
Daily newspaper article: electronic version from a database (ex. Lexis-Nexis) or searchable on-line (ex. http://www.nytimes.com) (p.279)
Schneider, K. (2006, September 12). The Xbox generation visits the museum. The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2006, from Lexis-Nexis database.
Daily Newspaper Article: no author (p. 242)
Where the books are. (2006, August 22). The New
York Times, p.
A18.
Cite as above plus Retrieved (date), from (database) for
electronic version.
How to cite Eric Documents from the UIUC Library.
More information on Internet sources (p. 268-281) or check the APA online guide here: http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
For the most up-to-date citation format for internet sources such as blog entries, wikis, online handbooks, data sets, podcasts, online magazines, and electronic mailing lists, please refer to the APA Style guide to electronic references (update). (2007). (BF 76.7.P84 2007) - available at the reference desk.