WHAT IS APA?

What is APA?

APA (American
Psychological
Association) style is
most commonly used to
cite sources within the
social sciences.
This resource, revised according
to the 6th edition, second printing
of the APA manual, offers
examples for the general format
of APA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and
the reference page.
APA Reference Style
(BOOKS)
APA Reference Style
(Internet Documents)
APA Reference Style
(Unpublished Sources)
A book is a work that is
published once, not as
part of a regular series.
Books can be revised
and republished:
each revision is considered a
new edition of the same book.
A book, as we are defining it
here, is distinguished from an
edited book in that the entire
text of the work is written by
the same author , group of
authors, or institution.
Some books provide an
overview of a specific topic,
and are valuable in this
respect. Other books contain
an extended discussion of a
very specific subtopic, going to
a level of detail which would
be impossible in a shorter
Very often, a book of this type
will be intended as a definitive
work. Unfortunately , however
, books go out of date-the
process of book publishing is
long and theories change
quickly .
Libraries usually hold onto
books long after the theories
they contain are proven
invalid. It is therefore important
to make sure that the books
you use are as up to date as
possible.
 NECESSARY
INFORMA TION
AND WHERE TO
FIND IT :
Author(s) of book can
generally be found on
both the cover (or dust
jacket) and title page.
Year of publication can
sometimes be found at the
bottom of the title page;
otherwise look on the page
directly behind the title page,
where it says "Copyright ©."
Title of book can be
found on both the
cover (or dust jacket)
and title page
(naturally).
Edition/revision number (if
any) is usually indicated on the
cover (or dust jacket) or title
page. If no edition number or
revision information is present
on either of these places,
assume that the book is an
original edition.
Place of
publication is
usually listed on
the title page.
Publishing entity is almost
always listed at the bottom
of the title page. If no listing
is made here, try the page
directly behind the title page
AUTHOR(S) OF BOOK For
books, put each author's last
name, then a comma, then the
first initial of the first name, then
any additional initials. A period
should follow each initial.
Separate the last author from the
second-to-last author
with a comma and ampersand (&).
Separate any additional authors by
commas. If the listed author is a
group or institution, include its full
name. In the case of institutional
authorship, add a period to end the
section; for individual authors, no
extra period is needed-the period
after the final initial is sufficient.
One author
Smith, M. T.
T wo authors
Beddington-Meekes, J. A., & Hiroguchi, M.
Three authors
Jones, Q. P., Chen, C. L., & Crismon, S.
Institutional author
Italian Institute of Pig Language Research.
YEAR OF PUBLICA TION
For books, include only the year of
copyright, in parenthesis, then end with a
period. If the book was republished,
include the original date of publication and
the new date in the text citation, separated
by a slash (/), but put only the publication
date of the source used in the reference
list. If no date of publication is listed, put
"n.d." in the parenthesis.
Standard form (1994).

Republished book (in text citation)

(1969/1996).

No date given (n.d.).

 Title of the Book

Give the full title of the book,

including the subtitle if one is
given. Capitalize only the first
word of the title, and the first word
of any subtitle; also capitalize any
proper names in the title.
Separate title and subtitle with a
colon (:). If the book is a volume
in a titled series of books, add the
series title as a subtitle. Put the
title, subtitle, and series
information in italics, and end with
a period.
Standard form
The evolution of the Pig Latin-Pig Pidgin
continuum.

Title and subtitle

Mud, troughs, and slop: Using realia in the
secondary Pig Latin classroom.
Title and series name
Pig Latin phonology: Vol. 2. Current issues
in Pig Latin studies.
 EDITION/REVISION NUMBER

For numbered editions, use the

abbreviation for the ordinal number that
applies (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.), then add "ed."
For a revised edition, use the
abbreviations "Rev . ed." Include edition
information in parenthesis, and insert it
between the book title and its following
period, without underlining.
Numbered edition Book title
(3rd ed.).
Revised edition Book title
(Rev. ed.).
 PLACE OF PUBLICA TION

Certain common cities of publication are

included with no additional information.
These include: Baltimore, Boston,
Chicago, Los Angeles, New Y ork,
Philadelphia, San Francisco, Amsterdam,
Jerusalem, London, Milan, Moscow ,
Paris, Rome, Stockholm, T okyo, V ienna.
If the book was published in one of these
places, simply list the city , followed by a
colon (:).
If the book's place of publication is
not one of these cities, additional
information is needed. For American
locations, include the city and state
postal abbreviation, separated by a
comma. For locations outside the
United States, include the city and
country , separated by a comma.
Follow each type of location with a
colon.
Common locations
New York:
Milan:

American location Wynot, NE:

Other locations
Talcahuano, Chile:
Suva, Fiji:
 PUBLISHING ENTITY

Give as much of the publisher's

name as necessary to render it
comprehensible. Completely spell out
the names of university presses and
corporations, but cut such words as
Inc., Co., and Publishers from
commercial publishing companies.
Follow the publisher's name with a
period.
Commercial press
Collins.
University press
Cambridge University Press.
Corporate press
General Electric Corporation
Author , A. A. (1996). T itle of book. City: Publisher .

Author , A. A., & Author , B. B. (1996). T itle of book:

Subtitle of book (edition). City , ST : Publisher .

Author , A. A., Author , B. B., & Author , C. C. (1996). T

itle of book: V ol. 1. T itle of series. City , Country:
Publisher .
How to Cite a
Book From a
Database in APA
Last, F. M. (Year Published). Book.
Retrieved from URL
Examples:
Morem, S. (2005). 101 tips for
graduates. Retrieved from
http://www.infobasepublishing.com
Format:
Bloom, H. (1986). American women
poets. Retrieved from
http://www.infobasepublishing.com
Make sure to:
Add doi (Digital Object Identifier) if it is available
after at the end of the citation instead of URL.
If you used an e-reader, you should still include
the URL that you retrieved the book from, for
example, www.amazon.com.
QUIZ TIME!
Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone.
Rowling, J.K.
(2001)
London: Bloomsburg Children's.
 NY: Scribner.
James, H.
The ambassadors
(1937).
New York,
 NY: Scribner's.
Dictionary of the history of ideas
(Vols. 1-4).
Wiener, P. (Ed.).
(1973).
New York,
 NY: Anchor.
The unabridged journals. K. V.
Kukil (Ed.)
Plath, S. (2000).
New York,
 Retrieved from
http://books.google.com
London, a social history.
Porter, R. (1994).
IL: University of Chicago Press.
(1997).
The battered child(5th ed.).
Helfer, M. E., Kempe, R. S., &
Krugman, R. D.
Chicago,