CLRC Writing Center Using American Psychological Association (APA) Citation How to use this guide to build your works cited entries: 1. Determine what types of sources you have (book by one author, work in an anthology, website). 2. Find the example below that corresponds to it, or consult a writer s handbook, such as The Brief Penguin Handbook, or APA handbook. 3. Identify the publication information in your source necessary to build a works cited entry. 4. Follow the directions included with the examples to arrange your works cited page. **This handout is a quick reference guide; use a writer s handbook, or an APA handbook for a complete, authoritative description to accurately cite a wide variety of sources.** CREATING THE REFENCES PAGE 1) List references in alphabetical order by last name or title (see example page below). Alphabetize by the first main word in the title, skipping articles The, An, or A. If you have two or more works by the same author, list them in chronological order with the earliest first. If there are multiple works by the same author published in the same year, list alphabetically by the title of the document. 2) If you cannot find some information for a source, include all that is available, and alert the reader to what information is missing. For example, do you have a reference with no author? Place the title in the author position, and continue with the publication information in the same order no date? Type (n.d.) in parantheses where the publication date should appear in the reference. ** Pay careful attention to all punctuation and formatting, like underlining.** CITING PRINT SOURCES: The following are examples of how to cite a book with an author(s) or editor(s): Author s last name, Author s intial(s). (if an editor include Ed(s). in parentheses). (Publication year). Title. Place of publication: Publisher. [Note: list up to six authors, with Author s last name, Author s initials, separating the last two with an &. If there are more than six authors, write et al. at the end of the list of names, with no &.] Gregerson, M. P. (2000). The influence of television on pre-teens. New York: Educational Resources Press. Mejias, J. (Ed.) (1982). Parenting styles: Results from three studies. Chigaco: Dandelion Publishers. Yang, A., & Zedi, L. (Eds.) (2003) Sibling relationships: A study of socialization between siblings. Charleston: New Books. a book with no author(s) or editor(s): Title. (Edition, if there is one). (Publication year). Place of publication: Publisher. The American Heritage Dictionary. (2 nd ed.). (1985). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Created 6/07
a book with a group author (government agency or private organization) as the publisher: Group author or company name. (Publication year). Title (edition, if there is one). Place of publication: Publisher. [Note: when author and publisher are the same, use the word Author as the name of the publisher.] Food and Drug Administration. (2006). Regulatory Procedures Manual. Rockville, MD: Author. a journal article with one author: Author s last name, Author s initial(s). (Publication year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number when journal is paginated by issue), page numbers. Reynolds, R. A. (1999). The effects of home-school education. Educational Psychology, 1(3), 22-43. a journal article with two authors: Author s last name, Author s initial(s) & Author s last name, Author s initial(s). (Publication year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number when journal is paginated by issue), page numbers. Lamb, C., & Blake, W. (1999). Students interactions with subsitute instructors: effective classroom techniques. Educational Psychology, 13(4), 129-136. an entry from a multivolume encyclopedia: Author s last name, Author s initials. (Publication year). Title of article. In Title of Encyclopedia (Edition number). Place of Publication: Publisher. Michaels, A. E. (1964). Historical techniques to effect social change. In The Encyclopedia of History (7 th ed.). Louiseville: Progressive Press. an article from a monthly, weekly, or biweekly periodical/magazine: Author s last name, Author s initial(s). (Date of publication, if monthly or weekly, include the month or week, respectively). Title of article. Title of Magazine, volume number, page numbers. Dickinson, F. (March 1996). Nature or nurture: study results from Brandford College. College Research Magazine, 67, 88-93. a newpaper article: Author s last name, Author s initial(s). (Date of publication year, month day). Title of article. Title of Newpaper, pp. and page numbers. Aja, Y. (1999). Modern-day mating rituals. New York Times, pp. 88-93. CITING ELECTRONIC SOURCES When citing an article from an electronic version of a journal, magazine or newspaper, use the same format for the print version, then add: Retrieved Month day, year, from Name of Database or : URL, if it is an online database. Page numbers may not apply. The following are examples of how to cite Using APA Citation Page 2
a journal article from an electronic database: Reynolds, R. A. (1999). The effects of home-school education. Educational Psychology, 1(3), 22-43. Retrieved November 16, 2006, from ProQuest database. an article from a monthly, weekly, or biweekly periodical/magazine from an electronic database: Dickinson, F. (March 1996). Nature or nurture: study results from Brandford College. College Research Magazine, 67, 88-93. Retrieved November 15, 2006, from Undergraduate Research Results database. a newpaper article from an electronic database: Aja, Y. (1999, February 14). Modern-day mating rituals. New York Times, pp. 88-93. Retrieved November 13, 2006, from Newspapers Electronically database. a book in an electronic database via the Internet with an author(s) or editor(s): Gregerson, M. P. (2000). The influence of television on pre-teens. New York: Educational Resources Press. Retrieved November 3, 2006 from netlibrary database: http://www.netlibrary.com/. [Note: If the document is found on several linking pages, include the URL to the home page of the site or for the first page of the document.] a journal article from an Internet-only journal: Ruiz, R. (1999). Emotional abuse and drop-out rates. Psychology Online, 6, Article 2345-17. Retrieved November 13, 2006, from http://psychologyonline.2006archive.2345-17.html. a document with a group author (government agency or private organization) as the publisher, published only on the Internet: Bright Ideas Company. (January 1, 2006). Results of a study of adolescent prodogies. Retrieved November 2, 2006, from the Bright Ideas Company Website: http://www.brightideas.com. a personal home page: Raaje, E. Home page. Retrieved November 17, 2006, from http://www.eriksonsthoughts.com/alternative_transportation/. For more information about how to cite conference proceedings, personal communications, interviews, dissertation abstracts, motion pictures, television broadcasts and series, music records reference a writer s handbook, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, or Purdue s Online Writing Lab at owl.english.purdue.edu. If you are confused about any formatting or style descisions, check with your instructor about his or her preferences Using APA Citation Page 3
