“APA” Format of referencing and Citation of a research document

APA format is the style that mostly used for writing in the sciences and social sciences. Learn
how to write and document sources in APA style. APA format is required for any writing in
psychology as well as other related disciplines.

Basic Structure:

The basic structure of a book reference should list the author's last name, first initials, publication
year, book title, location and publisher. Your reference should appear as follows:

Author, I. N. (Year). Title of book. Location: Publisher.

For example: Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Edited Book with One or More Authors:

Edited books with one or more authors should follow the basic structure of a book reference and
include the initials, last name, and 'Ed.' in parentheses after the book title.

For example: Adler, A. (1956). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler: A systematic
presentation of selections from his writings. (H. L. Ansbacher & R. R. Ansbacher, Eds.). New
York: Basic Books.

Edited Book with No Author:

Edited books with no author should list the last name and first initials of the editor or editors,
followed by 'Ed.' or 'Eds.' in parentheses. The remainder of the reference should follow the basic
structure and include the publication year, book title in italics, location, and publisher.

For example: Atkinson, J. W. & Raynor, J. O. (Eds.). (1974). Motivation and achievement.
Washington, DC: V. H. Winston.
Article Featured in an Edited Book:

Articles by individual authors that appear in edited books should list the last name and first initial
of the author, followed by the publication date and book title. Next, the editors should be noted
followed by the location and publisher.

For example:
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2005) History of Forensic Psychology. In I. B. Weiner & A. K.
Hess (Eds.), The Handbook of Forensic Psychology (pp.1-27). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Translated Books:

Books translated from another language should include the last name and first initial of the
author, followed by the year of publication and book title. The first initials and last name of the
translator and the notation 'Trans.' should then be included in parentheses. Next provide
the location, publisher and a note of the original date of publication.

For example:
Freud, S. (1914). The psychopathology of everyday life. (A. A. Brill, Trans.). London: T. Fisher
Unwin. (Original work published 1901).

Citation of a research document:

Overview

APA Style requires that you document all your resources throughout your writing by citing both
the author and year of the original source. This allows your reader to identify the information
source in your alphabetical reference list at the end of your paper. Your in-text citations should
always match your reference list.

Basic Forms

Summary/Paraphrase
If you are summarizing or paraphrasing another person's work, you must include a citation in
your paper and an entry in your reference list.

Example #1: According to Smith (2004), returning students do not take advantage of their
library's services (p. 234).

Example #2: Returning students fail to use their college library's services (Smith, 2004, p.234).

Short Quotation

A direct quotation, shorter than 40 words, should include the author in the signal phrase, with the
year of publication in parentheses directly following. After the quotation, include the page
number (preceded by a "p.") in parentheses.
Example: In her 2004 study, Smith noted, "many students, returning to college after a lengthy
absence, do not utilize all the services their academic library has to offer" (p.234).

Long Quotation

When your quotation is longer than 40 words, there are a few extra steps. Separate your quote
into a free standing block, indented five spaces from the rest of your writing. Keep your spacing,
font and text size the same as the rest of your writing.
Example: In a subsequent paragraph, Smith (2004) acknowledges this problem:

Many students, returning to college after a lengthy absence, do not utilize all the services their
academic library has to offer. This study shows that library outreach to this student population is
critical for the academic library's continued success (p.234).

Author Variations

Two-Authors
When there are two authors, you should always include both authors' last names when making
your in-text citation.

Example #1 (with signal phrase) : Smith and Johnson (2005, p.4) emphasized one definition of
a library by referring to it as the sacred space of the university
Example #2 (without signal phrase) : Some authors have explored the idea of the library as the
sacred space of the university (Smith and Johnson, 2005, p. 4).

Three-Five-Authors
Identify all the authors of the work in the signal phrase or parentheses for the first citation. In
subsequent citations, simply list the first author's name followed by the phrase "et.al." in the
signal phrase or parentheses.
Example #1 (first instance) : In a 2003 study, Marks, Goff, and Garcia concluded, "Library
marketing is one of the most important activities in which librarians should engage" (p.4).

