APA Referencing Guidelines for Students

Referencing is a way of acknowledging that you have used ideas and written material belonging to another author. It applies to what you have read, watched, or listened to including electronic sources, like websites. There are several different ways of referencing. The Psychology Department uses the APA (American Psychological Association) referencing system. Why do it? Accurate referencing demonstrates that you have undertaken appropriate reading and have an appreciation of the links between theory and practice. Proper and consistent referencing is an important aspect of achieving academic standards in your work and you will lose marks for lack of (or poor) referencing. So it is important to make a full note all the sources you use when you are doing the research for your assignment. Quotes notes cards are available for download on your BREO units to help you record and manage your quotes and references, and you can also use the RefWorks referencing system to organise and store your citations (more information on the Learning Resources website). Failure to acknowledge another writers work or ideas will be considered plagiarism (literary theft). To paraphrase without referencing the original source is an academic offence and you may be penalised for it; the penalties can be serious, and include removal from your course. Full Academic discipline policy and procedures can be accessed here: http://documents.beds.ac.uk/dl/uob/handle/6488119637278433099/Academic-DiscilineNov=2010.PDF Where do you put this information? References should be included in all kinds of assignments essays, portfolios, posters, presentations and dissertations. Each reference should appear in two places: 1. in the body of the text Whenever you refer to someone elses work, either directly or indirectly, indicate whose work it is. This applies equally to either quotations or paraphrases in your own words. 2. in the reference list A reference list including the full details for all the references (discussed, quoted or paraphrased) should be provided. Do not create separate lists according to source type. However, each type of resource has its own specific layout, as illustrated in the following pages. The basic principle is that you should cite enough information for the reader to be able to locate the source in the future.

1 Books in general Always use the title page and the information on the back of it, rather than the books cover, to find these details. Ignore any reprint dates; you need the date when the first, second, third edition, etc. of the book was published, according to which edition of the book you are using. Note that Book format also applies to similar items such as booklets, as well as reports that are not part of a series. Books with one author i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Example: 1. in the body of the text In her latest work, Miller (2011, p. 27) says that..... or There are many psychological theories of development (Miller, 2011, p. 27). 2. in the reference list Miller, P. (2011). Theories of developmental psychology. New York: Worth Publishers. Books with more than one author Include up to six authors; if there are more than this you should use the name of the first author and then et al., not italicised, and followed by a full stop (because al. is an abbreviation). Use a comma after the penultimate (next to last) authors initials, before the ampersand (&). i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Author, Initials., Author 2, Initials., & Author 3, Initials. (year). Title of book (Edition if later than first e.g. 3rd ed.). Place of publication: Publisher. Authors surname, followed by initial(s), followed by a full stop. (Year of publication) in round brackets, followed by a full stop. Book title (in italics, in sentence case: Subtitle separated by colon) Edition of book, in round brackets (if not the first edition), with edition abbreviated to ed. Place of publication, followed by colon: Publisher, followed by full stop.

Example: 1. in the body of the text (note that and should be used rather than an ampersand if the authors appear outside the round brackets. Note the comma after the penultimate authors name.) Martin, Carlson and Buskist (2010, p. 5) suggest that psychology is more closely related to biology than to sociology. or The discipline is closer to its natural science cousins than its social science acquaintances (Martin, Carlson, & Buskist, 2010, p. 5). 2. in the reference list Martin, G.N., Carlson, N.R., & Buskist, W. (2010). Psychology (4th ed.). Harlow: Allyn & Bacon.

Books with a corporate author (e.g. the NHS) Remember that some resources have a corporate author, instead of a persons name. The layout is the same as for a book with a person as author. Example: 1. in the body of the text ... the ordering of the reference list (American Psychological Association, 2001, p. 219) is essentially alphabetical ... or According to the APA (2001, p. 219), the reference list should be essentially alphabetical.... 2. in the reference list American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: APA.

1.1 Edited books Complete book Some books consist of writings by a number of people, collected together and organised by one or more editors. It is unlikely that you would reference a complete edited book very often, as you are more likely to reference individual chapters within the book (see below). If you do use a complete edited book, the reference should follow this format:
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i. ii. iii. iv. v.

Editor, Initials (Ed.). (year). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher.

Example: 1. in the body of the text (this would be the same as for a book with a single or multiple authors (above); there is no need to include Ed.) 2. in the reference list Freiberg, K.L. (Ed.). (2010). Human development: 2010 update. London: McGrawHill. Chapter in an edited book Use this format for a chapter in an edited book, where the contents page lists chapters written by several different people. Treat multiple authors of a chapter in the same way as multiple authors of a book. i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. Author(s) of chapter, Initials. (year). Title of chapter. In Initials. Name of Editor/s (Ed.), Title of book (pp. start and end page numbers of chapter). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example: 1. in the text (this would be the same as for an unedited book with single or more than one author, above. There is no need to include the editor(s) or title of the book in which the chapter appears) 2. in the reference list Bentsen, D., & Bohn, A. (2009). Cultural life scripts and individual life stories. In P. Boyer, & J.V. Wertsch (Eds.), Memory in mind and culture (pp. 62-81). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. In all the above cases, if no author is identifiable, list by the first significant word of the title.
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1.2 Electronic books Referencing an electronic book, for example from DawsonEra or NetLibrary, is similar to referencing a print book, but you need to include the url to show where you accessed the item you can find it by clicking Permanent url for this record on the library catalogue record.
i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

Author, Initials. (year). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher. Retrieved from url of source.

