Citation and Style Guides
American Psychological Association
Things to remember...
- Similar to the style of the MLA, the APA requires that reference entries
be made flush with the left margin of your document, and the subsequent
lines be indented five spaces.
- As well, all lines should be double spaced and all entries be alphabetically
arranged and numeration optional.
- Finally, be sure to only single space between all items in your reference list.
You should capitalize the first word of the title or sub-title only. Be
sure to underline the title in whole, making sure to include all punctuation.
Include dates, edition numbers, or volumnation within parentheses and make
sure to include the publishers entire name.
A book with one author
Bush, G. W. (2000). How I became president. Yale: Gilbert.
A book with more than one author
NOTE: All authors are to be included, again by last name and initials.
Stilson, R., Pederson, S., Rognas, L. (1999). Librarian: A tutorial in being informative. Olympia: Evergreen Press.
An edited book
Stilson, R., Pederson, S., Rognas, L. (Eds.). (2003). Daniel J. Evans: the man, the mystery, the mission. Olympia: Evergreen Press.
A book with with no listed author or editor
Finding the right book. (2003). Philadelphia: Paperback Publications.
A work in several volumes
Johnson, P.R., & Wilson, L. (Eds.). (1999-2002). Handbook of grantwriting (Vols. 1-4). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
A work with a corporate author
NOTE: If the publisher and the author are the same entity, be sure to list Author instead of repeating yourself.
Friends of the Evergreen Library. (1991). Dusting your shelves. Seattle: Author.
A government report
National Institute of Mental Health. (2003). Libraries and silence: A summary report of research (DHHS Publication No. ADM 34-22934). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
One selection from an anthology
NOTE: Do not underline or enclose in quotation marks the title of the selection from an anthology. Also, if you intend to cite more than one selection from the same anthology be sure to include an entire citation for each entry.
Evans, D. J. (1973). Money, state, and building a college. In P.S. Rothenberg (Ed.), Administers, public and private: An integrated study (pp. 354-374). New York: St. Micheal's.
Like with books, the APA dictates that article titles and sub-titles should only have the first word capitalized. You should not however, underline or enclose in quotations the title of the selected work. But be sure to underline and capitalize all major words of the periodical title, and as well underline the volume number and punctuation included. Also, be aware that APA style means that you must include page numbers using pp. in regards to newspapers and magazines, but not when citing page numbers from volumnated periodicals.
An article in a scholarly journal with continuous pagination through
an annual volume
Moore, M. (2002). The plight of modern man. Journal of Social Issues, 27,583-601.
An article in a scholarly journal with separate pagination in each issue
Johnson, J., & Moore, J. (2004). College starvation: the new eating disorder. American Analysis, 21 (10), 1-34.
A magazine article
Lyttle, L. (1999, June). The new wave of administration. Psychology Today, pp. 61-65.A newspaper article (signed/unsigned)
NOTE: If your article is from a newspaper and appears on two separate pages then APA dictates that cite the pages as given.
Rielly, J. W. (1999, November 16). What happened to Kerry. The Wall Street Journal, pp. A1, A14.
Fallout: Kerry 2004. (2004, November 12). New York Times, p. A7.
A letter to the editor
Frank, S. (2004, October 19). Where has all the grammar gone? [Letter to the editor]. Los Angeles Times, p. A22.
A published letter
Moore, M. (1963). Letter to Bob Dylan. In Janis Joplin, Roadie: The good,the bad, the ugly (p. 231). New York: Oxford University Press.
Article from online periodical
NOTE: If the selected periodical appears both online and in print then you do not need to include the URL in thecitation; instead, be sure to include after the title "Electronic Version" within brackets as sown below.
Fisher, J. (1997). Ancient art in modern mediums [Electronic Version]. Art & Technology, 35, 234-321.
NOTE: If the selected periodical does not appear in print, then be sure to include the date you accessed thesource and the URL that it can be found.
Fisher, J. (1997). Ancient art in modern mediums [Electronic Version]. Art & Technology, 35, 234-321. Retrieved July 3, 2001. from http://www.uiowa.edu/`grppoc/crunchy.htm
NOTE: If you are citing an article that you found within an organizations searchable site, you do not have to include the URL for the exact site, but only for the home page.
Moore, M., & Frank S. (2002, June 18). Election Shakedown. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 3, 2004. http://www.latimes.com
Nonperiodical Online Article
Cowan, J. P. (2004, March). Finding your future abroad. [13 paragraphs.] Wall Street Journal [Online serial]. Available http: wall-street journal.com/forecasts/stress/stress.html
Abstract on CD-ROM
Wilson, L., Johnson, J. P. (2004). Forgetting to sign your grant. [CD-ROM]. Going the Distance, 23, 654-674. Abstract from: GoldenFork File: PsychLit Item: 40-2323
Abstract or Article from Online Database
Wilson, L., Johnson, J.P. (2004). Forgetting to sign your grant. [Online]. Going the Distance, 23, 654-674. Abstract from: DIALOG file: PsycINFO Item: 40-2323
Computer Software
Frank, S. (1991). Beating the GRE (Version 5.0) [Computer Software]. Chico, CA: Sierra Software.
Dissertation Abstract
Waldhausen, J.H. (2003). Issues of thoracic surgery in post-apocalyptic society (Doctoral dissertation. University of Hawaii, 1996). Dissertation Abstracts International, 57, 3280A
Motion Picture
Soderbergh, D. (Director). (1999). Congestion [Motion Picture]. United States: MGM Studios.