When using APA format, you should cite the author and date of your research materials within your text. The complete reference for the resource should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
General Rules for Formatting Citations
- If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source.
- Italicize the titles of longer works such as books, edited collections, movies, documentaries, or albums.
- Put quotations marks around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles, articles from edited collections, television shows, and song titles.
- If a work has two authors, cite both names every time the reference appears in your text. Join the authors’ names with the word “and” if you are referring to them in the text; join the authors’ names with an ampersand (&) if you are referring to them in a parenthetical citation.
- If a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all of the authors the first time you refer to the work in the text. The next time you refer to the work, shorten the citation to the last name of the first author plus the words “et al.” Join the authors’ names with the word “and” if you are referring to them in the text; join the authors’ names with an ampersand (&) if you are referring to them in a parenthetical citation.
- If a work has six authors (or more), cite only the last name of the first author plus the words “et al.”
One Work by One Author
If the name of the author appears as part of the narrative, as in the first example, cite only the year of publication in parenthesis. Otherwise, place both the name and the year, separated by a comma, in parenthesis (as in the second example).
Walker (2000) compared reaction times
In a recent study of reaction times (Walker, 2000)
Within a paragraph, you do not need to include the year in subsequent references to a resource as long as the study cannot be confused with another resource cited in the paper.
One Work with Multiple Authors
When the resource has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in the paper. When a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all the authors the first time the reference occurs; in subsequent citations, include only the last name of the author followed by et al. (not italicized and with a period after “al”) and the year if it is the first citation of the reference within a paragraph.
Pepinsky and DeStefano (1987) demonstrate that a teacher’s language often reveals hidden biases.
Pepinsky, DeStefano, and Walker (2000) further demonstrated
Pepinsky et al. (2000) [Use as subsequent first citation per paragraph thereafter.]
Groups as Authors
The names of groups that serve as authors (e.g., corporations, associations, government agencies, and study groups) are usually spelled out each time they appear in a text citation. The names of some group authors are spelled out in the first citation and abbreviated thereafter.
Works with No Author
When a work has no author, cite in text the first few words of the reference list entry and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or report.
on free care (“Study Finds,” 1982)
the book College Bound Seniors (1979)
When a work’s author is designated as “Anonymous,” cite in the word Anonymous followed by a comma and the date.
(Anonymous, 1998)
Specific Parts of a Source
When citing a specific part of a source, indicate the page, chapter, figure, table, or equation at the appropriate point in text. Always give page numbers for quotations and the words page and chapter are abbreviated in such text citations:
(Pepinsky & DeStefano, 1987, p. 332)
(Baumrind, 1968, chap. 4)
Personal Communications
Personal communications may be letters, memos, some electronic communications (e.g., e-mail or messages from nonarchived discussion groups or electronic bulletin boards), personal interviews, telephone conversations, and the like. Since they do not provide recoverable data, personal communications are not included in the reference list. Cite personal communications in the paper only. Give initials as well as the last name of the communicator, and provide as exact date as possible.
T.K. Lutes (personal communication, April 18, 2001)
(T.K. Lutes, personal communication, April 18, 2001)
An Electronic Source
Electronic sources can be cited like printed sources, usually with the author’s last name and the publication date. For electronic sources that number paragraphs instead of pages, provide that information in the text citation using the ¶ symbol or the abbreviation para.
If there are no visible paragraph or page numbers, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph following it to direct the reader to the location of the material.
(Myers, 1995, ¶ 5)
(Paykel, 1978, Conclusion section, para. 1)
Long Quotations
Place quotations longer than 40 words in a freestanding block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented five spaces from the left margin. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation five spaces from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.
Miele’s 1993 study found the following:
The placebo effect disappeared when behaviors were studied in this
manner. Furthermore, the behaviors were never exhibited again, even
when real drugs were administered. Earlier studies conducted by the
same group of researchers at the hospital were clearly premature in
attributing the results to a placebo effect. (p. 276)