Referencing using the APA (American Psychological Association) system

The APA system

The APA system of referencing consists of two elements:

(1) in-text citations giving author, year and sometimes page number in the body of the
paper
(2) a reference list at the end of the paper providing the complete details for each in-
text citation.

Part 1 of this resource deals with in-text citations. It gives examples of a range of
common types of sources that you are likely to use in your assignments. Examples of
summarising, paraphrasing and quoting from sources are provided.

Part 2 of this resource shows how to present the related reference list entries for the
in-text citations provided in Part 1.

PART 1: In-text Citations

One author

When you refer to a single author, include the author's family name and year of
publication, using one of the forms shown here.

Clay (2003) argues that having a planned approach to writing essays can be of great
benefit.

Or

Essay writing can be made much more manageable if a planned approach is taken
(Clay, 2003).

Repeat citations of a study within one paragraph

In any one paragraph, if you cite a particular reference more than once, include the
year only the first time. In subsequent citations in the same paragraph you need only
the family name, provided studies cannot be confused. (This also applies to a citation
with any number of authors.)

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Two authors

Include the family name of both authors and year each time (except where there is a
repeated citation in the same paragraph, as noted earlier).

Three, four or five authors

In these cases, cite all authors the first time, then in subsequent citations of this work
use the family name of the first author plus 'et al.' and the year, as shown below.

Six or more authors

Use only the family name of the first author plus 'et al.' in all citations including the
first. Use date as appropriate according to the rules above.

Mahon et al. (1997) reviewed how nursing diagnosis content is presented in nursing
textbooks.

Note: In the reference list provide the family name and initials of the first six authors,
and shorten any remaining authors to 'et al.'

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Secondary sources

Sometimes you read one author (secondary) who cites another (primary).

In the example that follows, you have read Savage who referred to a 1998 publication
by Lupton, but you did not read Lupton yourself.

Article or chapter in an edited book

An edited book is one that consists of chapters or articles written by different authors.
You need to acknowledge the author of the chapter or article you used. This author is
cited in text (that is, in the body of the paper) in the same way as for one, two, three or
more authors.

In the example below, Naidoo has written a chapter in a book edited by Thorogood
and Coombes. In the body of your assignment cite only Naidoo.

Naidoo (2000) claims that risk factor simulation models...

Note: The entry in the reference list gives full details of the publication. Under the
name of the author (Naidoo) you need to give the details of the chapter you read plus
the details of the book. So, in the 'References' Naidoo is listed 'in' Thorogood and
Coombes. (See the reference list entry for this source in Part 2.)

Group authors

Where the author is a government agency, association, etc. that has a familiar or
easily understandable acronym, it as cited as follows:

Note: The entry in the reference list is under National Health and Medical Research
Council.

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No author

(1) If the author is designated as 'Anonymous', use the word 'Anonymous' in the in-
text citation and in the related reference list entry.

Health-care systems are in need of ... (Anonymous, 2001).

(2) If no author is designated, cite in text the first few words of the reference list entry
(which is usually the title) and the year. Full title details are provided in the reference
list entry.

Quotes
Short quote (fewer than 40 words) should run on as part of your sentence with double
quotation marks to signal where the quote starts and finishes. The page where the
quote comes from must be included.

Long quotes, known as 'block quotes' (more than 40 words) should:

 start on a new line

 be indented about 5 spaces from the left
hand margin
 be double spaced (same as assignment,
unless your Unit Guide requires single
spacing for quotes)
 omit quotation marks.

For example:
An important stage in assignment writing is planning. Clay (2003) comments
that: Some students are tempted to plunge into writing their assignment,
beginning with the introduction, but soon find that they experience "writer's
block" and cannot decide what to write next. The problem occurs because they

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 have not given sufficient thought to reviewing course content and developing
their ideas about relating the theory to their practice. (p. 47)

A note about Internet sources

 Most online articles are pdf files, i.e. copies

of print documents, so they usually indicate
page numbers. Use these page numbers
when you cite your quotation.

 Some articles are not pdf and do not have

page numbers. In these cases use paragraph
numbers if these are provided.

 If paragraph numbers are not provided,

either count the paragraphs and use this or if
there are subheadings use these and the
paragraph number.

PART 2: Collating a reference list

The purpose of the reference list is to enable readers to locate sources. Therefore
details must be correct and complete. Each in-text citation and the related reference
list entry should be identical in spelling and year. A work is listed only once in the
reference list, regardless of how many times it is cited in text. Works not cited in the
text should not appear in the reference list.

In compiling your APA reference list, you should:

 list references on a new page with a centred

heading titled 'References'
 include books, journal articles, online
sources etc. in one alphabetical listing

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  order entries alphabetically by family name
of author

 list works with no author under the first

significant word of the title

 indent 2nd and subsequent lines of each

entry (5-7 spaces)

 use double spacing

The examples that follow are of the kinds of sources you are most likely to have to
use. Check the APA manual for other forms.

Note: the examples are separated and placed under subheadings here to show each
form. In a reference list, however, they would be all together in alphabetical order
with no subheadings.

Book

Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of book. City: Publisher.

Example:

Crawford, P., Brown, B., & Nolan, P. (1998). Communicating care: The language of
nursing. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.

Chapter or article in an edited book

Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of chapter. In C. Editor, & D. Editor (Eds.),
Title of book (pp. xx-xx). City: Publisher.

