APA referencing

LEARNING SKILLS
Overview of this workshop

•  Why reference?
•  What do I need to reference?
•  In-text citations
•  Reference lists
•  Practice activity
•  Further resources and referencing
software
Some common terms
references books, journal or newspaper articles, web pages or any other source of
information used in writing an assessment
reference the system used to acknowledge the use of information (words or ideas)
style or from a source. common styles include APA Harvard and MLA.
citation style
citation a reference to a source: an acknowledgement that a source has been used
in text- within the paragraphs of a paper (compare with footnotes, or endnotes,
citation in some citation styles or referencing systems)
reference list a list of sources that have been referred to in a paper
bibliography can mean the same as reference list, but often means a list of both
sources referred to in a paper and sources read, but not cited, while
preparing a paper
paraphrase rephrasing the words or ideas of a reference (with acknowledgement) in a
way that the wording is significantly different from the original but the
meaning is the same
direct quote/ using the exact same words used in the original text, with quotation
quotation marks around them.

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Why reference?

•  To attribute ideas and words to the Ci#ng  experts  

person who created them – who  support  my  
posi#on  shows  
respecting intellectual property I’ve  read  widely  
and  understood  
•  To show your lecturer that you the  issue.    
have read and understood source
materials (NB: minimal research
will not earn you top marks in
most cases!)
•  To support your own point of view
and strengthen your argument
•  To provide a research pathway to
others

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What do I need to reference?

You need to reference:

•  Other people’s ideas, theories or
research
•  Other people’s exact words
(always use quotation marks)

You do not need to reference:

•  Commonly known facts, for
example:
China has the largest population in
the world. Image Peter O’Shea, April 8 2011. Reproduced under Creative Commons
License 2.2

•  Your own opinion

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Referencing principles

•  There are two elements in referencing: citations

Make  your  life  
and reference lists. easier!  Start  
•  Basic rules: your  reference  
list  early  in  the  
o  every author cited should also be listed wri#ng  &  
in your reference list planning  
o  every entry in your reference list should process    
be cited at least once in your paper.
o  The first element in your in-text citation
is the first element in the reference list
(e.g. author name)
•  In-text citation rules are easy to memorise, so
learning them will save you time.
•  Rules for reference lists are more detailed –
learn the basics, but keep a good guide handy.
Image copyright CollegeDegree360, 2012. Reproduced under Creative Commons License

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In-text citations in APA style
WHAT ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS IN EVERY CITATION?

Three elements
ü  author’s family name
ONLY (no initials)
o  If no author, use title
ü  date of publication
o  If no date, use n.d.
And often, but not always
ü  page number: use
whenever you have a direct
quote (the author’s words)
OR your lecturer requires
it (always check!)

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In-text citations in APA style
WHAT ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS IN EVERY CITATION?
Three elements
ü  author’s family name
ONLY (no initials)
o  If no author, use title
ü  date of publication
o  If no date, use n.d.
And often, but not always
ü  page number: use
whenever you have a direct
quote (the author’s words)
OR your lecturer requires
it (always check!)
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Paraphrase example
One study (Travers,
2009) identifies lack of
control as the factor that
best predicts the
occurrence of stress.
Direct quote example
Lack of control has been
found to be the “single
most important predictor
of stress” (Travers,
2009, p. 29).
Ways of citing
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE CITATIONS?

Smith (2002, p. 311) states that information

overload may cause “measurable increases in
stress”.
According to Smith (2002, p. 311) information
overload may cause “measurable increases in
stress”.
In 2002, Smith (p. 311) showed that information
overload may cause “measurable increases in
stress”.
Information overload is likely to cause actual stress
(Smith, 2002).
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In-text citations
INCLUDING TWO MORE MORE CITATIONS IN THE SAME BRACKETS
•  Two or more works by different authors
o  List alphabetically; separate with
semicolons
•  Two or more works by the same authors
o  List by year of publication; give the
authors' surnames once; for each
subsequent work, give only the
date.
•  Two or more works by the same author with
the same publication date
o  Add a, b, c, etc. after the year;
repeat the year. Do the same in the
reference list.
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Example:
Several studies (Andrade,
2006; Torres, 2010; Zhang,
1999) have suggested that…
Example:
Past research (Davis, 1990,
2006) reveals that…
Example:
Several recent articles
(Canagarajah, 2014a, 2014b)
have discussed the issue of…
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In-text citations
SOURCES WITH 3 OR MORE AUTHORS
•  The first time you cite a source
with two or more authors, you
mention all the authors.
•  The second time you cite the
same source, use the first author
+ et al.
•  If the source has six authors, use
et al. the first time you use it.
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Example:
Bradley, Soo and Wong
(2010) have suggested that…
One study (Bradley, Soo and
Wong, 2010) suggested that…
Example:
Bradley et al. (2010) also
found that…
Childhood obesity has been
linked to parental eating habits
(Bradley et al., 2010).
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In-text citations
SECONDARY SOURCES

•  Sometimes you read something within an For example…

article or book that cites another article/
book that you want to cite. You haven’t read
the second item.
In an article by Andrade (2006)
a useful point made by Trice
(2003) is cited. You want to
cite Trice’s point.

o  Mention both in your in-text Example in-text citation

citation Trice (2003, cited in Andrade,
2006) states that…

o  List only the article/book that you Example of reference list

actually read in your reference list Andrade,  M.  S.  (2006).  
Interna#onal  students  in  English-­‐
speaking  universi#es  Adjustment  
factors.  Journal  of  Research  in  
Interna2onal  Educa2on,  5(2),  
131-­‐154.  
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 In-text citations
CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK

