About the APA (American Psychological Association) Style
APA style is fully defined by the developers of these guidelines in
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, currently in the 5th edition.
There are guidelines in the APA Manual for the preparation of a manuscript, and rules to use for documenting sources. These guidelines are widely used by researchers in a variety of fields - psychology, sociology, business, medicine, and economics. APA reference style emphasizes publication date: the year of publication is placed immediately after the author's name, and the reference list is sorted first by author, and then the year of publication. These guidelines reflect the interests and focus of researchers in the social sciences, since dates of publication are important marks of relevancy and validity in these fields. In APA style, the last page of your document is called a "Reference List" (not a bibliography) and all specific references within the text are placed in parentheses (Smith, 1999, p. 12). Like other documentation styles, proper APA documentation requires that parenthetical citation refer accurately to entries in the reference list and vice-versa. Please note that this site provides information on using Citation database software to enter bibliographic information on source works, and formatting those references in APA style.
Guide |
Basic and most commonly used types of reference works.Basic data entry guidelines for Citation records.
- APA Basics. Article in a journal
- APA Basics. Book
- APA Basics. Book, editor as author
- APA Basics. Article, in an edited collection
- APA Basics. Article, in a magazine
Research paper document guidelines.
- Basic Guidelines for entering bibliographic information in Citation.
- List of data entry forms in Citation.
- Setting the Generate Citations dialog in Citation for APA citations.
To generate citations for a document in APA style, click Generate, Citations for document, and set the options in the Generate Citations dialog as illustrated here:
APA format requires that documents be formatted with specific margins (1 inch on all sides), headers (must be 1/2" from the top of the page, with the author's last name and the page number), and section headings. Cover pages are required, with slightly different specifications, depending on whether the paper is for a course or for submission to a journal.
Citation provides you with sample documents prepared according to these APA guidelines, that you can simply edit for your own paper, as well as the Dr. Paper templates, to automatically create a Word document formatted according to the APA guidelines.
Citations in the text of your paper.
APA format requires author-date cites in the text of your document.
Citation creates APA Style author date cites (with specific page references, when that is appropriate) automatically when you run Generate Citations for document. Citation matches the Cite Keys in the body of your document with the Cite Keys in the records stored in your datafile.
Complete listing: Reference List examples
The sample citations here were created using a special Citation datafile that contains the samples. Click on the example title (e.g., APA 01. Journal article) to view the Citation record used to create the reference.
APA 01. Journal article, one author, journal paginated consecutively throughout the volume
Wolf, E. (1990). Distinguished lecture: Facing power. American Anthropologist, 92, 586-596.APA 02. Journal article, two authors, journal paginated by issue
Heilbrun, C., & Resnik, J. (1990). Convergences: Law, literature, and feminism. Yale Law Journal, 99, 1913-1950.APA 03. Journal article, three to six authors
Evans, P., Preston, V., Jones, M., West, H., Cooper, B., & Williams, M. (2002). The astronomical timetable. New York: Preston Press.APA 04. Journal article, more than six authors
Mercer, E., Faria, R., White, J. R., Brent, C., Moore, M., Zygler, J. E., et al. (2003). The myth of depression. Health Culture, 9, 221-229.APA 05. Journal article in press
Myers, B., & Ansler, M. (in press). Left, right, forward?: Racism and radical politics. Journal of Politics and Culture.APA 06. Magazine article
Miller, J. H. (2001, April). The next interpretation of nothing. Cultural Trends, 8+.APA 07. Newsletter article
Broca, J. R. (2001, Fall). Artistic training as therapy. Art and Psychology Bulletin, 21, 83-87.APA 08. Newsletter article, no author
Understanding the new regulations. (2002, May). Scioto Valley Newsletter, 9, 3-4.APA 09. Daily newspaper article, no author
New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from heart failure. (1993, July 15). The Washington Post, p. A12.APA 10. Daily newspaper article, discontinuous pages
Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4.APA 11. Monthly newspaper article, letter to the editor
