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Wellesley College Research Guides

 PSYCHOLOGY: Citing Sources: APA Style

APA

About APA 7th edition

Recently updated by the American Psychological Association, the 7th edition of the APA style has some new best practices. It is still most widely used for research papers in psychology, social sciences, and many STEM courses.

Citing a source in this style consists of two parts:

  1. An in-text citation
  2. A reference list entry

See How to Format In-Text Citations, How to Format the Reference List, and the Examples in the left navigation for details.

How to Format In-Text Citations (Section 8 of the APA Manual)

For more detailed information see Publication Manual sections 8.10-8.22.

An in-text citation provides your reader with two pieces of information:

  1. The last name(s) of the author(s) from the corresponding reference list entry
  2. The date of the cited information

Standard Formatting of the In-Text Citation

Table summarizing Basic In-Text Citations in APA 7th Edition Style
Author Type Parenthetical Citation Narrative Citation
One author (Myrick, 2015) Myrick (2015)
Two authors (Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013) Hinsch and Sheldon (2013)
Three or more authors (Nabi et al., 2006) Nabi et al. (2006)

Group author with abbreviation - First citation

Group author with abbreviation - Subsequent citations

(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2015)

(NIMH, 2015)

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2015)

NIMH (2015)
Group author without abbreviation (Wellesley College, 2020) Wellesley College (2020)
  • No Author (sections 8.14 and 9.12)
    • Check to see if an organization or group authored the content. Use their name in place of a personal author. Use the full name each time if using an abbreviation would not be readily understood by your reader.

      Children with bipolar disorder are treated in similar ways as adults (National Institute of Mental Health, 2015).

    • If there is no organization, use the first few words of the title of the corresponding reference list entry. Put double quotation marks around titles of articles, chapters, and web pages; use italics for book titles, brochures, and reports.

      Polls show that black workers approve of labors unions more than white workers ("Black Workers Matter," 2016).

  • No Date (section 9.17): use n.d. in place of the date.

When to Include Page Numbers

For more detailed information see Publication Manual sections 8.23-8.36.

When paraphrasing, APA style does not require page numbers in the in-text citation. However, authors are encouraged to include page numbers if it will help the reader locate the relevant information in longer texts. Consult with your professor regarding the need for page numbers for paraphrased information.

For direct quotations, the author, year, and page number must be included. The page number can be given in parentheses at the end of the exact quotation or incorporated into the in-text citation. For one page, use "p." and for two or more pages, use "pp."

Newman (1994) concluded "sibling conflict is so common that its occurrence is taken for granted" (p. 123).

Such findings have prompted one researcher to conclude, “Sibling conflict is so common that its occurrence is taken for granted” (Newman, 1994, pp. 123).

For direct quotations from sources without page numbers, use paragraph numbers, if visibly numbered in the document. Otherwise, use the heading name and count the number of paragraphs after the heading to the paragraph containing the quotation.

(Smith, 2016, para. 1)

(Lee 2015, Discussion section, para. 4)

How to Format the Reference List (Section 9 of the APA Manual)

The reference list provides the full details on the sources you used in the research for your paper.

Each entry should include the following reference components:

  • Author
  • Publication Date
  • Title
  • Publication Source

See the examples in the left navigation for the required elements for each type of source. Continue reading below for details on formatting each reference component and ordering the reference list.

Formatting of Reference Components

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 9.7-9.12.

  • Invert the names of all authors (the last name followed by initials).
  • Keep author names in the order they appear on the document.
  • Put commas between the names.
  • Precede the last author with an ampersand (&).

    Dillard, J. P., & Shen, L.
    Guastello, D., Braun, S., Gutierrez, J., Johnston, K., & Olbinski, B.

  • For groups or institutions as authors, use their full name. Follow the name with a period.

    National Institute of Mental Health.

  • For works with no author, move the title to the author position. Follow the title with a period.

    Black workers matter.

For more information see: Publication Manual, sections 9.13-9.17.

  • Put the year the work was published or produced in parentheses.
    • For magazines, newspapers, and newsletters, give the year and exact date (month, month and day, or season) of publication, separated by a comma.

      (2016, January).
      (2016, March 7).
      (2016, Summer).

    • If the source has no date, put n.d. (meaning no date) in the parentheses.

      (n.d.).

  • End the component with a period.

For more information see: Publication Manual, sections 9.18-9.22.

  • Format of the Title Element:

    Factors influencing infants’ ability to update object representations in memory.

