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APA Citation Examples

Based on APA Publication Manual, 6th Edition, 2009

REFERENCE LIST EXAMPLES

Need More Help?

For a more detailed explanation of how to use APA style, see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. This is the APA's official citation guide. The manual is unfortunately not available online, but reference copies are available in all 16 University of Maryland libraries.

You can also ask a librarian for help finding a copy in a library near you or to ask a citation-related question.

Some General Rules

In-Text Citations

What You Are Citing
In-Text Citation

The entire work

(Smith, 2004)

A specific page

(Smith, 2004, p. 39)

If the author's name is included in the text of the sentence where the citation takes place

Smith (2004, p. 39) claims that...

Use only the date or date and page number.

An online article with no page numbers.

(Myers, 2000, para. 5)

(Beutler, 2000, Conclusion section, para. 1)

Use abbreviation "para." followed by the paragraph number you are citing. When possible, specify a section of the article.

Citing multiple authors

See Authors, below.

Authors

One author

Example:
Reference List Citation
Example:
In-Text Citation

Courtois, C. A. (2004).

(Courtois, 2004)

Two authors

Example:
Reference List Citation
Example:
In-Text Citation

Kelley, P. C., & Chang, P. L. (2007).

(Kelley & Chang, 2007)

Three to five authors

Example:
Reference List Citation
Example:
In-Text Citation

Hughes, J. C., Brestan, E. V., & Valle, L. A. (2004).

First citation:
(Hughes, Brestan, & Valle, 2004)

Subsequent citations:
(Hughes et al., 2004)

When a work has more than 2 authors, subsequent in-text citations consist of the first author's name followed by "et al" (Latin for "and others") and the date.

Six or seven authors

Example:
Reference List Citation
Example:
In-Text Citation

Phelps, B. R., Lima, M., Gomez, J., MacArthur, R. T., Gansu, L., & Nehru, M. (2004).

First citation:
(Phelps et al., 2004)

Subsequent citations:
(Phelps et al., 2004)

When a work has 6-7 authors, in-text citations consist of the first author's name followed by "et al" (Latin for "and others") and the date.

Eight or more authors

Example:
Reference List Citation
Example:
In-Text Citation

Carter, A., Dougherty, S., Addington, M., Stanley, R., Stanley, C., Schuffler, G., . . . Smyrna, B. F. (2004).

When there are eight or more authors, include the first 6 authors' names followed by an ellipsis (. . .) and the final author's name.

First citation:
(Carter et al., 2004)

Subsequent citations:
(Carter et al., 2004)

When a work has 8 or more authors, in-text citations consist of the first author's name followed by "et al" (Latin for "and others") and the date.

Group author

Example:
Reference List Citation
Example:
In-Text Citation

American Dietetic Association. (1999).

First citation:
(American Dietetic Association [ADA], 1999)

Subsequent citations:
(ADA, 1999)

No authors listed

Example:
Reference List Citation
Example:
In-Text Citation

None to claim their bones: Relics of an old Brooklyn graveyard. (1888, April 12). New York Times, pp. 3-4. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

List the source by title in your reference list. Alphabetize reference list entries beginning with a title using the primary word of the title (excluding a, an, and the).

("None to Claim Their Bones," 1888)

In cases where the title contains a colon, use only the text before the colon in your in-text citation.

Titles

Capitalization: For all sources other than periodicals (that is, newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals), capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns only. Do not capitalize the rest (see example below).

All major words in periodical titles should be capitalized (for example, Psychology Today, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.)

Italics: Titles are italicized for the following items:

  • Books
  • E-Books
  • Periodicals
  • Web sites
  • Dissertations/theses
  • Reports/technical papers
  • Works of art
Source
Example

Journal article title

Freud's Vienna revisited.

Book title

Student cheating and plagiarism in the Internet era: A wake-up call.

Volume and Issue Numbers

APA does not use "Volume", "Vol.", "v.", "Issue" or related terms. Use italics for the volume number.

Source
Example

Magazine and journal volume and issue number formatting

12(4)

12 is the volume number (in italics) and 4 is the issue number.

If each issue of a journal begins on page 1, give the issue number in parentheses immediately after the volume number, as above.

Page Numbers

Issue
What To Do

When to use "p." and "pp."

Use "p." and "pp." to indicate page numbers when citing newspaper articles and book chapters. Omit them when citing journal and magazine articles. Follow the examples in this guide.

Online periodical where page numbers are not given

National Geographic, 300(2).

300 is the volume number. Follow the issue number of the magazine or journal with a period.

Undated Sources

Use "(n.d.)" (for "no date") in your citation.

Reference List Citation
 In-Text Citation

Knowles, A. (n.d.). House of dust [Collage]. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Retrieved from Oxford Art Online database.

(Knowles, n.d.)