Mays, E. S. (2001, 11 June). The business of business [Letter to the editor]. Wall Street Journal, p. 3.APA 12. Entire issue of a journal; journal, special issue; special issue of a journal
Beasley, E. (Ed.). (2001). The new logic [Special issue]. Journal of Contemporary Philosophy, 9(6).APA 13. Monograph with issue number and serial (or whole) number
Wisener, A., & Jameson, M. L. (2002). Parental understanding of pretense. Monographs of the Society for Research in Parenting, 78(3, Serial No. 422).APA 14. Monograph bound separately as a supplement to a journal
Bishop, A. L., & Bishop, P. S. (1999). Atmospheric anomalies. Journal of Experimental Geography Monographs, 70(3, Pt. 2).APA 15. Monograph bound into journal with continuous pagination
West, M. D., Evans, C. B., & Mays, W. (1999). Validity of the Type B personality [Monograph]. Journal of Cultural Psychology, 82, 344-426.Myers, W. L., & Jones, P. B. (1999). Cholinoceptive pyramidal cells [Abstract]. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 42, 320.APA 17. Abstract from a secondary source; abstract, from a secondary source
Burrows, W. R., Ellitch, P. B., & Wilson, J. R. (2000). Cognitive functions of adolescents: Urban vs. rural. American Journal of Cultural Neuroscience, 8, 22-46. Abstract obtained from PsycSCAN: Neuropsychology. 10 (Abstract No. 994).APA 18. Journal supplement; supplement, to a journal
Rogers, J. W., Kinner, R. L., & Weis, V. (2000). The architecture of the gravitational lens. Astronomicity, 16(Suppl. 2), 170-192.APA 19. Periodical published annually
Swidler, A., & Arditi, J. (1994). The new sociology of knowledge. Annual Review of Sociology, 20, 305-329.APA 20. Non-English journal article, title translated into English
Tremblay, G. (2000). La version française des lois constitutionnelles du Canada [The French version of the constitutional laws of Canada]. Les Cahiers de Droit, 41, 33-60.APA 21. English translation of a journal article, journal paginated by issue
von der Luhe, I. (1982). I without guarantees: Ingeborg Bachmann's Frankfurt lectures on Poetics (M. T. Kraus, Trans.). New German Critique, 8(27), 31-56.APA 22. Citation of a work discussed in a secondary source
Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589-608.APA 23. Book, third edition, Jr. in name
Massey, W. R., & Jameson, W. M., Jr. (2001). Organizational behavior and the new internet logic (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.APA 24. Book, group author (government agency) as publisher
Aguidar Bureau of Statistics. (2001). Rural and urban birthrate statistics (No. 53.9877). Iswari, Asina-Waall Province: Author.APA 25. Edited book
Gilbert, H. S., & Hart, L. N. (Eds.). (2000). Racism and mapmaking: Never a straight line?. New York: Preston Press.APA 26. Book, no author or editor
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. (10th ed.). (1998). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.APA 27. Book, revised edition
Rosenthal, R. (1987). Meta-analytic procedures for social research (Rev. ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.APA 28. Several volumes in a multivolume edited work, publication over period of more than 1 year
Anderson, J. B. (Ed.). (1989-1999). A history of mythology and culture (M. Arlan, Ed.) (Vols. 1-10). New York: Preston Press.APA 29. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.APA 30. Encyclopedia or dictionary
Sanborn, W. B. (Ed.). (2001). Dictionary of tribal mythologies (4th ed., Vols. 1-14). New York: Preston Press.APA 31. Non-English book
Wolf, C. (1968). Nachdenken über Christa T. [The quest for Christa T.]. Halle: Mitteldeutscher Verlag.APA 32. English translation of a book
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish (A. Sheridan, Trans.) (2nd ed.). Studies in Critical Theory. New York: Vintage Books (Original work published 1978).APA 33. Brochure, corporate author
Winslow-Ames Consulting Group. (2003). Caring for the elderly: An intensive workshop (3rd ed.) [Brochure]. New York: Author.APA 34. Article or chapter in an edited book, two editors
Gardener, E. D. (1988). Heretics. In S. Nevins & L. Bointer (Eds.), 16th Century England (pp. 327-384). London: Methaneon.APA 35. Article or chapter in an edited book in press, separately titled volume in a multivolume work (two part title)
Anderson, W. R. (in press). Weakening the boundaries of insight. In J. Eddington & P. R. Burns (Eds.), Studies in military history. Vol. 2: Perspectives on racism: The new world order.. New York: Preston Press.APA 36. Chapter in a volume in a series
Aarnsworth, E. (2002). Magnesotic irregularities in rock formations. In A. Beales & P. M. Jessing (Eds.), Handbook of Geology. Vol. 4: Southwestern US (5th ed., pp. 97-121). New York: Preston.APA 37. Non-English article or chapter in an edited book, title translated into English
Bourdieu, P. (1989). L'opinion publique [Public opinion]. In P. Campagne (Ed.), 50 idées qui ébranlent le monde; dictonnaire de la Glasnost (pp. 204-206). Paris: P.U.F.APA 38. Entry in an encyclopedia
