The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association provides detailed guidelines for using APA style. The current edition (7th edition) of the APA Publication Manual, published in November of 2019 is kept at the Reference Desk.
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (7th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Copies are available for use at the library circulation desk.
APA Style uses parenthetical, author-date citations. After a quote, add parentheses containing the author's name, the year of publication, and the page number of the work.
Example: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (Seuss, 2007, pp. 7-8).
If you use more than one work by the same author, use the letters a, b, etc., after the year.
Example: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (Seuss, 2007a, pp. 7-8).
If more than one author has the same last name, add their first initial.
Example: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (D. Seuss, 2007, pp. 7-8).
If two or more authors wrote the work, see the chart below.
If using the author's name in your text, do not include it in the parentheses.
Example: In his scholarly study, Dr. Seuss observed that "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (2007, pp. 7-8).
Example: In 2007, Dr. Seuss suggested that "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (pp. 7-8).
If no author name is available, use the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title). Use quotation marks around titles of articles or web pages and italicize titles of books, periodicals, etc.
Example: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (Fox in Socks, 2007).
If no pagination information is available, use paragraph numbers instead.
Example: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (Seuss, 2007, para. 5).
Note: When paraphrasing or mentioning another work, it is helpful to still provide pagination information if the source text is long or difficult, or if it would help the reader find the text being paraphrased.
| Type of Citation | First Citation in Text | Subsequent Citations in Text | Parenthetical Format, First Citation in Text | Parenthetical Format, Subsequent Citations in Text |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One work by one author | Walker (2007) | Walker (2007) | (Walker, 2007) | (Walker, 2007) |
| One work by two authors | Walker and Allen (2004) | Walker and Allen (2004) | (Walker & Allen, 2004) | (Walker & Allen, 2004) |
| One work by three to five authors | Bradley, Ramirez, and Soo (1999) | Bradley et al. (1999) | (Bradley, Ramirez, & Soo, 1999) | (Bradley et al., 1999) |
| One work by six or more authors | Wasserstein et al. (2005) | Wasserstein et al. (2005) | (Wasserstein et al., 2005) | (Wasserstein et al., 2005) |
| Groups as authors (readily identified through abbreviation) | National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2003) | NIMH (2003) | (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2003) | (NIMH, 2003) |
| Groups as authors (no abbreviation) | University of Pittsburgh (2005) | University of Pittsburgh (2005) | (University of Pittsburgh, 2005) | (University of Pittsburgh, 2005) |
| Unknown Author (Cite the source by title in the signal phrase or use the first two words in parentheses) | "Ghost Ship found after forty-five years." (2024) | ("Ghost Ship," 2024) | ("Ghost Ship," 2024) | ("Ghost Ship," 2024)) |
Source: American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, D.C.: Author.
| Book: General |
AuthorLastname, F. N. (Year). Book title. Location: Publisher. |
|
Entire Book: Print Version |
Gutman, R. W. (1999). Mozart: A cultural biography. New York: Harcourt Brace. |
| Entire Book: Electronic Version |
Gutman, R. W. (1999). Mozart: A cultural biography. Retrieved from http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/dxeprint/index.asp Gutman, R. W. (1999). Mozart: A cultural biography [Adobe Digital Editions version]. doi:10.1036/0034586772 |
|
Entire Book: |
Hock, R., & Price, G. (2004). The extreme searcher’s Internet handbook: A guide for the serious searcher. Medford: CyberAge Books. |
|
Entry in Online Reference Work |
Graham, G. (2005). Behaviorism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Fall 2007 ed.). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/behaviorism |
| Entry in Online Reference Work (No Author) |
Trebuchet. (2009). In Merriam-Webster online dictionary (11th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.merriam -webster.com/dictionary/trebuchet |
|
Book: |
Begin citation with title. For example: NAICS Desk Reference: The North American industry classification system desk reference. (2000). Indianapolis: JIST Works. |
| Book: Multivolume |
When citing a multivolume work: Wright, Sewell. (1968-1978). Evolution and the Genetics of Populations. (Vols. 1-4). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. When citing only one volume: Wright, Sewell. (1969). Theory of Gene Frequencies: Vol. 2. Evolution and the Genetics of Populations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. |
| Chapter in a Book |
Willson, Jr., R. F. (2005). William Shakespeare's theater. In J. Rosenblum (Ed.), The Greenwood companion to Shakespeare: A comprehensive guide for students (pp. 47-64). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. |
| Journal: General |
AuthorLastname, F. I. (Date). Article title. Journal Title, Vol, pages. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxx (Note: Include the digital object identifier (DOI) if one is assigned. If you retrieved the article online and no DOI is available, include the journal's home page URL.) |
|
Journal Article with DOI |
Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225 |
| Journal Article without DOI |
Graham, S. (2006). Impossible to hold: Women and culture in the 1960s. Journal of American Studies, 40, 156-159. Sillick, T. J., & Schutte, N. S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem mediate between perceived early parental love and adult happiness. E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38-48. Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap |
