APA Style
Please note that APA is now updated to 7th ed.
American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used for citing references in science and social science courses, such as Nursing, Psychology, Education, and Social Work. APA Style requires you to cite your sources in the text of your paper using the author-date. Include author, year, page(s). Provide the full citation in your reference list. Cite the source of all material you quote, paraphrase, or summarize.
Sources to help you learn how to cite:
Owl Purdue
APA style
You are responsible for citing your sources accurately! Citations you get from a Citation generating machine or the ones found in a database may or may not be accurate. Double-check the citation before handing in your work.
Include the complete citation at the end of your paper in a reference section. References are organized by the author's last name in alphabetic (A-Z) order. Use a hanging indent to separate each list item.
Basic Format:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date). Title of the work. Source where you can retrieve the work. URL or DOI if available
Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.
APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005).
For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers, use a paragraph number, for example: (Field, 2005, para. 1).
| For people with osteoarthritis, “painful joints should be moved through a full range of motion every day to maintain flexibility and to slow deterioration of cartilage” (Gecht-Silver & Duncombe, 2015, Osteoarthritis section). |
When you use the author's last name in the narrative of your paper, leave their name out of the parentheses.
In his scholarly study, Dr. Seuss observed that "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (2007, pp. 7-8).
In 2007, Dr. Seuss suggested that "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (pp. 7-8).
"The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" (Seuss, 2007, pp. 7-8).
| Type of Citation | In-text |
|---|---|
| One work by one author | (Walker, 2007) |
| One work by two authors | (Walker & Allen, 2004) |
| One work by three or more authors | (Bradley et al., 1999) |
| One work by six or more authors | (Wasserstein et al., 2005) |
Book with two authors
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle. Publisher.
Burley, J., & Harris, J. (Eds.). (2002). A companion to genetics. Blackwell.
Edited book, no author
Editor, E. E. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.
Leitch, M. G., & Rushton, C. J. (Eds.). (2019). A new companion to Malory. D. S. Brewer.
Database / Journal Articles
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/10.1109/5.771073 OR URL of journal home page [if available].
Pettigrew, T. F. (2009). Secondary transfer effect of contact: Do intergroup contact effects spread to noncontacted outgroups? Social Psychology, 40(2), 55-65. http://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335.40.2.55
Website
Online Magazine Articles
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title: Subtitle. Magazine Title, Volume(issue), page range. URL of magazine home page [if viewed online].
Kuttner, R. (2003, September 8). The great American pension-fund robbery. Business Week, 24-26. http://www.businessweek.com/
YouTube Video
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. OR Author screen name. (Year, Month Day {of video post}). Title of video [Video]. Title of the website. URL of specific video
Norton, R. (2006, November 4). How to train a cat to operate a light switch [Video file]. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vja83KLQXZs
Blog
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. OR Author screen name {as it appears on the blog}. (Year, Month Day {of post}). Title of a specific post. Site name (if needed). URL of the specific post
MiddleKid. (2007, January 22). Re: The unfortunate prerequisites and consequences of partitioning your mind. Science. http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/01/the_unfortunate_prerequisites.php
Image on internet
Title of work [Type of work]. (Year image was created). Title of the Website. URL (address of web site)
Baumel, A. (2010). Cholera treatment center in Haiti [Online image]. Doctors Without Borders. https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
No Author:
Flu epidemic [Online image]. (1919). History. http://www.history.net/photo/flu-epidemic-art/collections
No Author, No Title, No Date:
[Untitled illustration of a sleeping dog]. Sleeping Animals. http://www.sleepinganimals/pix.com
Podcast
Host Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. OR Host screen name. (Host). (Year, Month Day {of podcast}). Title of podcast [Audio podcast]. Website. URL of podcast
Vedantam, S. (Host). (2015-present). Hidden brain [Audio podcast]. NPR. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain
Tip: If you accessed the podcast via an app and do not know the URL, omit it.
1. Highlight the citation with your cursor.
2. Right-click.
3. Select Paragraph.
4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging.