Example: 1. in the text (this would be the same as for an unedited book with single or more than one author, above. You dont need to include any information about electronic books) 2. in the reference list Glassman, W.E. (2009). Approaches to psychology. London: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved from http://library.beds.ac.uk/record=b1456354~S11. 2 Journals Make sure you understand the pattern of the journal - does it have a volume number, does it have a part number (restarting at 1 in each volume) or a running issue number which increases through each succeeding volume? There are slightly different ways of referencing different types of journals. 2.1 Print journals i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. Author (s), Initials. (same as for a book) (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume number if there is one (Issue number), start and end page numbers of article.

Example: 1. in the text Ferrara (1991, p. 47) suggests that....

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or In the past, researchers (Ferrara, 1991, p. 47) have suggested that.... 2. in the reference list Ferrara, N. (1991). Art as a reflection of child development. American Journal of Art Therapy, 30 (2), 44-51. 2.2 Electronic editions of print journals i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. Author, Initials. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume number (issue number), start and end page numbers of article. doi:number of digital object identifier

In the Ebsco databases you can find the doi via the permalink button to the right of the article abstract in the database. Example: 1. in the text (this would be the same as for the print version you dont need to add any information about the electronic format) 2. in the reference list Leman, P.J., Macedo, A.P., Bluschke, A., Hudson, L., Rawling, C., & Wright, H. (2011). The influence of gender and ethnicity on children's peer collaborations. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 29 (1), 131-137. doi: 10.1348/026151010X526344 2.3 Internet journal If you are referencing a journal which is only available on the Internet, the layout is slightly different. Whenever possible the URL you give should link directly to the article itself. Use the complete publication date shown in the article. Note that page numbers may not be given, in which case you would need to use the paragraph number preceded by the abbreviation para. when citing.
i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

Author, Initials. (year, plus month and day if given). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume number (if there is one) (Issue number).
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vii. viii.

Retrieved month day, year, from Internet address.

Example: 1. in the text this would be the same as for the print version, except that you might put the paragraph number rather than the page number you dont need to add any information about the electronic format 2. in the reference list Brainard, D.A., & Moloney, L.T. (2011, May 2). Surface colour perception and equivalent illumination models. Journal of Vision, 11 (5). Retrieved May 4, 2011, from http://www.journalofvision.org/content/11/5/1.full. 3 Newspaper articles Print version If there is a named author (byline) begin the reference with the author. If there is no byline, put the title in the place of the author. Precede page numbers for newspaper articles with a p. or pp. If page numbers are discontinuous, give all page numbers and separate the numbers with a comma. i. ii. iii. iv. v. Author, Initials. (year, month day). Title of the article. Title of Newspaper, p. page number.

Example: 1. in the text Note that, where there is no author, the title of the article needs to be in quote marks. Excessive intake of caffeine ("High consumption of caffeine", 1991, p. B8) has been suggested in a newspaper report to ... Young (1996. p. 15), in an article, declares ... 2. in the reference list High consumption of caffeine linked to mental illness. (1991, July 13). New York Times, pp. B13, B15.
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Young, H. (1996, July 25). Battle of snakes and ladders. The Guardian, p. 15. Electronic version If you get your information from the online version of a newspaper, you need to include the internet address in the reference list as well. i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Author, Initials. (year, month day). Title of the article. Title of Newspaper, p. page number. Retrieved from Internet address High consumption of caffeine linked to mental illness. (2006, December 6). Times Colonist, p. B18. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/nexis Young, H. (1996, July 25). Battle of snakes and ladders. The Guardian, p. 15. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/nexis 4 Lectures & seminars

These are treated like books if they are published (i.e. as handouts or on BREO), but like personal communication if they are your own notes or unpublished. Lecture notes are considered published if they have been copied and distributed in print or on the web with the instructor's permission. It should be noted that your lecturers may not approve of the use of lecture materials in this way; they may well expect you to go and find out the information for yourself, from original sources. You should check before using this type of material for your assignments. 4.1 Listening to a speaker/lecturer Personal communication If you only listen to a lecture and the text isnt available via BREO etc., then you need to reference it as a personal communication. According to APA guidelines, verbal communications should not be included in the bibliography when the printed text is not available. Give the initials and surname of the communicator as well as the date of the communication. You would cite a personal communication in the text of your assignment, following this pattern: Les Ebdon stated (personal communication, 24 January 2007) that brevity and clarity are usually more impressive than long lists. If using a personal interview, always ask the permission of the interviewee before using such material as they may want their contribution to be anonymised. If the interviewee is a practitioner, include their occupation.

