APA (American Psychological Association) is a citation style most commonly used to cite sources for articles within the social sciences.
Citing sources in the text in APA Citation
When referring to a work or a citation from a work, you should cite APA in the format author-date-page number, for example (Freud, 1927). The author’s last name and the year of publication must be used when citing the source within the text. If the author is already mentioned in the award, it is not necessary to mention the author again, just insert the year of publication in parentheses after the author has been mentioned.
The page number should follow before the sentence period, for example. (p. 00)
For example:
According to Freud (1927), “Religion is comparable to an infantile neurosis” (p. 53).
Freud (1927) compares religion to an infantile neurosis (p. 53).
He said: “Religion is comparable to an infantile neurosis” (Freud, 1927, p. 53), in which I do not agree.
APA Works Cited Page
At the end of your paper, you should have a Works Cited page in APA Citation. It should start on a new page and should be titled “References.” It should be centered at the top of the page. Do not bold, underline, or put quotes around the title. Some use an APA job citation generator, but it’s usually done manually.
General rules of the reference list in the APA citation:
Spacing must be double spaced.
The input indent must be a hanging indent.
List the entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
If you have multiple sources for an author, order them starting with the oldest post.
Capitalization:
Capitalize main words for journal titles only. Do not capitalize prepositions/conjunctions unless they are the first word of the title/subtitle.
For books, book and magazine chapters or articles, or web pages, capitalize only the first letter of the title and subtitle.
Capitalize proper nouns.
italics:
Italicize the titles of longer works, such as books and magazines.
Titles of shorter works, such as poems, short stories, magazine articles, and essays, should not be italicized, underlined, or enclosed in quotation marks.
APA Citation Examples
BOOKS in APA citation
basic format:
Author Last Name, First Name Initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of the work: Capital letter also for subtitle. City, State Abbreviation: Publisher.
If you are not in the US, just enter the city.
An author:
Moran, A. (2012). Sport and exercise psychology: a critical introduction (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
If the edition is different from the first, simply add the edition in parentheses after the title of the work.
Two authors:
Write the authors by their last names and initials; use the ampersand instead of the word “and”.
Kitchener, KS and Anderson, S.K. (2012). Foundations of ethical practice, research, and teaching in psychology and counseling. London: Psychology Press.
From three to seven authors:
Separate authors with a comma. The last author must be preceded by an ampersand instead of “and”.
Keith-Spiegel, P., Whitley, BE, Balogh, DW, Perkins, DV, & Wittig, AF (2002). The ethics of teaching: a casebook. London: Psychology Press.
More than seven authors:
Mention the first six followed by a “…” and then mention the last author. It is not necessary to use the ampersand.
Keith-Spiegel, P., Whitley, BE, Balogh, DW, Perkins, DV, Miller, FH, Harland, AA,… Wittig, AF (2002). The ethics of teaching: a casebook. London: Psychology Press.
Chapter or article in an edited book:
Only the first word of the chapter title and subtitle should be capitalized. Only the first word of the book should be capitalized. For multiple authors, follow the format above. For multiple publishers, separate them with commas and ampersands where applicable.
Seligman, M. (1992). Positive psychology, positive prevention and positive therapy. In Snyder, CR, & Lopez S. (Eds.), Positive psychology gender handbook. (pp. 107-123). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania.
MAGAZINE ARTICLES in APA style citation
The journal is italicized with all major words capitalized. The article title should only have the first word capitalized.
The basic format:
Author Surname, AA (Year of publication). Title of the article or chapter. Magazine, Volume (edition if available), Pages.
Brandon, N. (2012). Prediction of persistence, nonpersistence, and recent onset of nonmedical use of opioids and stimulants in adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 37(6), 716-721.
Two authors:
Just like you would cite APA in a book. Separate with an ampersand.
Brandon, N. & Rogers, P., (2012). Prediction of persistence, nonpersistence, and recent onset of nonmedical use of opioids and stimulants in adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 37(6), 716-721.
For three or up to seven authors, follow the author list as you would the book for APA citation. The same rule applies for seven or more authors.
Online book:
Use “nd” if no date is available. Include the full URL where readers can find it.
Smith, D. (2008). Where to find happiness. Available from URL_GOES_HERE
NEWSPAPERS in APA citation
Print:
Newspaper articles can usually be several pages long. If there is only one page, use p. For multiple pages, use pp. for an APA citation.
Example
Single page: p. A2
Multiple pages: pp. C2, C5-C7
Mention the full date (year, date of the month), eg. (2006, March 26)
Examples of APA citations:
Richards, S. (April 28, 2007). Alcohol policies around the world. Washington Post, pp. 2A, 3A.
Online:
Include the full URL
Tierney, J. (2011, May 16). A new indicator to see what lies beyond happiness. The New York Times. Retrieved from URL_GOES_HERE
MAGAZINE in APA citation
Basic Format (Print):
Borgia, M. (2000, April 9). Pass the mark of global schools. Newsweek, 135, 26-28.
Online:
Use np if no publisher name is provided and nd if no publication date is available. Add the full URL to cite in APA.
Ronalds, TM, Peters, A. & Ricci, D. (2008). Abnormal eating among adolescents. Cosmopolitan Online, 10(3), 35-36. Obtained from
URL_GOES_HERE
WEBSITE in APA citation
Include the date of access because websites are updated frequently. Add the full URL of the site.
Use nd if a publication date is not provided.
Author, A. (Date if available). Title of the document/article/or page. Retrieved from URL_GOES_HERE
Evans, E. (5 May 2010). Soup for the soul. Retrieved from URL_GOES_HERE
Evans, E. (nd). Soup for the soul. Retrieved from URL_GOES_HERE