    Imaginary companions: An evaluation of parents as reporters.

    Heritage language education: A new field emerging.

    • For works that are part of a greater whole (e.g. journal articles, book chapters, etc.): do not italicize the title or use quotation marks, and do capitalize the first word of the title, subtitle, and any proper nouns.
    • For works that stand alone (e.g. books, webpages, etc.): italicize the title, and capitalize the first word of the title, subtitle, and any proper nouns.
    • Finish the component with a period.

For more information see: Publication Manual, sections 9.23-9.37.

  • Journals, magazines, blogs, and newsletters
    • Include the periodical title, volume number, issue number, and page range or article number.
    • Capitalize the major words of the publication title, italicize the title, and put a non-italicized comma after the title.
    • Put the volume number after the title.
    • Italicize the volume number.
    • Put the issue number for any publication with an issue number in parentheses immediately after the volume number with no space. Do not italicize the issue number.
    • Put the page range of the article after a comma after the issue number. Do not italicize the issue number.
    • End with a period and a DOI or URL as applicable (see sections 9.34-9.36)

      Psychological Science, 20(7), 805–812. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02377.x

  • Books and reports
    • New in the APA 7th edition: do NOT give the publisher's location
      • For works associated with specific locations (e.g. a conference paper), include the location: city; province, territory, or state using U.S. postal abbreviations for states; and country.
    • Give the publisher's name.
      • Publisher names change over time. Use the spelling and capitalization listed on the work you are citing.
      • Spell out the names of associations, companies, and university presses.
      • If the author is the same as the publisher, do not include the publisher in the reference (leave only as the author).
      • End the component with a period.

        Guilford Press.

Formatting and Ordering the Reference List

For more information see: Publication Manual, 2.12 and 9.1-9.52.

  • Start a new page for the reference list.
  • Capitalize, bold, and center the word References on the page.
  • Double space the entries.
  • Use the hanging indent feature of your word processor to indent the second and subsequent lines of the entries.
  • Arrange in alphabetical order by last name of the first author
    • Alphabetize letter by letter, but keep in mind that "nothing precedes something."

      Brown, L. (2016).
      Brownfield, G. (2015).
      Browning, R. (2013).

  • single-author: arrange chronologically (earliest one first)

    Brown, L. (n.d.).
    Brown, L. (2013).
    Brown, L. (2016).

  • same first author, but different co-authors: come after the single-author entries for the first author and then alphabetically by the last name of the second author (or third or fourth author, if the order of co-authors match exactly).

    Oliver, M. B. (2003).
    Oliver, M. B., Ash, E., & Woolley, J. K. (2013).
    Oliver, M. B., Ash, E, Woolley, J. K., Shade, D. D., & Kim, K. (2014).

  • same authors in the same order: arrange chronologically.

    Feigenson, L., & Carey, S. (2003).
    Feigenson, L., & Carey, S. (2005).

  • same author(s) and same date: add lowercase letters a, b, c, immediately after the date in the parentheses, assigning based on the month published. Dates with only a year on the publication are listed first.

    de Villiers, J., & Pyers, J. (1997a).
    de Villiers, J., & Pyers, J. (1997b, April).

Alphabetize by first initial.

Moher, J. (2012).
Moher, M., & Feigenson, L. (2013).

 

Alphabetize by the first significant word; do not abbreviate name.

Moher, J. (2012).
National Institute of Mental Health. (2015).
Oliver, M. B. (2003).

How do I deal with ___?

Missing citation elements

Consult Table 9.1 in the Publication Manual for more details about how to format a reference list when information is missing.

  • No author:
    • Determine whether an organization is responsible for the content. If so, use that organization's name as the author.
    • If the author information is missing, include the title, date, and source.
  • No date:
    • Include the author, and "n.d." as well as the title and source.
  • No title:
    • Include the author and date, describe the work in square brackets [ ], and then include the source.
  • No source:
    • If you are citing personal communications, do not include it in the reference list. Cite the personal communication in the text only (see section 8.9 of the Publication Manual).

Examples: Books, Chapters

Book

Format

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.2, pp. 321-326.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Book title. Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Examples

Anderson, A. (2018). Psyche and ethos: Moral life after psychology. Oxford University Press.

Brace, L. (2018). The politics of slavery. Edinburgh University Press. www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1tqxvk1

National Institute of Mental Health (n.d.). National Institute of Mental Health: Strategic plan for research. www.nimh.nih.gov/about/strategic-planning-reports/nimh_strategicplanforresearch_508compliant_corrected_final_149979

Whetham, E. H. & Currie, J. I. (1969). The economics of African countries. Cambridge University Press.