CREATING IN-TEXT CITATIONS APA citation requires that three pieces of information be included within the text of your essay when you are quoting or referencing another author s work: the author s last name, the date of publication and the page numbers. There are two ways to include this information: 1) Paraphrase, summary, or short quotation: o If the author is named in your text, place the publication date in parentheses immediately following the author s name, and the page or paragraph number (in the case of a website or non-paginated document, often from electronic sources) in parentheses at the end of the sentence (the period will fall outside of the final parenthesis): Blake and Lamb (1999) stipulated, in their report (p. 131). o If the author is not named in the text of the sentence, include all the required information at the end of the sentence, in parentheses, and separated by commas: According to recent research, (Blake & Lamb, 1999, p. 131). 2) Quotation of 40 words or more: o Name the author in the text, place the publication date in parentheses immediately following the author s name, and place the page number in parentheses outside the period at the end of the indented block quote: Blake and Lamb (1999) suggested that: Quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text quoted text. (p. 56) Additional guidelines: Name up to three authors in the text of the sentence or in the final parenthesis. If there four or more authors name only the first author and add et. al. Use the ampersand symbol (&) when listing two authors in the parentheses: If a work is by a group or organization, use the name of the group as you would the author s last name, either in the text of the sentence or in the final parentheses. List the appropriate acronym in brackets, if there is one, along with the full name the first time you reference the group, and then use only the acronym throughout your paper after: If you are citing a work with no author or editor, use the title within the text of your sentence as you would an author s last name. Use a shortened version of the title if the citation is in the parentheses at the end of your sentence. If you are citing information quoted in one of your sources, include the phrase as cited in in the parenthetical citation: Unlike MLA citation rules, conventional APA citation recommends that you use the past tense when introducing an author s words: (Larabie et. al, 2003, p. 16). (Herrera & Mayer, 2003, p. 16). (Bright Ideas Company [BIC], 2006, para. 6). (Amer. Heritage Dict., 1985, p. 760). Craig and Zhen report that, (as cited in Gregerson, 2000, para. 14). Mayer wrote Asserted Herrera Schultz claimed Using APA Citation Page 4
FORMATTING YOUR PAPER Example: Title Page (not to scale) APA recommends using Times New Roman or Courier in 12 pt font. Times New Roman is the font most often required by instructors. Public Transportation 1 Double space lines throughout your document, beginning with the title page. Public Transportation: An Environmental Alternative for Santa Barbara Julia P. Student Santa Barbara City College Formal APA style requires a title page that includes the paper s running header and page number in the top right corner. The full title of your paper, your name, and the name of your educational institution should be centered in the middle of the page. Many instructors require their name and the name of their course instead of the name of your college; confirm with your instructor which he or she prefers. Using APA Citation Page 5
Example: First Page of Text (not to scale) 1/2 Public Transportation 2 Public Transportation: paragraph indent ½ An Environmental Alternative for Santa Barbara Even though it is agreed that public transportation is an energy efficient and ecologically sound transportation alternative, a popular argument for not expanding current bus systems is that residents of mid-sized towns probably wouldn t switch to using their current bus system. According to a poll taken by the Administration for Sustainable Metropolitan Spaces, 75% of residents in midsized towns would only use public transportation if it were convenient and inviting to do so (Admin. for Sustainable Metropolitan Spaces, 2006, p. 147). It seems that the key to ensuring use of alternate transportation is to make it accessible and inviting. In a personal interview, Santa Barbara city council member Rose Connor stated that council members also often argue that it is too costly and difficult to develop such a system, even if the city could expand on the existing one (R. Connor, personal communication, March 3, 2007). However, M. P. Gregerson, a city planning consultant whose research about alternate transportation has been a guide for many American mid-sized town systems, asserts that, Effectively improving public transportation systems is feasible but, more importantly, crucial to a municipality s economic, residential and social systems (2000, p. 12). Using APA Citation Page 6
Example: References Page (not to scale) Type References, centered at the top of your References page. Indent any lines after the first line of a reference by ½ ( hanging indent format). 1/2 References Public Transportation 13 Aja, Y. (1999, February 14). Modern-day mating rituals. New York Times, pp. 88-93. Retrieved January 7, 2001, from Newspapers Electronically database. The American Heritage Dictionary. (2 nd ed.). (1985). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Bright Ideas Company. (January 1, 2006). Results of a study of adolescent prodogies. Hanging indent ½ Retrieved November 2, 2007, from Bright Ideas Company Website:http://www.brightideas.com. Adminstration for Sustainable Metropolitan Spaces. (2006). Poll of Public Transportation Use. Rockville, MD: Author. Gregerson, M. P. (2000). The influence of television on pre-teens. New York: Educational Resources Press. Retrieved May 3, 2004 from netlibrary database: http://www.netlibrary.com/. Lamb, C., & Blake, W. (1999). Students interactions with subsitute instructors: effective classroom techniques. Educational Psychology, 13(4), 129-136. Mejias, J. (Ed.) (1982). Parenting styles: Results from three studies. Chigaco: Dandelion Publishers. Michaels, A. E. (1964). Historical techniques to effect social change. In The Encyclopedia of History (7 th ed). Louiseville: Progressive Press. Raaje, E. Home page. Retrieved November 17, 2006, from http://www.eriksonsthoughts.com/alternative_transportation/. Using APA Citation Page 7