Some books contain chapters written by different authors. This

is called an edited book. The editor(s) gather the chapters
together and decide what will be included. Example:
Civil Resistance & Power Politics

•  Cite the author of the Example in-text citation

chapter in your in-text Maxwell (2009) states that…
citation
Example of reference list
•  Cite the author of the Maxwell, K. (2009) Portugal: ‘The
Revolution of the Carnations’, 1974-75. In
chapter in your A. Roberts and T.G. Ash (Eds.). Civil
references, using the Resistance and Power Politics: The
special format for Experience of Non-violent Action from
edited books Gandhi to the Present. Oxford University
Press: New York. Retrieved 8 March
2015, from <
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Reference lists
FORMAT

Reference lists
•  are entitled References
•  should only contain references
you have cited in your paper
•  should start on a new page
To  alphabe#se  in  Word,  highlight  the  
•  are listed in alphabetical order text,  then  click  the  AZ  buOon  on  the  
•  are not numbered toolbar  

•  are in hanging indent format

To  format  your  text  with  a  hanging  
(second and subsequent lines are
indent,  highlight  the  text,  then  go  into  
indented) Paragraph,  and  under  Indent,  select  
Hanging.    
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Reference lists
TYPES OF SOURCES

The main types of sources that

might be included in a
reference list include:

•  books (printed or electronic)

•  chapter in an edited book
•  journal articles (printed or
electronic)
Image:  Tony  Delgrosso  25.10.11  Flickr  reproduced  under  CC  2.0  
•  newspapers Generic  license  

•  websites
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 Reference lists
DATA INCLUDED IN EVERY REFERENCE

The data included in every

Author(s) family name and initials
reference includes:
Year of publication
Davis,  M.,  &  Whalen,  P.  J.  (2001).  
The  amygdala:  Vigilance  and   Title of work
   emo#on.  Molecular  Psychiatry,  
6,13–34.  doi:10.1038/sj.mp.
4000812     Publication data

DOI = Digital object identifier. New field for all digitally available
sources, including e-books, journal articles. NB do not include a
full stop at the end of the item. If no DOI, use the url.
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 Reference lists example

Anderson,  A.  K.,  Christoff,  K.,  Panitz,  D.,  De  Rosa,  E.,  &  Gabrieli,  J.  D.  E.  (2003).  Neural  
correlates  of  the  automa#c  processing  of  threat  facial  signals.  Journal  of  
Neuroscience,  23,  5627-­‐5633.    
Chow,  T.  W.,  &  Cummings,  J.  L.  (2000).  The  amygdala  and  Alzheimer’s  disease.  In  J.  P.  
Aggleton  (Ed.),  The  amygdala:  A  func2onal  analysis  (pp.  656–680).  Oxford,  England:  
Oxford  University  Press.    
Davis,  M.,  &  Whalen,  P.  J.  (2001).  The  amygdala:  Vigilance  and  emo#on.  Molecular  
Psychiatry,  6,  14,  13–34.  doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4000812    
Emo#on  Cogni#on  Lab,  University  of  Southern  California.  (n.d.).  Emo2onal  Memory  and  
Aging:  The  Role  of  Cogni2ve  Control.  Retrieved  from  hOp://www.usc.edu/projects/
matherlab/s/emomem.html  
 Shipley,  W.  C.  (1986).  Shipley  Ins2tute  of  Living  Scale.  Los  Angeles,  CA:  Western  
Psychological  Services.  
Wechsler,  D.  (1997).  Technical  manual  for  the  Wechsler  Adult  Intelligence  and  Memory  
Scale–III.  New  York,  NY:  Psychological  Corpora#on.    
   
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Practice activity
BOOK

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Practice activity
JOURNAL ARTICLE

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Practice activity
WEB PAGE

hOp://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-­‐tutorial.aspx  

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Answers

Swales J.M & Feak, C.B. (2004). Academic Writing for

Graduate Students (2nd ed.). Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press.

Vargas, V. (2003). Feminism, globalization and the global

justice and solidarity movement. Cultural Studies, 17(6),
905-920. doi:10.1080/0950238032000150093

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Style.

Retrieved from http://www.apastyle.org/learn/
tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx

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Should I use referencing
software?

Advantages
•  convenient way to store all your references – and often the digital
sources as well
•  uses the style you specify so your papers have correct citation and
reference lists
•  if you delete a citation your reference list is automatically updated
•  MQ has a licence for two packages: Endnote and RefWorks, and
Libguides to teach you how to use them
Disadvantages
•  It may not be worth the time spent in learning the systems if you
only need to refer to a few references in your paper.
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Further information and guides

Link to Macquarie Library Referencing site: Referencing and style guides

Referencing Macquarie University http://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/library/research/referencing/

EndNote LibGuide Macquarie University http://libguides.mq.edu.au/content.php?pid=114111&sid=1012047

Interactive referencing guides Queensland University of Technology http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/cite/

APA interactive referencing guide Massey University http://owll.massey.ac.nz/referencing/apa-interactive.php

Harvard interactive referencing guide University of Technology, Sydney

http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/attachments/page/UTS_Interactive%20Harvard%20Guide.pdf

Referencing Curtin University http://libguides.library.curtin.edu.au/referencing

Referencing style guides University of Queensland http://www.library.uq.edu.au/infoskil/referencing_styles.html

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Thank you!