APA Referencing Style Guide

Why is referencing important?

There are several reasons why it is important to reference your sources in academic writing:

 It makes it clear where the words and ideas in your paper came from
 It enables your readers to find and explore the information for themselves
 It allows your professor to evaluate your ideas and see which sources you use
 It protects your academic integrity by showing that you are honest about where the ideas you
present come from

Remember that every source you use must include a reference, whether you are quoting the exact
words from the original text, or you use some of the ideas and put them into your own words. Even
pictures, movies and podcasts must be cited.

Why APA?
APA stands for the American Psychological Association, and they put out a style guide for publication
that is updated regularly called the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

The University of Calgary-Qatar has chosen to work with APA-style referencing because it is the style
used by most nursing researchers. Many nursing journals use APA for publishing articles, so it is very
important that those in the nursing profession know and understand the requirements.

What does APA require?

APA style referencing has two basic components:

1) The in-text, or parenthetical, citation that appears within your paper, immediately after the
information you have used from a research source;
2) The bibliographic reference that appears at the end of your paper in the References list.
 The first line of each entry in the References starts at the beginning of the line. Each
following line of the entry is indented.
 APA Referencing Style Guide

The In-Text Citation

There are two simple parts of the in-text, or parenthetical, citation:

In one study (El Sabbah, 2009), several differences were noted…

The author’s last name The year that the source

was published

 If you are using information from one particular page, include the page number as well.
The most significant difference is age (El Sabbah, 2009, p.442).
 If you mention the author’s name in the text, you don’t need to repeat it in the citation.
According to El Sabbah (2009), there are several differences…
 If there are two authors, always cite both names.
One study (Darwish & Farhat, 2007) found…
Darwish and Farhat (2007) also discovered…

 If you are naming the authors in your text and there are three or more authors, name all
authors the first time you cite the source. In subsequent citations, use et al. after the first name.
First citation: Janin, Khaled & Nesrallah (2006) claim…
Subsequent citations: Furthermore, Janin et al (2006) have found…

 If you are using a parenthetical citation and there are six or more authors, name all authors the
first time you cite the source. In subsequent citations, use et al. after the first name.
First citation: (Samadi, Khadr, Binnah, Janin, Khaled & Nesrallah, 2008)
Subsequent citations: (Samadi et al, 2008)

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 APA Referencing Style Guide

 If the source you are using is written by a group (such as an association, a board, a company,
etc.), use the name of the group as the author. If the abbreviation is well-known, write it out in
full the first time, using square brackets for the abbreviation. Then, in subsequent citations, use
only the abbreviation:

First citation: (College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta

[CARNA], 2009)
Subsequent citations: (CARNA, 2009)

 When there is no author, use the title of the work in the place of the author. Shorten it to a few
words if it is very long.

(Morning sickness, 2009)

 If you want to use class notes, always start by trying to find the information in an academic
source, such as a journal or book. If you cannot, use your professor’s name and the date of the
class.

(Varken, 2009)

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 APA Referencing Style Guide

The Bibliographic Reference

There are several elements in the bibliographic reference, which always appears on a new page in the
References list at the end of your paper. To compile your References list, identify the following
information for each of your sources:

Author(s) and editor(s).

 Always give the author’s last name first, followed by a comma, then the initials for the first
name. End with a period.
o Al Said, D.
o Dadresan, H., Lopez, M. & McGregor, I.
 When the author is a group (association, board, government agency, study group, corporation,
etc.), spell out the entire name in full. End with a period.
o Supreme Council for Health.
o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
 When citing an edited book, use the editor’s name in the place of the author and then add (Ed.).
End with a period.
o Chalthoum, F. (Ed.).
o Abdullah, K. & Fatemeh, S. (Eds.)
 When citing only one chapter from an edited book, note both the chapter author’s name (in the
above format – last name first) and the editor’s name (with the first name first). End with a
period.
o F. Chalthoum (Ed.).

(Publication date).

 Identify the year in which the work was published, and put it in parentheses. End with a period.
o (2009).
 For magazines, newsletters and newspapers, give the month, and, if possible, the day.
o (2009, May/June).
o (2009, April 23).
o If no date is available, write (n.d.).

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 APA Referencing Style Guide

Title. Title.

 For articles or chapter titles, only capitalize the first word in the title and subtitle, and any
proper nouns. End with a period. Also give the page numbers between parentheses.
o The imam as doctor: The traditional relationship between religion and healing in Islam
(12-49).
 For the title of a periodical (newspaper, journal or magazine), use capitalization and italics.
Include the volume number (do not write Vol.) in italics, and the issue number between
parentheses in regular type. Also give the page numbers of the article you are using in regular
type (not italics). End with a period.
o International Journal of Nursing Studies, 76 (9), 449-468.
 For the title of a book or report, use italics. Capitalize only the first word of titles and subtitles,
and any proper nouns. Include the volume number if there is one. End with a period.
o Report on nursing in Canada.
o World history of nursing: Vol. 12 The Middle East.

Publication Information.

 For periodicals, do not include the publisher name and location.

 For books and reports, identify the place of publication and the publisher, with a colon
between. End with a period.
o Doha: Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing.
 When the publisher name includes the place, you do not have to identify the place.
o University of Calgary Press.

