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APA (American Psychological Association) Referencing Style


  Reference List Format | Using APA | Useful Books & Websites | Main Page


Reference List Format:

Every source that is used must be included in a reference list or bibliography included at the end of the document. The format used in the reference list or bibliography varies depending upon the type of source being referred to. Entries in your reference list should be ordered alphabetically according to the author's last name.


Books: 

Surname, Initials. (Date). Title (ed.). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example 1: Book with a single author:

Comfort, A. (1997). A good age. London: Mitchell Beazley.

Example 2: Book with 2 to 6 authors:

Wit, J. S., Poneman, D. B., & Gallucci, R. L. (2004). Going critical: The first North Korean nuclear crisis. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Example 3: Book with more than 6 authors:

Roeder, K., Howdeshell, J., Fulton, L., Lochhead, M., Craig, K., Peterson, R., et.al. (1967). Nerve cells and insect behavior. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Book Chapters:

Surname, Initials. (Date). Chapter title. In Editor initial(s). Editor surname (Ed.), Book title (pp. page numbers). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example: 

Blaxter, M. (1976). Social class and health inequalities. In C. J. Carter (Ed.), Equalities and inequalities in health (pp. 120-135). London: Academic Press. 

Journal Articles:

Surname, Initials. (Date). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume(issue number), page numbers. 

Example:

Wharton, N. (1996). Health and safety in outdoor activity centers. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Leadership, 12(4), 8-9.

Journal Articles in Press*:

Journal articles in press are articles that are in the process of being published but have not yet appeared as such. Simply replace year of publication with "(in press)", and don't provide details of which issue the article is in or page numbers (since that is unknown until publication!).

Surname, Initials. (in press). Title of article. Title of Periodical.

Example:

Tristan, P. L., & Morris, J. L. (in press). Natural selection and cognitive appraisal - survival of the fittest thoughts? Journal of Cognition.

* Source: How to reference ITEMS IN PRESS

Article from a Database:

Surname, Initials. (date of publication). Article title. Journal Title, volume(issue number), page numbers. Retrieved date of retrieval, from database.

Example:

Sopensky, E. (2002). Chocolate makes money. Business Journal. i(1), 20-24. Retrieved December 20, 2004, from Expanded Academic database.

Website:

Surname, Initials. (date of publication). Title. Organisation. Retrieved date of retrieval, from URL.

Example:

Sopensky, E. (2002). Ice rink becomes hot business. Austin Business Journal. Retrieved October 16, 2002, from
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2002/10/14/smallb1.html      
 

 Motion Picture or Video Tape:

Surname, Initials. (Producer), & Surname, Initials (Director). (Date of publication) Title of Motion Picture. [Motion Picture] City of origin: Studio or distributor.

Example:

Weir, P. B. (Producer), & Harrison, B.F. (Director). (1992). (2002). Levels of consciousness [Motion Picture] Boston, MA: Filmways
 

 Television Broadcast or Television Series:

Surname, Initials. (Producer). (Date of broadcast or copyright) Title of Broadcast. [Television broadcast or Television series] City of origin: Studio or distributor.

Example:

Atalla, A. (Producer). (2001) The Office [Television series] London: BBC.

 Single Episode of a Television Series:

Surname, Initials. (Writer), & Surname, Initials (Director). (Date of publication) Title of Episode [Television series episode]. In Initial. Surname (Producer), Series Title. City of origin: Studio or distributor.

Example:

Gervais, R. & Merchant, S. (Writers & Directors). (2001) The boss [Television series episode]. In A. Atalla (Producer), The Office. London: BBC.

 


Using APA:

APA style referencing involves in-text citation using paretheses. You must also include a full reference list at the end of the document. Citations, including author's surname and date of publication, are included in the text. As a rule, page numbers should also be present when referencing direct quotations or specific ideas. The form of in-text citation varies depending upon context.

General:
  • This argument was first put forward in the early 19th century (Hulme, 1998)

  • The argument was first put forward by Hulme (1998). 

Quotations:
  • Smith (1987, p. 245) noted that "such conduct was largely counter-productive". 

  • "Such conduct was largely counter-productive" (Smith, 1987, p. 245). 

Secondary sources:
  • Ngu (cited in Larson, 1991, p. 51) reported that such conclusions were generally invalid.

  • Such conclusions are generally invalid (Ngu, cited in Larson, 1991, p. 51).

Publication in press:
  • Recent research has in fact provided support for this theory (Tristan & Morris, in press).


Reference:

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. 

 

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