|
Journal with Non-Continuous Pagination (each issue begins on page 1) |
Simmons, C., & Becker-Olsen, K. (2006). Achieving marketing objectives through social sponsorships. Journal of Marketing, 70(4), 154-169. |
|
Magazine Article |
Reed, S. (2006, August 21). Seeing past the war. Business Week, 16(4), 35-36. |
| Online Magazine Article |
Clay, R. (2008, June). Science vs. ideology: Psychologists fight back about the misuse of research. Monitor on Psychology, 39(6). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/ |
|
Newspaper Article |
Seward, Z. (2006, December 14). Colleges expand early admissions. Wall Street Journal (Eastern ed.), pp. D1-D2. |
| Online Newspaper Article |
Brody, J. E. (2007, December 11). Mental reserves keep brain agile. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com |
| Entire Albums |
The Beatles. (1967). Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band [Record]. United States: Capitol Records. |
|
Individual Songs |
Glover, Frank. (2009). One way ticket. On Politico [CD]. n.l.: Owl Studios. |
| Rerecording by Artist other than Writer |
Goodenough, J. B. (1982). Tails and trotters [Recorded by G. Bok, A. Mayo, & E. Trickett]. On And so will we yet [CD]. Sharon, CT: Folk-Legacy Records. (1990) |
|
Spoken Word Recording |
Darling, S. (Speaker). (1988). To kill a mockingbird (Cassette). United States: Recorded Books. |
|
Musical Score |
Beethoven, Ludwig van. (1932). Symphony no. 7 in A Major, Op. 92. Boston: Oliver Ditson. |
| Podcast |
Van Nuys, D. (Producer). (2007, December 19). Shrink rap radio [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.shrinkrapradio.com/ |
| Motion Picture | Spielberg, S. (Director). (1982). E.T. the extra-terrestrial [Motion picture]. United States: Universal Pictures. |
| Video |
Ryan, K. O., & Schrank, L. (Writers). (2008). Body language I: Beyond words [DVD]. Available from http://www.learningseed.com/ |
| Single Episode from Television Series |
David, L., & Seinfeld, J. (Writers). (1995). The soup nazi [Television series episode]. In Seinfeld. New York: NBC. |
| Graphic Data (e.g. Interactive Maps, Infographics, and Other Graphic Representations of Data) |
Organization Name or Last Name, First Name. (Year). Title of graphic. Website name. Link Note: If you use an image, table, or figure (or some data in a table or figure) from another source, then you must acknowledge your source in a note below the table or figure. |
| Map Retrieved Online |
Lewis County Geographic Information Systems (Cartographer). (2002). Population density, 2000 U.S. Census [Demographic map]. Retrieved from http://www.co.lewis.wa.us/publicworks/maps/Demographics/census-pop-dens_2000.pdf |
|
Entire website |
It is sufficient to give the website address in the text (in parentheses). |
| Online Posting: General |
Lastname, F. I. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [Description of form]. Retrieved from http://www.xxxx (Note: If only author's screen name is available, use that for the author's name.) |
| Facebook Post |
Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group. (Year, Month Date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Type of post]. Site Name. URL (Note: If the Facebook post includes images, videos, or links to other sources, indicate that information in brackets after the content description. Also attempt to replicate emojis if possible.) |
| Facebook Page |
Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group. (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Site name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL |
| Instagram Photo or Video |
Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (Year, Month Date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Type of post]. Site Name. URL |
| Tweet |
Last Name, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (Year, Month Date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words[Tweet]. Site Name. URL (Note: If the tweet includes images, videos, or links to other sources, indicate that information in brackets after the content description. Also attempt to replicate emojis if possible.) |
| Twitter Profile |
Last Name, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL. |
|
Message Posted to Newsgroup, Discussion Group, Online Forum, etc. |
Rampersad, T. (2005, June 8). Traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions [Online forum comment]. Retreived from http://www.wipo.int/roller/comments/ipisforum/Weblog/theme_eight_how_can_cultural#comments |
| Message Posted to Electronic Mailing List |
Smith, S. (2006, January 5). Re: Disputed estimates of IQ [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ForensicNetwork/message/670 (Note: "Listserv" is a trademarked name for a specific software program, so use "electronic mailing list" instead.) |
|
Blog Post |
MiddleKid. (2007, January 22). Re: The unfortunate prerequisites and consequences of partitioning your mind [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/01/the_unfortunate_prerequisites.php (Note: "MiddleKid" is a screen name, which the author used when posting to this blog.) |
| Podcast Episode |
Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Date). Title of episode (No. if provided) [Audio podcast episode]. In Name of podcast. Publisher. URL |
| Ted Talk |
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of talk [Video]. TED. URL Username. (Year, Month Date). Title of talk [Video]. YouTube. URL (Note: If the video is from YouTube.) |
| YouTube or other Streaming Video |
Last Name, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Date). Title of video [Video]. Streaming Service. URL (Note: The person or group who uploaded the video is considered the author. If the author’s name is the same as the username, you can omit the [Username].) |
| Programming Code |
Last Name, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Date). Title of program/source code (Code version) [Type]. URL (Note: type examples include [computer program] or [source code]) |