SUBJECT: PRACTICAL RESEARCH I
APA FORMAT CITATION GUIDE
This is a complete guide to APA (American Psychological Association) in-text
and reference list citations. This easy-to-use, comprehensive guide makes citing any
source easy.
Core Components of an APA Reference:
1. APA Referencing Basics: Reference List
A reference list is a complete list of references used in a piece of writing including
the author name, date of publication, title and more. An APA reference list must:
Be on a new page at the end of the document
Be centred
Be alphabetically by name of first author (or title if the author isn’t known, in this
case a, an and the should be ignored)
o If there are multiple works by the same author these are ordered by date,
if the works are in the same year they are ordered alphabetically by the
title and are allocated a letter (a,b,c etc) after the date
Contain full references for all in-text references used
2. APA Referencing Basics: In-Text Citation
In-text references must be included following the use of a quote or paraphrase
taken from another piece of work.
In-text citations are citations within the main body of the text and refer to a direct
quote or paraphrase. They correspond to a reference in the main reference list. These
citations include the surname of the author and date of publication only. Using an
example author James
Mitchell, this takes the form:
Mitchell (2017) states… Or …(Mitchell, 2017).
The structure of this changes depending on whether a direct quote or parenthetical
used:
Direct Quote: The citation must follow the quote directly and contain a page
number after the date, for example (Mitchell, 2017, p.104). This rule holds for all
of the variations listed.
Parenthetical: The page number is not needed.
Two Authors:
The surname of both authors is stated with either ‘and’ or an ampersand between. For
example:
Mitchell and Smith (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell & Smith, 2017).
Three, Four or Five Authors:
For the first cite, all names should be listed:
Mitchell, Smith, and Thomson (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell, Smith, & Thomson, 2017).
Further cites can be shorted to the first author’s name followed by et al:
Mitchell et al (2017) state… Or …(Mitchell et al, 2017).
Six or More Authors:
Only the first author’s surname should be stated followed by et al, see the above
example.
No Authors:
If the author is unknown, the first few words of the reference should be used. This is
usually the title of the source.
If this is the title of a book, periodical, brochure or report, is should be italicised. For
example:
(A guide to citation, 2017).
If this is the title of an article, chapter or web page, it should be in quotation marks. For
example:
(“APA Citation”, 2017).
3. How to Cite Different Source Types
In-text citation doesn’t vary depending on source type, unless the author is
unknown.
Reference list citations are highly variable depending on the source.
How to Cite a Book (Title, not chapter) in APA Format
Book referencing is the most basic style; it matches the template above, minus
the URL section. So the basic format of a book reference is as follows:
Book referencing examples:
Mitchell, J.A., Thomson, M., & Coyne, R.P. (2017). A guide to citation. London,
England: My Publisher
Jones, A.F & Wang, L. (2011). Spectacular creatures: The Amazon rainforest (2nd ed.).
San Jose, Costa Rica: My Publisher
How to Cite an E-Book in APA Format
An E-Book reference is the same as a book reference expect the publisher is
swapped for a URL. The basic structure is as follows:
Author surname, initial(s) (Ed(s).*). (Year). Title (ed.*). Retrieved from URL
*optional.
E-Book example:
Mitchell, J.A., Thomson, M., & Coyne, R.P. (2017). A guide to citation. Retrieved from
https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/reference-manager
How to Cite a Journal Article in Print or Online in APA Format
Articles differ from book citations in that the publisher and publisher location are
not included. For journal articles, these are replaced with the journal title, volume
number, issue number and page number. The basic structure is:
Journal Article Examples:
Mitchell, J.A. (2017). Citation: Why is it so important. Mendeley Journal, 67(2), 81-95
Mitchell, J.A. (2017). Citation: Why is it so important. Mendeley Journal, 67(2), 81-95.
Retrieved from https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/reference-manager
How to Cite a Newspaper Articles in Print or Online in APA Format
The basic structure is as follows:
Author surname, initial(s). (Year, Month Day). Title. Title of Newspaper, column/section,
p. or pp. Retrieved from URL*
**Only include if the article is online.
Note: the date includes the year, month and date.
Newspaper Articles Example:
Mitchell, J.A. (2017). Changes to citation formats shake the research world. The
Mendeley Telegraph, Research News, pp.9. Retrieved from
https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/reference-manager
How to Cite a Film in APA Format
The basic format of a film citation is:
Producer surname, initial (Producer), & Director surname, initial (Director). (Year of
Release). Title of film [Motion Picture]. Country of Origin: Studio.
Film Example:
Hitchcock, A. (Producer), & Hitchcock, A. (1954) Rear window. United States of
America: Paramount Pictures.
How to Cite a Website in APA Format
When citing a website, the basic structure is as follows:
Author surname, initial(s). (Year, month day). Title. Retrieved from URL
Website example:
Mitchell, J.A. (2017, May 21). How and when to reference. Retrieved from
https://www.howandwhentoreference.com.
