Transcript APA Style Citation

Documentation in the Style of
the American Psychological
Association
(APA)
An Introduction to Citing and Referencing According to
the 6th Edition of the APA Publication Manual
Prepared by the staff of the UHCL Writing Center
September, 2010
Overview
This presentation introduces APA guidelines as described in the
6th edition of the association’s manual.
We begin with a description of in-text citations and conclude
with an explanation of reference page formatting and
reference page entries.
If you have used the 5th edition of the APA, you will notice
changes, especially regarding documentation of
electronic/Internet sources.
Note: This presentation is intended to serve as an introduction to APA style.
It is not intended to replace the manual. Any writer who is working with APA
style should own and refer frequently to the most recent APA manual.
In-text Citation:
The Author–Date System
When citing a work in your paper, include the author’s last name and the
date of publication. Reasons behind these guidelines are as follows:
1) APA references mask the author’s gender because the style values
gender neutrality.
2) APA style highlights the publication date of material because in the
fields in which APA is used it is important to work with recent material.
Author’s name in text: Put the year in parentheses following the author’s name.
Example: Johnson (2008) argues for the continuation of . . .
Author’s name in reference: Put the author and date (separated by a comma) in
parentheses at the end of the cited segment.
Example: In a recent study of chemical reactions, . . . (Johnson, 2008).
Quoted material in text: Enclose quotations of fewer than 40 words in double
quotation marks (do not indent or block off). In parentheses, include the page
number of the quoted text preceded by “p.”.
Example: Johnson (2008) found that "earlier studies on reactions could
not be verified” (p. 32).
Long or “Block” Quotations
Manage direct quotations longer than 40 words as a block:
1. Start block quotation on a new line.
2. Indent the quote ½ inch from the left margin—all subsequent lines
should also be indented.
3. Maintain double-spacing throughout the quote.
4. Do not use quotation marks.
5. Place the in-text citation after the closing punctuation.
Jones's (2007) study found the following:
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it
was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed
to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual
or to ask their teacher for individual help. (p. 199)
Paraphrasing and Citation
Each time you paraphrase an author, you need to credit the source in
the text. Page numbers are encouraged, but not required.
As stated in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (APA, 2010), the ethical principles of scientific
publication are designed to ensure the integrity of scientific knowledge and to
protect the intellectual property of others. As the Publication Manual explains,
authors are expected to correct the record if they discover errors in their
publication; they are also expected to give credit to others for their prior work
when it is quoted or paraphrased.
What to do if no author is provided
When no author is identified, cite the first few words of the reference
entry. (This will usually be the first few words of the title.)
Example: . . .given the number asking for free care (“Study Finds,” 2007).
When a work’s author is designated as “Anonymous,” cite the word
Anonymous followed by a comma and the date.
Example: . . . there were only a handful left at the scene (Anonymous, 1998).
Quoted material from an Internet
source without pagination
If paragraph numbers are provided, use them in place of page numbers.
Example: Basu and Jones (2007) suggest the need for an “intellectual . . . cyberspace”
(para. 4).
If neither page nor paragraph number is provided, but headings are used,
cite the appropriate heading and the number of the paragraph following
it.
Note: You will need to count the paragraphs yourself.
Example: Verbunt (2008) found that “the level . . . condition” (Discussion section,
para. 1).
Quoted material from an Internet
source without pagination, cont.
If neither page nor paragraph is provided and headings are too long
to be cited in full, use a shortened heading with quotation marks.
Note: You will need to count the paragraphs yourself.
Example: According to Golan (2007), “Empirical . . . behavior” (“Mandatory Labeling
Has Targeted,” para.4).
(The original heading was “Mandatory Labeling Has Targeted Information Gaps and Social
Objectives.”)
Note: For a more complete discussion of this topic, see pp 171-2 of the APA manual.
Mechanics of the
References page(s)
 Formatting the page:
 Center the word References at the top of the page.
 Double space all lines.
 indent the second (and following) lines of each reference entry ½ inch. (This is
called a hanging indent.)
 To maintain gender anonymity, use only the author’s initials.
 Put the date of publication in parentheses following the author’s name and initials.
 Punctuating titles:
 Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such
as journal articles or essays.
 Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals.
 In titles of articles and books, capitalize only the first word of titles, subtitles,
and proper names.
 Capitalize important words in titles of periodicals/journals.
Works taken from the Internet
Two important changes in how to construct the References section
entries when works come from the Internet:
•Previous editions required a retrieval date for online sources. The 6th edition
no longer requires a retrieval date.
•The 6th edition discusses a new way of locating online material—the digital
object identifier, or DOI. The DOI, now used by 2600 publishers, is a unique
series of numbers assigned to online books and journal articles.
•The series of numbers, usually found on the first page of an electronic
document, should be used to replace the URL in an entry in the References
section. If DOI is not available, use the URL.
•(For more information on the DOI see pages 188 and 198 of the APA
manual.)
Using the DOI
To find an article using the DOI, go to http://www.doi.org
or http://www.crossref.org and type in the doi.
Herst-Damm, K. L. (2005). Volunteer support and terminally ill patients. Health
Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225
Once you locate the abstract for your article, you will be able
to retrieve the article. (In some cases, you will have to pay for
the article.)
On-line journal articles
and the DOI
Journal article with DOI:
Locate the DOI on the first page of the
database reference.