Citing a Source within a Source

Scenario: You read a 2007 article by Linhares and Brum that cites an earlier article, by Frederick. You want to cite Frederick's article, but you have not read Frederick's article itself.

Reference List Citation
In-Text Citation

Linhares, A., & Brum, P. (2007). Understanding our understanding of strategic scenarios: What role do chunks play? Cognitive Science, 31(6), 989-1007. doi:10.1080/03640210701703725

Your Reference list will contain the article you read, by Linhares and Brum. Your Reference list will NOT contain a citation for Frederick's article.

Frederick's study (as cited in Linhares & Brum, 2007) found that...

Your in-text citation gives credit to Frederick and shows the source in which you found Frederick's ideas.

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Articles

Academic Journals

Source
Reference List Citation

Library database with DOI

Sagarin, B. J., & Lawler-Sagarin, K. A. (2005). Critically evaluating competing theories: An exercise based on the Kitty Genovese murder. Teaching of Psychology, 32(3), 167–169. doi:10.1207/s15328023top3203_8

What is a DOI?
Some library databases, such as PsycARTICLES and PsycINFO, list a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for individual articles. A DOI is a unique identifying number for an article. In the database record for an article, you will see an element that looks like this, which you should include at the end of your APA reference:

Digital Object Identifier

Library database without DOI

Reitzes, D. C., & Mutran, E. J. (2004). The transition to retirement: Stages and factors that influence retirement adjustment. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 59(1), 63-84. Retrieved from http://www.baywood.com/journals/PreviewJournals.asp?Id=0091-4150

No DOI? Find the journal homepage.
Many articles will NOT contain a DOI. Search the Web to find the address of the homepage of the journal that published the article and include it in your citation (example). Please be aware, however, that the full text of articles may not actually be available at the journal homepage.

Cannot find the journal homepage?
In this case, do a search for the name of the database you are using (for example, "JSTOR" or "Business Source Complete") and use the address of its homepage.

Free Web

Giancola, P. R. (2004). Executive functioning and alcohol-related aggression. American Psychologist, 59(2), 5-7. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/journals/amp/amp59129.pdf

In print

Hughes, J. C., Brestan, E. V., & Valle, L. A. (2004). Problem-solving interactions between mothers and children. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 26(1), 1-16.

More info

Magazines:

-Daily or Weekly Magazines

Source
Reference List Citation

Library database

Borowitz, A. (2004, November 15). Pavlov's brother. New Yorker, 80(35), 63-66. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/

Do a Web search for the magazine homepage and use the homepage URL after the words "Retrieved from".

Free Web

Springen, K. (2005, January 17). Artful aging. Newsweek, 145(3), 25-27. Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.com/6803302/newsweek/

In print

Borowitz, A. (2004, November 15). Pavlov's brother. New Yorker, 80(35), 63-66.

More info

-Monthly Magazines

Source
Reference List Citation

Library database

Norman, A. D. (1988, March). Infuriating by design. Psychology Today, 22(3), 52-56. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/

Do a Web search for the magazine homepage and use the homepage URL after the words "Retrieved from".

Free Web

Gelb, N. (2003, May). Winter of discontent. Smithsonian, 34(2), 50-55. Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/may03/gelb/

In print

Ives, F., & Lydon, J. (2005, January). Freud's Vienna revisited. Discover, 26(2), 16-17.

More info

Tip:

  • When an issue of a magazine covers several months, the name of the first and last month in the range should be given in the citation, separated by a dash, for example: "(1993, June-July)".

Newspapers

Source
Reference List Citation

Library database

Brown, P. L. (1999, September 5). Tiffany glass and other tales from the crypt. New York Times, pp. 1, 5. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

Do a Web search for the newspaper homepage and use the homepage URL after the words "Retrieved from".

Free Web

Foreman, J. (2003, August 12). Allston gothic. Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/03_8_12/allston

In print

Brown, P. L. (1999, September 5). Tiffany glass and other tales from the crypt. New York Times, pp. 1, 5.

The page number of a newspaper article is preceded by "p." in a reference list citation. When an article appears on multiple pages, the page range is preceded by "pp." (for example, "pp. 4-6"). When an article appears on discontinuous pages, separate the page numbers with a comma (ex. "pp. 4, 8"). When a newspaper uses section letters in its page numbers, these should be included in your citation (ex. "p. A1", "pp. B1, B6").

More info

Encyclopedia Articles

Source
Reference List Citation

Library database

Smith, A. J. (2001). Child development. In B. Strickland (Ed.), The Gale encyclopedia of psychology. Retrieved from http://www.gale.cengage.com/

Do a Web search for the homepage of the publisher of the encyclopedia and use the homepage URL after the words "Retrieved from".

