APA Citations (based on 7th ed. published in 2020)
Author Names
- Invert the names so the last name comes first followed by a comma and the initials.
- Use an ampersand (&) before the last author
- If 20 or more authors. list the first 19, with comma after each author, then elipses and last author, without an ampersand (&)
- Retain the order of authors’ names.
- To cite in-text: Put the last name of the first author, followed by et al., year (Smith et al., 2019).
- Capitalize all the main words of the organization name.
- NO Author? Begin the citation with the title of the article, book or website, followed by the date and source information.
Single Author: Anderson, J. P.
Two Authors: Jones, C. A. & Smith, P. S.
Twenty or More Authors:
Smith, J., Jones, B. E., Brown, K. E., Doe, J., Chan, L., Garcia, S.M., White, C-G., Fernandez, J., Ahmed, A.J., Zhao, L., Cohen, D., Watababe, K., Kim, K., Del Rosario, J., Yilmaz, P. K., Nguyen, T., Wilson, T. H., Want, W., Kahale, A. … Zhang, Z. Z.
Group Authors (Government Agency or Organizational Author)
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2011). Your guide to anemia (NIH Publication No. 11-7629). http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/blood/anemai-yg.pdf
- Place any identifying publication numbers in the title statement in parentheses.
- First time citing within the text: (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [NHLBI], 2011)
- All subsequent citations within the text, use an abbreviated name: (NHLBI, 2011)
Journal Article
- Put only the year of publication in parentheses, followed by a period
- Capitalize only proper nouns and the first word of the title and subtitle. Do not italicize. End title section with a period.
- Capitalize all major words in the journal name and put in italics. Follow with a comma, then the volume number in italics. Close italics, and do not put a space before the parenthesis for the issue number. Close parentheses put a comma, then the page numbers of the article. No issue number? Omit parentheses & put page numbers after the volume and comma. End with a period.
Journal Example:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Name of the Periodical, volume(issue), #-#. https://doi.org/xxx
Book Citation
- Put the year in parentheses, followed by a period.
- Capitalize only the first letter of the title and subtitle and proper nouns. Put title in italics. In parentheses provide edition if not the first edition.
- Include the name of the publisher followed by a period. Do not include the publisher location.
- Always include DOI, if available in this format: https://doi.org/xxx Include URL for e-books only if it does not require login. If login required, use only the homepage URL. Do not use any punctuation after the DOI or URL.
Book Example:
Author, A. A. (Copyright Year). Title of the book (6th ed.). Publisher. DOI or URL
Chapter of an Edited Book or Multi-Volume Work
Follow the format for a book citation, using the chapter author and title. Before the book title, put “In”, the editor name(s), followed by (Ed.) or (Eds.) and a comma, followed by the title of the books. In parentheses, provide the edition (if not the first), volume and page numbers of the chapter. Close the parentheses and put a period.
Chapter Example:
Author, A. A. (Copyright Year). Chapter title. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of the book (6th ed., Vol. #, #-#). Publisher. DOI or URL
Magazine Article
- Put the complete date of the issue in this format: (Year, Month Date).
- Capitalize only proper nouns and the first word of the title and subtitle. Do not italicize. Follow with a period.
- Capitalize all major words in the magazine name and put in italics. Follow with a comma, then the volume number in italics. Close italics, and do not put a space before the parenthesis for the issue number. Close parentheses then put a comma and the page numbers of the article. No volume or issue number? Omit parentheses & put page numbers after the volume and comma. End with a period.
- Include the URL if an online edition. Do not put a period after the DOI/URL.
Magazine Example:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Magazine Title, volume(issue), #-#. http://xxxx.xxx
Newspaper Article
- Follow the same format for magazine articles, except page numbers include the section.
- If the newspaper has a common name, put the publication city and state in parentheses, such as Times-News (Twin Falls, ID).
- Provide the URL only if citing an online edition.
Newspaper Example:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Newspaper Name (city), #-#. http://xxxx.xxx
Citing Class Materials (Slides, Lecture, Assignments, etc.)
Quotes from class lectures and materials developed by instructors are classified as personal communications, in the same category as letters, and conversations. They require in-text citations when referred to, but do not include them in a reference list. In the in-text citation, provide the initials and last name of the author, personal communication, then the exact date.
(C. Black, personal communication, February 12, 2019)
OR
- Black (personal communication, February 12, 2019) stated….
NOTE: If the material cited by the instructor is a published source, use that source information, as cited by the instructor, and include the source in the reference list.
Audio-Visual Sources Citations (TedTalks, YouTube videos, movies, etc.)
Films or Videos
- Provide the director’s name in place of the author. In parentheses put the role description.
- Use the most exact date available in parentheses.
- Provide the complete title in italics, with only the first word and proper nouns capitalized. Put the format in square brackets, end with a period.
- Put the production company in place of the publisher.
Film or Video Example:
Director, D. D. (Director). (Year). Title of Production [Film]. Production Company.
TEDTalks, YouTube, etc
- If the presenter is sharing original work, provide that presenter’s name. List all contributors in order listed on program (see above author list rules).
- Use the date of the presentation.
- Include the title of the presentation in italics, capitalize only the first word and proper nouns. Include the format type in square brackets.
- Include the name of the event or series of presentations.
- Include the URL. Do not put a period after the DOI/URL.
Websites
- Use this format for material accessed online that does not have a parent format (journal or magazine article, book, etc.)
- Do not use general copyright dates as the publication date. If no publication or creation date is given, use (n.d).
- If author and website name are the same, omit the website after the title.
- Use a retrieval date only for websites that change frequently, such as social media, maps, dictionary entries and unarchived sources. Citations for most websites should not include retrieval dates.
- Include the complete URL of the item for the specific source.
Reference Samples in APA Format
Note: The following citations are fictitious, and are only to be used as examples.
Journal Article
Jones, C. J. (1970). Research in college: What do students do? College Readiness, 42(5), 72-86. https://doi.org/cr2014.0830124
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Magazine Article
Smith, M. D. (1989 September). Johnny is in college? Redbook, 65(12), 42-43.
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Book
Arnold, J. A. (2009). Retaining what you read. Caxton Press.
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Book Chapter
Miller, R. A. (2002). Living the American dream. In Sanborn, R. E. (Ed.), Preparing for the working world (3rd. ed., pp. 376-389). Thompson Publishers.
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.gov websites
Cook, S. (2015). Idaho standards for learning challenge: Take the challenge. Idaho State Dept. of Education. https://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/IdahoChallenge/index.htm
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.com websites
Ramseth, L. (2015, Aug. 21). No new taxes in proposed Bonneville County budget. Post Register. http://www.postregister.com/articles/news-todays-headlines/2015/08/20/no-new-taxes-proposed-bonneville-county-budget
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.org websites
Jensen, M. (2012). Our partner agencies. http://unitedwayif.org/partner-agencies/
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.edu websites
Jolley, C. L. (2015). Chemistry for everyone. Idaho State Univ. http://www.isu.edu/
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