Note: when there is no date, dates are listed as (n.d.); when the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher field.

 

Chapter in a Book

Format

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.3, pp. 326-329.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Chapter or entry title. In A. Editor, & B. Editor (Eds.), Book title (pp. xx-xx). Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Examples

Loxley, J. (2018). The 1970s: Shocks, stagflation, and the second UN decade of development. In J. A. Ocampo, A. Chowdhury, & D. Alcarón (Eds.), The world economy through the lens of the United Nations (pp. 86-117). Oxford University Press.

Markus, H., & Oyserman, D. (1989). Gender and thought: The role of the self-concept. In M. Crawford, & M. Gentry (eds.), Gender and thought: Psychological perspectives (pp. 100-127). Springer-Verlag.

Book with editor but no author

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.2, pp. 321-326 and Table 9.1, p. 284.

Format

Editor, A. A. (Ed.). Book title. Publisher. DOI or URL

Example

​Ferber, M. A. & Nels, J. A. (Eds.). (1993). Beyond economic man: Feminist theory and economics. The University of Chicago Press.

 

Examples: Articles

Journal Articles

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.1, pp. 316-321.

Format

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, vv(ii), pp-pp. DOI or URL

The vv after the title of the journal is the volume number; ii is the issue number; and pp is the pages. If no DOI is assigned and you retrieved it online, give the URL of the journal's home page.

Examples

Anderson, P. M., Butcher, K. F., Hoynes, H. W., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2016). Beyond income: What else predicts very low food security among children? Southern Economic Journal, 82(4), 1078–1105. https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12079

Chen, S. H., Hua, M., Zhou, Q., Tao, A., Lee, E. H., Ly, J., & Main, A. (2014). Parent–child cultural orientations and child adjustment in Chinese American immigrant families. Developmental Psychology, 50(1), 189–201. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032473

Cooper, E., Driedger, M., & Lavoie, J. (2019). Building on strengths: Collaborative intergenerational health research with urban First Nations and Métis women and girls. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 14(1), 107-125. https://doi.org/10.32799/ijih.v14i1.31932

Note: The 7th edition of the Publication Manual specifically says to capitalize most terms related to Indigenous Peoples (see p. 261).

Magazine Articles

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.1, pp. 316-321.

Format

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Magazine, vv(ii), pp-pp. DOI or URL

Omit the day if one is not provided. The vv after the title of the magazine is the volume number, ii is the issue number, and pp is the pages. If you retrieved it online, include the URL.

Examples

Clay, R. A. (2019, August). Moving assessment out of the clinic. Monitor on Psychology, 50(7). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/07-08/moving-assessment

Tufekci, Z. (2019, July 1). False promise. Wired, 27(7), 20.

Newspaper Articles

For more information see: Publication Manual, chapter 10.1, pp. 321-326. Note that online newspapers are cited differently from news websites. See the section on Online Media for news websites examples.

Format

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, pp.

The pp after the newspaper title is page numbers. 

Examples

Finucane, M. (2019, May 14). Study looks at creative peaks. Boston Globe, B2.

Murray, M. M. (2019, July 23). Why are native Hawaiians protesting against a telescope? New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/22/us/hawaii-telescope-protest.html

Examples: Websites, Blogs, Social Media

Websites

For more information see: Publication Manual section 10.16, pp. 350-352.

Format

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of work. Site name. URL

Note: For pages that are intended to change frequently, include a retrieval date in the citation. For websites that are archived or not intended to change, a retrieval date is unnecessary. See Publication Manual, p. 290, for more information.

Note: When a website has the same name as the author, do not include the site name in the citation.

Note:If a date is a copyright or “last reviewed”, it does not necessarily indicate when the content was last changed, so do not include it.

Example

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Weekly U.S. influenza surveillance report. Retrieved January 3, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm

Handy, G. (2020, January 1). The region which legislates who you can love. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50822222

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2019, August 1). HHS Secretary Azar statement on National Immunization Awareness Month. https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2019/08/01/azar-statement-on-national-immunization-awareness-month.html

Blog Posts

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.1, p. 320.

Format

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title. Title of blog. URL

Example

​Hong, S. (2019, August 5). Do yield curve inversions predict recessions in other countries? On the economy. https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2019/august/yield-curve-inversions-predict-recessions-other-countries

Social Media

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.15, pp. 348-350.

