When you directly quote or paraphrase another author’s work in your paper, APA format requires the use of in-text citations, also called parenthetical citations. These citations include the author’s last name and the source's publication year (e.g. Smith, 2008). When using a direct quotation, also include the page number (preceded by "p." for a single page or "pp." for multiple pages), as in the following examples.
Direct quotation with author’s name as part of the narrative:
According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).
Direct quotation with parenthetical citation:
Jones found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (1998, p. 199).
Paraphrase or summary of information from another author:
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998).
How to cite multiple authors (examples):
Two authors: Giving credit to another author's work by citing the text is an essential part in writing papers (Johnson & Williams, 2009).
or Johnson and Williams (2009) explain that giving credit to another author's work by citing the text is an essential part in writing papers.
Shorten any reference with three or more authors to the first author followed by et al.
Three or more authors: The humanities has a positive effect on well-being of individuals, communities, and societies (Vaziri et al., 2018).
Your reference list must include each source you cite in your paper. The reference list should begin on a new page at the end of your essay. Center the word “References” in bold at the top of the page.
A reference entry essentially answers the following questions: Who When What Where
See the examples below of basic citation formats for books, articles in periodicals, and websites. For more examples of citations for different types of resources, you can consult the APA Style manual or another resource listed in this guide.
Books:
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.
Young, M. A. (1970). Buttons are to push: Developing your child’s creativity. Pitman.
Book Chapters:
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. pages of chapter). Publisher.
Pincus, D., & Guastello, S. J. (2013). Complexity science in the future of behavioral medicine. In J. P. Sturmberg & C. Martin (Eds.), Handbook of systems and complexity in health (pp. 889-909). Springer.
E-Books:
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher. http://www.publisherhomepageurl
Cain, S. (2012). Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking. Broadway Books.
If the e-book is from an academic research database, cite it like the printed version. Include the DOI link if available.
Scholarly Journal Articles:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), page numbers or Article number. DOI or URL link if available
Janzen, L. A. (2010). The evolution of clinical child neuropsychology. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 24(2), 358-360. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854040903381420
Sakai, C., Ishida, M., Ohba, H., Yamashita, H., Uchida, H., Yoshizumi, M., & Ishida, T. (2017). Fish oil omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids attenuate oxidative stress-induced DNA damage in vascular endothelial cells. PLoS ONE, 12(11), Article e0187934. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187934
Magazine Articles:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of article. Title of Magazine, volume number(issue number), pages.
Kluger, J. (2007, January 18). The new map of the brain. Time, 169(5), 56.
A Website's Webpages:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Name of website if different than author. https://web address
American Heart Association. (n.d.). Nutrition basics. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics
*The examples shown above are single-spaced. Be sure to double-space your list and use a hanging indent (the first line of each reference entry is flush left and subsequent lines are indented by 0.5 inch).
When creating a reference list with APA 7th editon, you will have to add the DOI, or digital object identifier, to the citation.
This article was found on the library's database. You can find the DOI number on the abstract page.
You can turn any DOI into a URL by adding https://doi.org/ before the DOI. For example this article has the DOI:10.1111/j.1540-6563.2007.00196.x and would be written as a hyperlink: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6563.2007.00196.x
Here is the full citation:
Szasz, F. M., & Takechi, I. (2007). Atomic Heroes and Atomic Monsters: American and Japanese Cartoonists Confront the Onset of the Nuclear Age, 1945-80. Historian, 69(4), 728–752. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6563.2007.00196.x
Some articles might have the DOI displayed on the the article page as shown below:
If you are reading a PDF of an article, the DOI may be found on the top or bottom of the page. See the example below:
Keep in mind that not every article will have a DOI assigned to them. For works without DOIs from academic research databases, do not attach a URL. Instead, cite the work the same as the printed version.
Reproduced with permission from https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/student-annotated.pdf. Copyright © 2020 American Psychological Association.