Example:

Naidoo, B. (2000). Evaluating the use of public health risk factor simulation models.
In M. Thorogood, & Y. Coombes (Eds.), Evaluating health promotion: Practice and
methods (pp. 99-109). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Journal article

Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number
(issue number), page numbers.
(The issue number is given only if each issue of a journal begins on page 1.)

Examples:

Antonakos, C. L., & Kazanis, A. S. (2003). Research process in the health sciences: A
focus on methods. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 17, 257-264.

Clay, G. (2003). Assignment writing skills. Nursing Standard, 17(20), 47-52.

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Savage, J. (2004). Researching emotion: The need for coherence between focus,
theory and methodology. Nursing Inquiry, 11, 25-34.

Newspaper article, authored

Author, A. (year, month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, p. x.

Example:

Wroe, D. (2004, June 24). Canberra enlists GPs in war on smoking. The Age, p. 3.

Newspaper article, no author

Title of article. (year, month day). Title of Newspaper, p. x.

Example:

Embryo study nod, OK say IVF couples. (2004, May 31). Herald Sun, p.10.

Author designated as 'Anonymous'

Anonymous. (Year). Details of the work as appropriate to its form.

Example:

Anonymous. (2001). Meeting health-care needs. London: Longman.

Group as author

Organisation Name. (Year). Details of the work as appropriate to its form.

Example:

National Health and Medical Research Council. (1997). Acting on Australia's weight:
A strategic plan for the prevention of overweight and obesity. Canberra: Australian
Government Publishing Service.

Six or more authors

(Provide family names and initials of the first six authors and shorten any remaining
authors to 'et al.')

Author, A., Author, B., Author, C., Author, D., Author, E., Author, F., et al. (Year).
Details of the work as appropriate to its form.

Example:

Mahon, S. M., Spies, M. A., Aukamp, V., Barrett, J. T., Figgins, M. J., Meyer, G. A.,
et al. (1997). Presentation of nursing diagnosis content in fundamentals of nursing
textbooks. Nurse Educator, 22(1), 17-22.

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Internet document, no author, no date

(If a document has no author or date, begin the reference list entry with the title and
use the abbreviation n.d. - no date.

Title of document. (n.d.). Retrieved month day, year, from web address

Example:

Obesity. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2004, from

http://www.geocities.com/nutriflip/Diseases/Obesity.html

Article in Internet-only journal, authored, not from database

(In an Internet-only journal, page numbers may not be provided and volume and issue
numbers are often not relevant. In the reference list entry, provide the details you can
determine.)

Author, A. (Year, month day). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number (issue
number), page numbers. Retrieved month day, year, from web address

Example:

Rego, P. (2003, August). Confronting embodiment. Nuritinga, 5, 1-6. Retrieved June

20, 2004, from
http://www.healthsci.utas.edu.au/tson/nuritinga/issue5/confronting_embodiment.pdf

Electronic copy of a journal article, authored, from database

Author, A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number (issue number),
page numbers. Retrieved month day, year, from database name.

Example:

Elder, R., Neal, C., Davis, B. A., Almes, E., Whitledge, L., & Littlepage, N. (2004).
Patient satisfaction with triage nursing in a rural hospital emergency department.
Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 19, 263-268. Retrieved June 30, 2004, from
Academic Search Premier database.

A sample reference list in APA style

References

Anonymous. (2001). Meeting health-care needs. London: Longman.

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Antonakos, C. L., & Kazanis, A. S. (2003). Research process in the health sciences: A
focus on methods. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 17, 257-264.

Clay, G. (2003). Assignment writing skills. Nursing Standard, 17(20), 47-52.

Crawford, P., Brown, B., & Nolan, P. (1998). Communicating care: The language of
nursing. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.

Elder, R., Neal, C., Davis, B. A., Almes, E., Whitledge, L., & Littlepage, N. (2004).
Patient satisfaction with triage nursing in a rural hospital emergency department.
Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 19, 263-268. Retrieved June 30, 2004, from
Academic Search Premier database.

Embryo study nod, OK say IVF couples. (2004, May 31). Herald Sun, p.10.

Gagliardi, B. A., Frederickson, K., & Shanley, D. A. (2002). Living with multiple
sclerosis: A Roy Adaptation Model-based study.Nursing Science Quarterly, 15(3),
230-236.

Mahon, S. M., Spies, M. A., Aukamp, V., Barrett, J. T., Figgins, M. J., Meyer, G. A.,
et al. (1997). Presentation of nursing diagnosis content in fundamentals of nursing
textbooks. Nurse Educator, 22(1), 17-22.

Naidoo, B. (2000). Evaluating the use of public health risk factor simulation models.
In M. Thorogood & Y. Coombes (Eds.), Evaluating health promotion: Practice and
methods (pp. 99-109). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

National Health and Medical Research Council. (1997). Acting on Australia's weight:
A strategic plan for the prevention of overweight and obesity. Canberra: Australian
Government Publishing Service.

Obesity. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2004, from

http://www.geocities.com/nutriflip/Diseases/Obesity.html

Rego, P. (2003, August). Confronting embodiment. Nuritinga, 5, 1-6. Retrieved June

20, 2004, from http://www.healthsci.utas.edu.au/
tson/nuritinga/issue5/confronting_embodiment.pdf

Savage, J. (2004). Researching emotion: The need for coherence between focus,
theory and methodology. Nursing Inquiry, 11, 25-34

Wroe, D. (2004, June 24). Canberra enlists GPs in war on smoking. The Age, p. 3.