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APA DOCUMENTATION STYLE

What is APA? In the social sciences (Education, Psychology, Sociology, etc.), you will usually be asked to use the American Psychological Association (APA) style for documenting your sources.

Reference Page in APA Format :

• The Reference page lists all the sources that you have cited in your paper. Although you may have read more sources than you actually use in your paper, only those used specifically for support in your paper should be listed on the Reference page.
• Organize the list alphabetically by the last names of the authors (or editors). If a work had no author or editor, alphabetize by the first word of the title other than a, an, or the.
• The heading on the page should be: References. Use double-spacing for entire page.
• Below are examples of some of the most commonly used sources and their proper citation format.

Note: The second and additional lines of a bibliographic entry should be indented five (5) spaces from the left margin.

Book with one author:

Last name, first name. (Year of Publication). Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher's Name.

Rodriguez, R. (1982). A hunger of memory: The education of Richard Rodriguez. Boston: Godine

Book with 2 to 6 authors:

Authors. (Year of Publication). Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher's Name.

Nesselroade, J. R., & Bates, P. B. (1999). Longitudinal research in the study of behavioral development. New York: Academic Press.

NOTE: An ampersand (&) precedes the last author's name.

Work in an anthology or edited book:

Author. (Year of Publication). Title of article or chapter. In Name of Editor (Ed.) Title of Book. (pp. Page numbers). Place of Publication: Publisher's Name.

Ochs, E., & Schieffelin, B. (1984). Language acquisition and socialization: Three development stories. In R. Schweder & R. Levine (Eds.). Culture theory: Essays in mind, self, and emotion. (pp.276-320). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Work from a scholarly journal:

Author. (Year of publication). Title of article. Journal Title, volume number, page numbers.

Berkerian, D.A. (1993). In search of the typical eyewitness. American Psychologist, 48, 574-578.

An abstract of a journal article:

Author. (Year of publication). Abstract title. Publication Title, volume number, pages. Abstract obtained from Title of Source, year of publication, volume number, Item number.

Emery, R. E. (2005). Marital turmoil: Interpersonal conflict and the children of discord and divorce. Psychological Bulletin , 92, 310-330. Abstract obtained from Psychological Abstracts , 2005, 69, Item 1320.

Article in a magazine or newspaper:

Author (year, month day). Title of article. Title of Publication, page numbers.

William, N. (2005, October 24). Beethoven's late quartets. The New York Review of Books, 16-19.

An unsigned article:

Article title. (Year, Month day of publication). Publication Title, volume, page numbers.

The right to die. (1996, October 11). Time, 121, 101.

ELECTRONIC SOURCES

Journal article published online and in print:

Author. (Publication year). Title of article. [Electronic version]. Title of Journal, volume (issue), pages.

Horning, E., Droden, S., & McGee, C. (2001). Role of reference elements in psychology [Electronic version]. Journal of Bibliographic Research, 5 (1), 117-125.

A journal article retrieved from an electronic database:

Author. (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume (issue), page numbers. Retrieved Month day, year from Database name.

Wilkins, J. M. (1999). The myths of the only child. Psychology Update, 11 (1), 16-23. Retrieved December 20, 2005, from ProQuest Direct database.

An abstract retrieved from an electronic database:

Author. (Year of publication). Article title. Publication Title, volume (issue), pages. Abstract retrieved Month day, year, from Name of database.

Mitchell, E. D., Gore, A., & Cannon, H. H. (1998). Other people as a source of interest in an activity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35 (1), 213-234. Abstract retrieved June 30, 2002, from IDEAL database.

Document from a university or government web site:

Author. (Publication date). Title of document. Retrieved Month day, year, from Name of Sponsoring Institution Web site: URL.

Clinton, W. (1999, March 5). Cultivating positive emotions. Prevention and Treatment, 3, Article 2. Retrieved October 13, 2001, from Columbia University, Institute for Learning Technologies Web site: <http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications.

Documentation for In Text Citations:

•  APA journals use the author-date-page number method of citation when quoting directly. The surname of the author, the year of publication, and page number of the source are inserted in the text at the appropriate point.

Clinton (1993) found that "the 'placebo effect,' which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner" (p. 276).

  •  When the author's name does not appear in the signal phrase, place the author's last name, the date, and the page number in parentheses at the end of the direct quotation. Be sure to use commas between items in the parentheses.

"Conservatism has been linked to the eventual downfall of Western Civilization" (Clinton, 1993, p .276).

•  When using a summary or paraphrase, use just the author's name and year.

When they learned of an ape's ability to use sign language, both linguists and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise (Clinton, 1993).

•  When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in text.

•  When a work has three, four, of five authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs; then in following citations, include only the surname of the first author followed by "et al."

•  If the author of a document is not identified, begin the reference with the title of the document.

•  When citing a work discussed in a secondary source, give the secondary source in the reference list; in text, name the original work, and give a citation for the secondary source.

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