Marchant, E. (2003). Gypsy oak. In The new encyclopedia Britannica (Vol. 42, pp. 304-305). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.APA 39. English translation of an article or chapter in an edited book, volume in a multivolume work, republished work
Altallan, M. (2001). The Oxbird legacy. In T. Boynes (Ed. & Trans), The standard edition of the complete works of Altallan (Vol. 22, pp. 14-64). New York: Preston Press (Original work published 1973).APA 40. English translation of an article or chapter in an edited book, reprinted from another source
Piaget, J. (1988). Extracts from Piaget's theory (G. Gellerier, & J. Langer, Trans.). In K. Richardson & S. Sheldon (Eds.), Cognitive development to adolescence: A reader (pp. 3-18). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum (Reprinted from Manual of child psychology, 703-732, by P. Mussen, Ed., 1970, New York: Wiley).APA 41. Report available from the government Printing Office (GPO), government institute as author
National Institute of Mental Health. (1999). Psychodiagnosis: A bibliography (DHHS Publication No. 12-9022). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.APA 42. Report available from the National Technical Information Service
Cohen, B. G. (2003). Human aspects in espionage equipment. Denver, CO: National Institute for International Security (NTIS No. PB87-240722).APA 43. Report available from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Josse, P. L. (1999). Writing in the classroom: Teaching with journals (Report No. NCRSL-BB-25-6). East Lansing, MI: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 988 082).APA 44. Government report not available from GPO or a document deposit service such as the NTIS or ERIC
Environmental Protection Agency. (1999). Progress report on the EPA acid rain program (EPA Publication No. 430-R-99-011). Rockville, MD: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.APA 45. Government report not available from GPO or a document deposit service, article or chapter in an edited collection
Gergen, D. M. (2001). Religious affiliation and mental health. In J. Minden (Ed.), Psychological studies in rural populations (NDR Publication No. 93-42002, pp. 352-401). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.APA 46. Report from a university
Griggs, J. R., & Williams, H. M. (2001). Prevalence of land entitlement certificate forgeries (Tech. Rep. No. 17). Niederlanden, Eastern Isaawi: University of Guernsey, Crime Research Centre.APA 47. Report from a university, edited report, monograph
Ansler, M. R., & Josse, F. (Eds.). (2001). Violence, media, and anxiety among adolescents (Redding Institute Research Monograph No. 25). New London: Weim University, Department of Education.APA 48. Report from a private organization
Employee Benefit Research Institute. (1994, July). Baby boomers in retirement: What are their prospects? (Issue Brief No. 151). Washington, DC: Author.APA 49a. Published proceedings, published contribution to a symposium, article or chapter in an edited book
Muller, A. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). The mind's outer eye. In Alaska Symposium on Perspectives. Vol. 43: Perspectives on perspective (pp. 237-288). Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press.APA 49b. Published proceedings, published contribution to a symposium, article or chapter in an edited book
Muller, A. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Alaska Symposium on Perspectives. Vol. 43: Perspectives on perspective. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press.APA 50. Proceedings published regularly
Woese, C. R. (2002). On the evolution of cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99, 8742-8747.APA 51b. Unpublished contribution to a symposium
Beales, J. (2001, May). Beyond seeing: Cultural blindness and lettering [Fieldnote data summary and slide presentation]. In M. Wilkes (Chair), Textual perspectives. Symposium conducted at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Society, New York.APA 51c. Unpublished contribution to a symposium
Miller, A. S. (2003, May). Slide presentation and field note summary. In M. L. Irons, (Chair), Storytelling in rural gatherings. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the RGS, Marseilles, France.APA 52. Unpublished paper presented at a meeting
Shimahara, N. K. (1983, November 18). Mobility and education of Buraku: The case of a Japanese minority.. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago.APA 53. Poster session
Durwith, N. (2001, June). Indexing surveys: Software that works.. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Political Science Society, Washington, DC.APA 54. Doctoral dissertation abstracted in Dissertation Abstracts International and obtained on university microfilm
