Journal Article
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy
In-press Articles
Author, A.A. (in press). Title of article. Title of Periodical.
Pre-prints
Author, A.A. (year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy
Magazine Article
Author, A.A. (year, month day). Title of article. Title of Magazine, issue, pages.
Newspaper Article
Author, A.A. (year, month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, pp. A1, A2.*
*for one page use p. A1; for two or more pages use p.p. A1, A2,A3.
Lots of authors? See how to cite with one or two authors, 3-7 authors, 7 or more authors, or unknown authors in your reference list at the Purdue OWL Authors page.
Wondering how to write an in-text citation for them? See this Purdue OWL In-text Citation Authors page too.
Websites
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved from http://web address
Webpages from one website
American Psychological Association. (n.d.-a). Divisions. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about/division/
American Psychological Association. (n.d.-b). Exercise and Sport Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about/division/div47.aspx
American Psychological Association. (n.d.-c). For division leaders. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about/division/officers/index.aspx
Print book
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.
Electronic book
Author Last Name, First Name (publication year). Title. Retrieved from URL.
OR (if book must be purchased or is not available directly online)
Author Last Name, First Name (publication year). Title. Available from URL.
Electronic book chapter
Author(s) (publication year). Chapter title. In: Editors, ed(s). Book Title (pages of chapters). Available/Retrieved from URL.
Edited book without author
EditorName, B.B. & EditorGuy, C. (Eds.). (year). Title of book. City, State: Publisher.
Edited book with author
Author, A.A. (year). Title of book. B.B. EditorName (Ed.). City, State: Publisher.
Presented paper/poster: Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Year, Month). Title of paper or poster. Paper/Poster presented at the meeting of Organization Name, City, State.
Published Proceedings: Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Year). Title of paper or poster. Title of the Journal, Volume, Issue, Pages-Pages. URL (if applicable).
Guideline with named authors
Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Year). Title of guideline. Location: Publisher. OR Retrieved from url
Guideline with institution as author
Name of the organization. (Year). Title of guideline. Location: Publisher. OR Retrieved from url
Guideline published in journal
Name of the organization. (Year). Title of guideline. Title of Journal, volume(issue), pages. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy
Rightsholder, A. A. (year). Title of Software or Program (Version number) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://web address
Data source. (year). Name of data set [Data file]. Retrieved from http://web address
For tweets, status updates, photo or video posts, infographics, blog posts, etc.
Author [screen name]. (year, month day). Title [Type of content*]. Retrieved from URL
For real examples of these, see the APA Style Blog's page How to Cite Social Media in APA
*Types of content: Tweet, Facebook status update, Video file, Infographic, Web log post, etc.
Two Authors:
Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports...
(Wegener & Petty, 1994)
Three to Five Authors:
First time: (Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993)
Next time: (Kernis et al., 1993)
Six or More Authors:
Harris et al. (2001) argued...
(Harris et al., 2001)
Unknown Author:
A similar study was done of students learning to format research papers ("Using APA," 2001).
Organization as an Author:
According to the American Psychological Association (APA, 2000),...
First time: (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2000)
Next time: (MADD, 2000)
Indirect Sources
Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).
See the Purdue OWL site for these examples and more details.
For examples of how to cite non-traditional types of sources, check the table below or browse the Citing Special Sources guide.
A-D |
E-I |
J-Z |
For more help, you can