More info

Articles Freely Available on the Web

Source
Reference List Citation

Free Web

Caliper, N. (2004). The Brontes and the world they made. The Victorian Web. Retrieved from http://www.victorians.org/bronte.html

More info

Book, Film and Product Reviews

Source
Reference List Citation

Library database

Grimes, W. (2006, December 13). Beyond Mandalay, the road to isolation and xenophobia [Review of the book The river of lost footsteps: Histories of Burma, by T. Myint-U]. New York Times, pp. E8, E10. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

Do a Web search for the newspaper homepage and use the homepage URL after the words "Retrieved from".

An untitled book, film, or product review (for example, a review covering multiple works):

Guha, M. (2006). [Review of the books Fleeting pleasures: A history of intoxicants, by M. London and Dirty: A search for answers inside America's teenage drug epidemic, by M. Maran]. Journal of Mental Health, 15, 713-716. Retrieved from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713432595

Do a Web search for the journal homepage and use the homepage URL after the words "Retrieved from".

Free Web

Cohen, P. (2007, May 9). Love, honor, cherish, and buy [Review of the book One perfect day: The selling of the American wedding, by R. Mead]. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/books/09bride.html

More info

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Books

Source
Reference List Citation

Basic book

Jans, N. (1993). The last light breaking: Life among Alaska's Inupiat Eskimos. Anchorage, AK: Alaska Northwest Books.

Edited book

Miller, J., & Smith, T. (Eds.). (1996). Cape Cod stories: Tales from Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

For a single editor, use "(Ed.)".

Numbered edition other than the first

Arking, R. (2006). The biology of aging: Observations and principles (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Revised edition

Culliney, J. L. (2006). Islands in a far sea: The fate of nature in Hawai'i (Rev. ed.). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press.

Multi-volume set

Green, C. M. (1962-1963). Washington (Vols. 1-2). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

If volumes in a work or set are published in different years, give the range of years separated by a dash as above.

Chapter or article in an anthology

Eliot, T. S. (2001). Tradition and the individual talent. In V. B. Leitch (Ed.), The Norton anthology of theory and criticism (pp. 1092-1097). New York, NY: W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1920)

Note that the page numbers of an article or chapter are preceded by "pp." when citing it (for example, "pp. 25-50"). In cases where an article/chapter occupies a single page, the page is preceded by "p." (ex. "p. 4").

If an article has been reprinted from a source published earlier, give the original date of publication in the "original work" element of the citation as shown above (when using this element, the final period in a citation is omitted).

More info

Tips:

  • Cities, States and Countries: For U.S. cities, add the standard postal abbreviations for state (for example, "Chatham, MA"). Foreign cities should be followed by the name of their country (ex. "Brisbane, Australia").
  • Place of publication: Separate place of publication from publisher with a colon (for example "New York, NY: Zone Books"). If more than one city is given, list only the first.
  • Publisher names: "Co.", "Inc." and related abbreviations should not be included in citations (for example, "Ivan R. Dee, Inc." should be given as "Ivan R. Dee".)

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E-Books

Source
Reference List Citation

NetLibrary

Kornblum, W. (2002). At sea in the city: New York from the water's edge. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books. Retrieved from http://www.workman.com/algonquin/

Do a Web search for the homepage of the publisher of the book and use the homepage URL after the words "Retrieved from".

Free Web

Seton, E. T. (1911). The Arctic prairies: A canoe-journey of 2,000 miles in search of the caribou. New York, NY: C. Scribner's Sons. Retrieved from Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6818

Book chapter from a library database (suggested format)

Quina, K., & Kanarian, M A. (1988). Continuing education. In R. Shepard & M. Herlong (Eds.), Teaching a psychology of people: Resources for gender and sociocultural awareness (pp. 200-208). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/

Do a Web search for the homepage of the publisher of the book and use the homepage URL after the words "Retrieved from".

Library databases may include chapters from books. Information about the publisher of a book can often be found in the description of the chapter in the database. Author and publisher information may be omitted from your citation if it is not available.

More info

Tips:

  • Cities, States and Countries: For U.S. cities, add the standard postal abbreviations for state (for example, "Chatham, MA"). Foreign cities should be followed by the name of their country (ex. "Brisbane, Australia").
  • Place of publication: Separate place of publication from publisher with a colon (for example "New York, NY: Zone Books"). If more than one city is given, list only the first.
  • Publisher names: "Co.", "Inc." and related abbreviations should not be included in citations (for example, "Ivan R. Dee, Inc." should be given as "Ivan R. Dee".

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Web Sites

Source
Reference List Citation

Entire Web site

If you refer to an entire Web site, you do not need to include an entry for it in your reference list, but must identify the source clearly in the text of your paper. For example:

The Sea Turtle Restoration Project homepage presents a wealth of compelling, well-researched information on the struggle to save the world's sea turtles from extinction (http://www.seaturtles.org).