Winters, S. L. (2001). Health care programs and rural population growth (Diss, University of Agal, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 66, 834B (UMI No. AAD66-26988).APA 55. Doctoral dissertation abstracted in Dissertation Abstracts International and obtained from university
Gans, E. L. (1982). The discovery of illusion (Doctoral dissertation, Johns Hopkins University, 1981). Dissertation Abstracts International, 27, 3046A.APA 56. Unpublished doctoral dissertation
Roberts, M. B. (2001). Land use and the law.. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois.APA 57. Unpublished master's thesis, university outside the United States
Sanchez, E. (2001). Druidic dreams: Paluo's letters from the isle of Skye.. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Agal, Agal, West Zaapen, Dept English.APA 58. Unpublished manuscript not submitted for publication
Myers, B. (1992). The regimental rituals.. Unpublished manuscript.APA 59. Unpublished manuscript with a university cited
Nomiya, D. (1988). Urbanization and income inequality: A cross-national study.. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.APA 60. Manuscript in progress or submitted for publication but not yet accepted
Anderson, M. J. (2001). War and journalism: A brief history of history.. Manuscript submitted for publication (copy on file with author).APA 61. Unpublished raw data from study, untitled work
Deaux, M., & Wise, A. R. (1993). [Auditory response latencies in rat auditory cortex]. Unpublished raw data.APA 62. Publication of limited circulation
Chambers, W. R. (Ed.). (2002). INAC Projects. (Available from the Isaawian Nation Arts Council).APA 63. Review of a book
Landower, A. (2002). Reading the ropes of the new reality [Review of the book Under glass ties: The new media fantasy of realism]. Contemporary Culture, 42, 533-567.APA 64a. Review of a film or motion picture
Reiner, E. J. (2001, 20 May). Breaking away: A tradition of rebellion [Review of the motion picture Bernice's sandals] (dir. Anthony Peters). New Media, p. 45.APA 64b. Review of a video
Betisse, N. (2001). Visual visor: A videotext of art history studies [Review of the video program Discovering Culture]. Contemporary Culture, 42, 3467-3499.APA 65a. Audiovisual media, film or motion picture
Mendelson, I. (Producer) & Axelson, E. (Writer/director). (2001). One for the money [Motion picture]. United States: Siren Screens.APA 65b. Film, limited circulation
Veron, E. (Producer) & Pickard, N. L. (Director). (1999). Tangoesque: light leg language [Motion picture]. (Available from Dance Am Inst., 73 West 74th, Suite 160, New York, NY 10023).APA 66. Television broadcast
Lott, B., & Frank, S. H. (Prod.). (2001, Sept. 10). The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer [Television broadcast]. New York and Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service.APA 67. Television series
Michaels, D. A. (Producer). (2002). The heart [Television series]. New York: WNET.APA 68a. Single episode from a television series
Hall, B. (Writer) & Sackheim, D. (Director). (1999). The last word. In J. DeWitt, A. Brenneman, & N. Chaidez (Producters), Judging Amy [Television series episode]. New York: New York Broadcasting Company.APA 69a. Music recording
Bruel, P. (1999). Au cafe des delices. On Juste Avant [CD]. Paris: MM Musique.APA 69b. Rerecording by artist other than writer
Jones, J. (2002). The winding [Recorded by A. Berry, & P. Miller]. On Wind water and sand [CD]. Bay Point, RI: Real Records. (1982).APA 70. Audio recording
Miro, J. L. (Speaker). (2001). Pressure, poison, and the physics of purity (Cassette recording No. 310-450-88-B). Washington, DC: International Society of Mystery Writers.APA 71. Internet article based on a print source
Lessing, J. P. (2001). The physics of cultural magnets. Journal of Anthropological Studies, 8, 273-299. Retrieved July 3, 2002, from http://jas.org/2001-8-lessing.html.APA 73. Article in an Internet-only journal, retrieved via file transfer protocol
Mercer, K. R. (2001). The matter at hand: Chaos is nothing. Atomic Psychology, 6, Article056a. Retrieved 21 December 2001, from ftp://www.atomicpsychology.edu/mercer.APA 74. Article in an Internet-only newsletter
Cherchneff, I. (1997, July). The exhaust fumes of stars. Physics@UMIST Research Newsletter(2). Retrieved from http://www.phy.umist.ac.uk/Research/research_NL/NewsLetter2/nl2.shtml.APA 75. Multipage document created by private organization, no date
Commit to be fit! Arlington Chapter. (n.d.). Heart helps: Ten 10 minute workouts. Retrieved August 5, 2002, from http://www.fitcommit.org/10minuteworkouts.APA 76. Chapter or section in an Internet document
Petrie Environmental Watch Center. (2002, Aug. 2). Recent conservation legislation. In Law and land use in Petrie County (section 2). Retrieved August 3, 2002, from http://www.petriecenter.org/landuse/legislation/2.htm.APA 77. Stand-alone document, no author identified, no date