Electronic Sources URL

 For sources that you retrieve from the Internet, include the URL.
o http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2008/cr08321.pdf
o http://www.gulf-times.com

*UCQ Exceptions
In general, UCQ undergraduate students are not asked to identify the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) number or
database information for articles published or made available online. However, your professor may require these in
certain assignments. For information on how to retrieve and use that information, consult the Publication Manual
of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition or come to UCQ Learning Commons Writing Support.

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 APA Referencing Style Guide

The Bibliographic Reference: Books and Reports

Author(s) or editor(s). (Publication date). Title. Publication Information.

Book with one author

Al Said, D. (2009). The essentials of nursing in Canada. Calgary, Canada: Sawhorse Press.

Book with two authors

Dange, S. & Ahmed, M. (2009). Surgery and recovery. London, England: British Medical Press.

Reference book
Dadresan, H., Lopez, M. & McGregor, I. (Eds.). (2006). An encyclopedia of nursing practice. Ottawa,
Canada: Bruyere Press.

Entire edited book

Davis, R. (Ed.). (2004). Anthology of clinical case studies in nursing. New York College Press.

Chapter in an edited book, anthology or reference book

Author(s). (Publication date). Title of chapter. In Editor(s) (Ed.), Title of book

(page numbers). Publication Information.

Berezetsky, G. (2009). Post-surgery care. In A. Abdullah (Ed.), The complete guide to nursing (pp. 118-
143). Washington, DC: Humphrey Medical Texts.

Electronic book
Author(s). (Publication date). Title. Retrieved from URL

Dange, S. & Ahmed, M. (2009). Surgery and recovery. Retrieved from http://www.ebookshop.com/html

Report found online

Author(s). (Publication date). Title of report. Retrieved from URL

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Update on Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent
Vaccines. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5839a3.htm

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 APA Referencing Style Guide

The Bibliographic Reference: Articles in a Periodical

Author(s). (Publication date). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume (issue),

page numbers.

Journal article*
Hotte, G. & Damme, A. (2009). Chiropractic intervention and the recovery times of patients with spinal
injuries. Journal of Complementary Health, 24 (9), 125-132.

* Special Note
For most UCQ undergraduate students, this format will be accepted for articles found in an online database. If
your instructor has more specific requirements, especially concerning the DOI, consult the Publication Manual
of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition or come to UCQ Learning Commons Writing Support.

Journal article found online (not in database)

Author(s). (Publication date). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume (issue),

page numbers. Retrieved from URL

Calabretto, J.P. & Swatman, P. (2008). Designing digital documents to support medication management.
Electronic Journal of Health Informatics, 3 (1), 12-17. Retrieved from
http://www.ejhi.net/ojs/index.php

Newspaper article
Author(s). (Publication date). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, page number(s).

Elshamy, A. (2009, October 11). Premarital medical checks to start soon. Gulf Times, p. A2.

Newspaper article found online

Author(s). (Publication date). Title of article. Title of Newspaper

Retrieved from URL

Picard, A. (2009, October 9). Helping the survivors heal. Globe and Mail. Retrieved from
www.theglobeandmail.com

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 APA Referencing Style Guide

The Bibliographic Reference: Websites

Author(s). (Publication date). Title of Website. Retrieved from URL

The National Infertility Association. (2008). RESOLVE. Retrieved from http://www.resolve.org

Web page
Author(s). (Publication date). Title of web page. Title of Website.

Retrieved from URL

The National Infertility Association. (2008). Coping with infertility. RESOLVE. Retrieved from
http://www.resolve.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cop_home

Web page with no author

Title of web page. (Publication date). Title of Website. Retrieved from URL

Morning sickness: Causes, concerns, treatments. (2006). Babycentre. Retrieved from

http://www.babycenter.com/0_morning-sickness-causes-concerns-treatments_254.bc

Blog post
Author(s). (Publication date). Title of blog post [Web log message].

Retrieved from URL

Quan, K. (2009, October 9). Patient confidentiality [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://www.thenursingsiteblog.com/

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 APA Referencing Style Guide

The Bibliographic Reference: Non-Standard Reference Examples –

Class Notes, Online Dictionary, Audio-Visual Material and Images

Class notes
Varken, K. (2009, December 1). Nursing and parenting [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from University of
Calgary Blackboard site: www.qatar.ucalgary.ca/students/blackboard

Online dictionary
Whooping Cough. (2004). In Medical Conditions Glossary. Retrieved from http://www.medical-
conditions.org/?q=Whooping+Cough

Online encyclopedia
Stone, C. (2008). Blind loop syndrome. In University of Maryland Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/001146.htm

Video
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. (2005). Lippincott’s maternity nursing video series: Volume 1 Prenatal
care [DVD]. Available from http://www.lww.com

Song
Jackson, M. & Bottrell, B. (1991). Black or white. On HIStory [mp3]. New York NY: Epic.

Podcast
rnproducer. (Producer). (2009, October 10). Patient dietary restrictions for nurses [Audio podcast].
Retrieved from http://nursingshow.com

Map found online

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. (Cartographer). (2008). Canada’s commercial
engagement in Middle East and Africa [Map]. Retrieved from
http://www.international.gc.ca/commerce/strategy-strategie/m5.aspx

Image
Shah, S. (n.d.) Forbidden door [photograph]. Qatar photographs. Retrieved from
http://qatarphotographs.ifp3.com/root/qatarphotographs/iphoto/main2.cfm

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 APA Referencing Style Guide

References
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association, 6th edition. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Okanagan College Library. (2003). APA Citation Style. Retrieved from

http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/Assets/Departments+%28Administration%29/Library/PDFs/apa.pdf

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