Example #2 (subsequent instances) : Marks, et. al. (2003) emphasized this importance stating
"Relationships with the university community outside of the library is one of the key aspects of a
library's marketing strategy" (p.7).

Six-or-more-Authors
If there are six or more authors, simply use the name the of the first author followed by the
phrase "et. al."

Example #1 (with signal phrase) : In their 2002 study Poitras, et. al. surveyed over 200 students
finding the majority of them never used the library in their undergraduate studies (p. 342).

Example #2 (without signal phrase) : One study concluded that a majority of students never
used the library during their undergraduate studies (Poitras, et. al., 2002, p.342).

Unknown Author

If the author is unknown, use the title of the work in the signal phrase or give the first word or
two of the title in the parenthetical citation. Remember to italicize the titles of books and use
quotations around article/chapter titles.

Example #1 (with signal phrase) : One 2003 guide, "Using the GGU Library" stated that
students had access to over 40 different databases.
Example #2 (without signal phrase) : "GGU students have access to over 40 different
databases" ("Using the GGU Library," 2003).

Organization-as-author
If the author is an organization or government agency, use the name of the organization in your
signal phrase or parenthetical citation. If the organization has a familiar abbreviation, you can
name it in brackets the first time you make a citation and use it in all subsequent citations.
Example #1 (with signal phrase) : According to the American Library Association (2004),
"Library use increased 12% from 2000-2003.

Example #2 (without signal phrase) : Some studies have shown that library use increased from
2000 - 2003 (American Library Association , 2004).

Example #3 (using an abbreviation) : In their study, the ALA (2004) concluded that funding
must be increased for all types of libraries.

Authors with the same last name

If your reference list includes authors with the same last name, use their initials to differentiate
between the two.

Example: J. Smith (2005) argued that libraries are the cornerstone of a democracy.

Two or more works in the same parentheses

If your citation refers to two or more works, list the authors in your parenthetical citation
according to their order in the reference list, separated by semi-colons.
Example: Research has shown that students who frequent the library, perform better on tests and
written work (Goff et. al., 2004; Smith, 2003).
Personal Communications (email, etc...

Do not include personal communications in your reference list. Rather, cite memos, letters, e-
mails, interviews (unpublished) in your in-text citations, labeling the type of communication and
the exact date on which it occurred.
Example: Johnson (Personal Interview, November 23, 2002) indicated that her study of student
behavior verified the importance of library use to college success.

Indirect Source

When you use a source that was cited by another source, name the original source in your signal
phrase and cite the secondary source in your reference list (only the source that you have seen or
read should be included in your reference list). In your parenthetical citation, list the secondary
source preceded by the phrase "as cited in." In the example, Jones is the original source and Goff
is the secondary source.The article by Goff appears in the reference list.
Example: Jones concluded that librarians are one of the more trusted professions in the United
States (as cited in Goff, 2004, p.4).

Electronic Documents / Articles from a database

If possible, cite electronic documents just as you would cite non-electronic documents. However,
electronic documents may have some unique features. Below are some of the more typical
issues.
Unknown-Author
If no author is listed, use the title of the document in the signal phrase or parenthetical citation.
Example #1 : The Librarian's Index to the Internet has been deemed a reliable source to find
information ("Reliable Sources," 2004).

Unknown-Date
If there is no date listed or the date is simply unknown, use the abbreviation "n.d." to indicate no
date.
Example: Successfully conducting research is as much an art form as it is a process (Marzluft,
n.d.).
Unknown-Page-Numbers
Although APA requires page numbers for direct quotations and recommends them for
paraphrases, many electronic sources lack actual page numbers. If this is the case, try to include
information that will help point the reader to locate the particular place where your citation
exists.
Some electronic documents have numbered paragraphs. If this is the case, use the paragraph
number in place of page numbers by using the abbreviation "para." If there are no paragraph
numbers, use section headings and count the paragraph to which you are referring.

Example #1 (Signal Phrase with paragraph numbers)

On his website, Jones (2005) stated "good research is the foundation of good writing" (para. 4).

Example #2 (Signal phrase with no page or paragraph numbers)

Johnson's research showed that many businesses turn to the public libraries for help in obtaining
professional articles (Public Libraries Section, para. 9).