TechNo's adolescent quotient questionnaire. (n.d.). Retrieved August 5, 2002, from http://www.asnu.edu/TechNo/AQQ.htm.APA 78. Document available on university program or department web site
Reibel, J. H. (1994). Pedagogy for the 21st century. Retrieved January 1, 2002, from Columbia University, Institute for Learning Technologies Web site: http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications/papers/ILTpedagogy.html.APA 79. Report from a university, available on private organization web site
University of Manne, Center for Medical Education. (2001, December). Patients as effective educators in chronic conditions. Retrieved Aug. 2, 2002, from the Milbrook Memorial Fund Web site: http://www.mmf.org/reports/patients.html/.APA 80. US government report available on government agency web site, no publication date indicated
United States Sentencing Commission. (n.d.). Federal sentencing statistics by state. Retrieved Aug 2, 2002, from http://www.ussc.gov/JUDPACK/JP2000.htm.APA 81. Report from a private organization, available on organization web site
ResearchFirst, Ltd. (2001, Jan. 1). Conservation easements and land use. Retrieved May 2, 2002, from http://www.researchfirst.org/jan/publications/conservation.pdf.APA 82. Abstract of a technical report retrieved from a university web site
Celifano, C. R., & Roland, W. M. (2001). Measured rates of glacial melting in 4 locations (ORSI Polar Research Institute Report No. 14). Abstract retrieved May 5, 2002, from http://www.orsi.edu/npri/14.htm.APA 83. Paper presented at a symposium, abstract retrieved from university web site
Dietrich, E. (2002, January 16). The left hand meets the right brain. Paper presented at the 2002 Symposium on Neurocentric Art. Abstract retrieved May 3, 2003, from http://www.nacouncil.org/2002Symposium/dietrich.htm.APA 84. Paper presented at a virtual conference
Genile, P. (2003). Natural wealth and the national agenda. Paper presented at the NatureWatch 2003 online conference. Retrieved May 16, 2003, from http://naturewatch.org/Politics&Plants2003.APA 85. Message posted to a newsgroup
Williams, A. (2003, January 4). New tectonic tracking techniques [Msg 3]. Message posted to news://sci.geology.hawaii.APA 86. Message posted to online forum or discussion group
Beales, M. S. (2003, February 2). Strategic planning software can replace post-it notes [Msg 26]. Message posted to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nonprofit.APA 87. Message posted to an electronic mailing list
Harris, B. (2003, March 4). Version tracking: Keeping records of editorial changes. Message posted to TheWriteDirection electronic mailing list, archived at http://writedirection.net/mail-archive/msg00124.html.APA 88. Electronic copy of a journal article, three to five authors, retrieved from database
Jameson, M. M., Wilson, A. E., & Myers, B. R. (2003). Managing managers in the changing workplace. Journal of Management and Culture, 43, 423-450. Retrieved April 15, 2003, from alaJOURNALS database.APA 89. Daily newspaper article, electronic version available by search
Nottingham, B. (2003, March 3). Toying with industrial restraints. New Amsterdam Beacon.. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from http://www.nabeacon.com.APA 90. Electronic copy of an abstract obtained from a secondary database
Otsu, T., & Saito, T. (1990). The problem of local optimality with OSMOD. Psychometrika, 55(3), 517-518. Abstract retrieved May 13, 2003, from PsycINFO database.APA 91. Electronic version of US government report available by search from GPO Access database (on the web)
U.S. General Accounting Office. (1997, February). Telemedicine: Federal strategy is needed to guide investments (Publication no. GAO/NSAID/HEHS-97-67). Retrieved September 15, 2000, from General Accounting Office Reports Online via GPO Access: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/acces/aces160.shtml?/gao/index. html.APA 92. Computer software
Erickson, R. S. (2003). Xcelcior.. (Computer software).APA 93. Computer software and manual available on university web site
Benzinger, A. (2003). Anti-plagiarism software for educators [http://www.nisu-c.edu/faculty/academics/benzinger/APS.htm]. (Computer software and manual).APA 94. Data file, available from government agency
National Educator Interview Survey-Current education topics: 2003. (Version 6) [Data file]. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Higher Education Statistics.APA 95. Data file, available from NTIS web site
Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics. (2003). National Extended Care Facility Roster [Data file]. Available from National Technical Information Service Web Site: http://www.ntis.gov.Citation Help Main
Citation Style Guide
Citation OnlineÓ 2004 Oberon
Last modified:
Citation is a registered trademark of Oberon Development.