4.2 Lecture materials from BREO If the text of the lecture etc. is available as a print or electronic resource, for example on BREO or in a handout, then that is what should be referenced. Direct readers as closely as possible to the information being cited; whenever possible, reference specific documents rather than home or menu pages. i. ii. iii. iv. v. Author, Initials. (year). Title of the lecture or presentation. For Powerpoint slides, include [PowerPoint slides] Retrieved from Internet address

If your lecturer has not indicated where they got their information, and you want to use the original, go and ask for the source. Example: 1. in the text According to McMurray (2010) .... or Research indicates (McMurray, 2010) .... 2. in the reference list McMurray, I. (2010). Introduction to developmental psychology [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://breo.beds.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fweba pps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_127105_1 %26url%3d 5 Internet sites and materials

The format below can be used for most Internet resources. i. ii. iii. iv. Author, Initials. (year). Title. Retrieved from Internet address

If no date is shown on the document, use n.d. If the author is not given, begin your reference with the title of the document. If a document is part of a large site such as that for a university or government department, give the name of the parent organization and the relevant department before the web address.

If you cannot identify the originator or age of a webpage, however, you should consider whether the information is likely to be reliable and authoritative. There are guidelines on evaluating websites (and other materials) in the InfoSkills sections of core BREO units. Never write the web address (URL) in the text of your essay. Use the author of the web page if your reference has one; otherwise use the first few words of the web page title. Example: 1. in the text The APAs HOPE programme (Information for mental health care providers, 2008) offers guidance for mental health practitioners.... 2. in the reference list American Psychological Association. (2008). HIV Office on Psychology Education (HOPE). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/aids/hope.html Podcasts Reference as for an ordinary web page, but add [Audio podcast] immediately after the title. 6 Reports

The format for a report is very much like a book, with author, year, title, place of publication and publisher. However, if it comes from a recognised series, include the series title and number in round brackets after the title. Like books, some reports may have a corporate author. i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Example: Author, initials. (year). Title of the report (Series title number). Place of publication: Publisher.

1. in the text The prosecution of rape before 1990 (Harrris & Grace, 1999, p. 33) was affected by or Harris and Grace (1999, p. 33) state that the prosecution of rape.... 2. in the reference list Harris, J., & Grace, S. (1999). A question of evidence? Investigating and prosecuting rape in the 1990s (Home Office Research Study 196). London: Home Office.

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Electronic versions of reports If documents found on the internet are clearly facsimiles of books in print format they should be referenced as e-books. This covers many reports from the government and other public bodies. However, where a publication is not presented as a single document, but broken down into separate HTML pages or PDF files, it is better to treat these as web pages, and reference them individually. Example: As a webpage Harris, J., & Grace, S. (1999). A question of evidence? Investigating and prosecuting rape in the 1990s (Home Office Research Study 196). Retrieved from the UK Home Office website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/hors196.pdf As an e-book Harris, J., & Grace, S. (1999). A question of evidence? Investigating and prosecuting rape in the 1990s (Home Office Research Study 196) [Electronic version]. London: Home Office. Secondary referencing Please note that it is bad practice to habitually use secondary referencing. It is a useful technique but only for infrequent use. One acceptable application is when an author refers to another authors work and the primary source is not available (for example because the primary source is very old). Lecturers may also tolerate the use of secondary references to arguments/quotations that are not central to your essay or when the secondary reference is used only to reinforce the argument made from original work already discussed; you should check with them to be sure. However, remember that it is good practice to consult the original text whenever possible. Get into the habit of following up references to try to track down the original source. Multiple works by one author Frequently you may need to cite more than one work by the same author. When these are published in different years you can cite them in the usual way. To distinguish between works published in the same year, you should attach a lower-case letter of the alphabet to the publication date, starting with a. The letter used is determined by the alphabetical list of references at the end of the document, not the order in which the citations appear in your assignment. This example illustrates what to do. 1. in the text Official guidance on consent (Department of Health, 2001b), coupled with the policy aim of improving social care services (Department of Health, 2001a) led to changes 2. in the reference list Department of Health. (2001a). Improving older peoples services: inspection of social care services for older people. London: The Stationery Office.
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Department of Health. (2001b). Seeking consent: working with older people. London: The Stationery Office. How to find out more about referencing If you are confused about referencing for your assignment, talk to your lecturer, the PAD advisers or contact your librarian for help (http://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/contact/alls). Also, read the feedback you receive on the references you include in your initial assignments. Referencing software The referencing management software RefWorks is licensed to all University of Bedfordshire staff and students. Users of Refworks will need to create a personal account and download Write-N-Cite software. Access Refworks via the University of Bedfordshire library catalogue http://library.beds.ac.uk

Averil Robertson, Academic Liaison Librarian, Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, May 2011.
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