Herst-Damm, K. L. (2005). Volunteer support and terminally ill patients. Health
Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225
Journal article with no DOI:
If the database does not provide a DOI,
supply the URL.
Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living web. A List Apart: For People Who Make
Websites, 149. Retrieved from http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving
Articles in periodicals
Basic Form
List the author’s last name first, followed by initials. Add publication year in
parentheses. Then, list the title with only the first word and proper nouns
capitalized. Include the periodical title and volume number in italics, followed
by the page numbers in which the article is found.
Alexander, R. A., Christian, A. B., & Singh, I. G. (2009). New tips for the care of
tubes after feedings. Australian Journal of Geriatric Nursing, 15, 23-25.
Articles in journals
paginated by volume
Journals that are paginated by volume begin with page 1 in issue 1,
and continue numbering issue 2 where issue 1 ended, etc.
Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal
of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.
Articles in journals
paginated by issue
Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(30), 5-13.
Articles in magazines
Magazine article
Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, 2831.
Online magazine
Clay, R. (2008, June). Science vs. ideology: Psychiatrists fight back. Monitor on
Psychology, 39(6). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor
Articles in newspapers
Newspaper article
Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The
Country Today, pp. 1A, 2A.
Online newspaper article
Brody, J. E. (2007, December 11). Mental reserves keep brain agile. The New York
Times. Retrieved from http//www.nytimes.com
Newspaper article, no author, in print
As prices surge, Thailand pitches OPEC-style rice cartel. (2008, May 5). The Wall
Street Journal, p. A9.
Note: Precede page numbers for newspaper articles with p. or pp. Single page numbers are
preceded by “p.” and multiple pages are preceded by “pp.”
Books
Basic Form
As with the periodicals list, the author’s last name comes first, followed by
initials, and then the publication year. Again, only first words and proper
nouns are capitalized. If the title is in two parts, capitalize the first word of the
second part.
Print book
Sternglass, M. S. (1997). Time to know them: A longitudinal study of writing and
learning at the college level. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Electronic book without DOI
De Huff, E.W. (n. d.). Taytay’s tales: Traditional Pueblo Indian tales. Retrieved from
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/dehuff/taytay/taytay.html
Note: When a work shows no date use the initials n.d.
Edited collections
Edited book with an author or authors:
Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals (K.V. Kukil, Ed.). New York:
Anchor.
Edited book with no author:
Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997). Consequences of
growing up poor. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Article or chapter in an edited book:
Barnes, C. K., & Neuhauser, H. M. (2005). The art of leadership. In J.
Daniels & J. Webb (Eds.), Manual for military officers (pp. 48-66). New
York: Prentice-Hall.
Encyclopedia entries
Print Encyclopedia
Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia britannica
(Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
Online Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Feminism. (n.d.). In Encyclopedia Britannica online. Retrieved from http://
www.britannica.com
Works with no surname
for the author:
If there is no author identified, move the title to the author position,
alphabetize using the first word of the title.
Note: In the following example, you’ll see the initials “n.d.” Use this
abbreviation whenever no date is provided.
Heuristic. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). Retrieved from
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/heuristic
Works with no surname
for the author, cont.
If the author is a group such as an association or government agency, use
the full official name of the group in place of the author.
Note: In the following example, you’ll see that the word “author” is in the
place where the publisher’s name goes. When the document is selfpublished, handle it this way.
Employee Benefit Research Institute. (1992, February). Sources of health insurance and
characteristics of the uninsured (Issue Brief No. 123). Washington DC: Author.
If the author is identified as “Anonymous,” begin with Anonymous as if it
were the author’s name.
Handling author names
Works by a single author
Last name first, followed by the author’s initials.
Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 11, 7-10.
Works by two authors
List by their last names and initials. Use an ampersand (&).
Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states. Journal
of Personality & Social Psychology, 66, 1034-1048.
Handling author names, cont.
Works by three to seven authors
List by last names and initials. Commas separate names and the ampersand
(&) precedes the last name.
Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., & Harlow, T. (1993). There's more to
self-esteem. Journal of Personality, 65, 1190-1204.
Works by more than seven authors
List the first six authors by name and initial, apply three dots (ellipses) and
end with the last author’s name and initials.
Gilbert, D.G., McClern, J.F., Rabin, N.E., Sugai, C., Plath, L.C., Asgaard, G. . . . Botros, N.
(2004). Effects of quitting smoking on EEG activation. Nicotine Research, 6, 249267.
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources are the same thing as indirect quotes in MLA.
The APA manual recommends that secondary sources be used
sparingly.
The APA manual (APA, 2010) provides the following example of how
to cite a secondary source: perhaps you read a work by Nicholson,
and he quotes Allport’s diary. You want to quote Allport, but you
never read his actual diary. APA style says to list the Nicholson
reference in the reference list (that is the work you actually read).
However, in the text, refer to Allport as follows:
Allport’s diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003).
Conclusion
This presentation has covered many of the commonly used
resources in APA documents. If you are using a source not
covered here, please consult the APA manual. The manual
includes directions for a wide variety of sources including the
following:
Government reports
Books in translation
Doctoral dissertations
Meetings and symposia
Book/movie reviews
Movies and music recordings
Legal documents
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If you are having trouble finding information in the APA
manual and you would like some assistance, please come
see the tutors in the Writing Center. We are happy to help
you learn to navigate the style book and give you feedback
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