A specific page within a Web site

Sea Turtle Restoration Project. (2006). Global sea turtle population declines. Retrieved June 6, 2007, from http://www.seaturtles.org/population_decline.html

In-text Citation:
(Sea Turtle Restoration Project, 2006)

More info
  • Since the content of a Web site can change over time, include the date that you viewed the cited information in your "retrieved from" line.
  • General Rules has more information about citing multiple authors, undated sources, etc.

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WebTycho Classroom Materials

Source
Reference List Citation

A document in a WebTycho classroom

Whitford, D. (2006). Cross-curricular initiatives in NSCI170. Document posted in University of Maryland University College NSCI 170 6981 online classroom, archived at: http://webtycho.umuc.edu

No official APA format for citing online classroom materials exists - this is merely a recommended format to use in citing such documents.

More info

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Technical and Research Reports

Source
Reference List Citation

Free Web

United States General Accounting Office. (1997, February). Telemedicine: Federal strategy is needed to guide investments (Publication No. GAO/NSAID/HEHS-97-67). Retrieved from General Accounting Office Reports Online: www.gpoaccess.gov/gaoreports/index.html

In print

United States General Accounting Office. (1997, February). Telemedicine: Federal strategy is needed to guide investments (Publication No. GAO/NSAID/HEHS-97-67). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

More info

Tip:

  • The element of the citation giving the publication or report number can be omitted if this information is not available for the source you're citing.

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Dissertations and Theses

Dissertations

Source
Reference List Citation

Dissertations and Theses database

Pecore, J. T. (2004). Sounding the spirit of Cambodia: The living tradition of Khmer music and dance-drama in a Washington, DC community (Doctoral dissertation). Available from Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3114720)

Note that an “Available from” statement is used, giving the database name followed by the word “database.” Also, APA calls for the citation to end with a unique identifying number for the dissertation, labeling it “UMI No.” That number can be found in Dissertations and Theses database, listed in the item record as “Publication Number.”

Free Web

Caprette, C. L. (2005). Conquering the cold shudder: The origin and evolution of snake eyes (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/send-pdf.cgi?acc_num=osu1111184984

In print

Caprette, C. L. (2005). Conquering the cold shudder: The origin and evolution of snake eyes (Doctoral dissertation). Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

More info

Master's Theses

Source
Reference List Citation

Dissertations and Theses database

Harzbecker, J. J. (1999). Life and death in Washington DC: An analysis of the Mortality Census data of 1850 (Master's thesis). Available from Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 1395513)

Note that an “Available from” statement is used, giving the database name followed by the word “database.” Also, APA calls for the citation to end with a unique identifying number for the dissertation, labeling it “UMI No.” That number can be found in Dissertations and Theses database, listed in the item record as “Publication Number.”

Free Web

Angelova, A. N. (2004). Data pruning (Master's thesis). Retrieved from http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-05282004-000943

In print

Angelova, A. N. (2004). Data pruning (Master's thesis). California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

More info

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Images

Titled Image

Source
Reference List Citation

Library database

Rousseau, H. (1896). The ship in the storm [Painting]. Musee de l'Orangerie, Paris. Retrieved from Oxford Art Online database.

Free Web

Rousseau, H. (1896). The ship in the storm [Painting]. Musee de l'Orangerie, Paris. Retrieved from http://www.uwm.edu/~wash/rousseau.jpg

Image reproduced in a printed source

Rousseau, H. (1896). The ship in the storm [Painting]. Musee de l'Orangerie, Paris. Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris. By Claire Fresches et al. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art. 232.

The plate/image number (or, if this number is not available, the page number on which the image is printed) should follow the name of the publisher as shown.

More info

Untitled Image

Create a brief title for it and place it in brackets, unitalicized.

Source
Reference List Citation

Library database

Muybridge, E. [Photograph of a horse running]. (1887). National Gallery, London. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Image reproduced in a printed source

Muybridge, E. [Photograph of a horse running]. (1887). National Gallery, London. River of shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the technological wild West. By Rebecca Solnit. New York, NY: Viking. 52.

The plate/image number (or, if this number is not available, the page number on which the image is printed) should follow the name of the publisher as shown.

More info

Tips:

  • Medium: If known, the medium of the image should be placed in brackets as shown above, and the collection which owns the image included in your citation along with its location.
  • Institution locations: For U.S. cities, add the standard postal abbreviations for state (for example, "Chatham, MA"). Foreign cities should be followed by the name of their country (ex. "Brisbane, Australia").

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Interviews, E-mail Messages, and Other Personal Communications

Source
Example

Personal communication

APA does not require that you cite personal communications (interviews you've conducted, e-mail messages, etc.) in your reference list. Instead, give an in-text citation only using the following model:

Joe Smith (personal communication, November 18, 2006) informed me that the server had crashed several hours ago.

More info

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