Format

Twitter and Instagram

Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). Post content up to the first 20 words. [Description of audiovisuals]. Site name. URL

Facebook and other social media

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Post content up to the first 20 words. [Description of audiovisuals]. Site name. URL

 

Note: For pages that are intended to change frequently, include a retrieval date in the citation (for example, a profile page). Social media posts that are archived, a retrieval date is unnecessary. See Publication Manual, p. 290, for more information.

Note: For social media posts that have audiovisual or non-textual components, include a description of those in brackets after the Post content.

Example

Wellesley College [@Wellesley]. (2019, July 25). How can #editwars and #vandalism turn a common good for the free flow of information into a tool for molding [Audio file attached] [Tweet]. Twitter.  https://twitter.com/Wellesley/status/1154383860731396096

Wellesley College [@Wellesley]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved January 3, 2020, from https://twitter.com/Wellesley

 

Examples: Music, Film, TV, Images

Song

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.13, pp. 344-346.

Format

Artist, A. A. (Copyright year). Title of song [Song]. On Title of album [Medium of recording]. Label.

Example

​Robinson, J. M., Friedman, M., Fredriksson, R., Trantor, J., & Michaels, J. (2018). Make Me Feel [Song]. On Dirty Computer. Bad Boy Records.

Album

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.13, pp. 344-346.

Format

Artist, A. A. (Copyright year). Title of album [Album]. Label.

Example

​Robinson, J. M., Friedman, M., Fredriksson, R., Trantor, J., & Michaels, J. (2018). Dirty Computer [Album]. Bad Boy Records.

Film

For more information see: Publication Manual, chapter 10.12, pp. 342-344.

Format

Director, D. D. (Director). (Year). Title of film [Film]. Production Company.

Example

Gerwig, G.G. (Director). (2017). Lady bird [Film]. IAC Films.

Youtube or Streaming Video

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.12, pp. 342-344.

Format

Uploader, U.U. [Username]. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. Hosting site name. URL

Note: The person who uploaded the video is considered to be the author

Example

Wellesley College [WellesleyCollege]. (2019, December 18). Wellesley: Always your home [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpi0ptUL69Y

TED Talk

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.12, pp. 342-344.

Format

Speaker, S. S. (Year, Month). Title of video [Video]. TED Conference. URL

Note: The person who uploaded the video is considered to be the author UNLESS it comes from the TED website, in which case the speaker is listed as the author. Use the YouTube or streaming video example above if you have retrieved the talk from somewhere other than the TED website.

Example

Della Flora, O. (2019, January). Creative ways to get kids to thrive in school [Video]. TED Conference. https://www.ted.com/talks/olympia_della_flora_creative_ways_to_get_kids_to_thrive_in_school

Television Series Episode

For more information see: Publication Manual, chapter 10.12, pp. 342-344.

Format

Writer, A. A. (Writer), & Director, B. B. (Director). (Year). Title of episode (Season No., Episode No.) [TV series episode]. In P. P. Producer (Executive Producer), Title of television show. Production Company.

Example

Miller, B. (Writer), & Morano, R. (Director). (2017). Offred (Season 1, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In I. Chaiken (Executive Producer), The Handmaid’s Tale. Hulu.

Note: When there are multiple production companies, separate them with a semicolon.

Artwork

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.14, pp. 346-347

Format

Artist, A. A. (Year of creation). Title of work [Medium]. Museum Name, Museum Location.

Example

Wiley, K. (2007). Officer of the Hussars [Painting]. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI.

Podcast Episode

See Publication Manual, section 10.13, pp. 344-346

Format

Host, H. H. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Title of episode (Episode No. 111) [Audio podcast episode]. In Title of podcast. Production Company. URL

Example

Favreau, J. (Host). (2019, July 26). 2020: Bernie Sanders on democratic socialism and Cardi B. In Pod save America. Crooked. https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-america/

Note: omit episode number element of the citation if the podcast does not number its individual episodes.

Examples: Data Sets & Reports

Data Sets

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.9, pp. 337-338.

Format

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of data set (Version Number) [Data set]. Publisher name. DOI or URL

Examples

Marshall, N., Roberts, J., & Robeson, W.W. (2013). Massachusetts early care and education and school readiness study, 2001-2008 (ICPSR 33968) [Data set]. ICPSR. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR33968.v1

Reports and Other Gray Literature

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.4, pp. 329-331.

Format

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of report (Report No. 111). Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Author, A.A. (Year, Month Day). Title of gray literature [Description]. Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Examples

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. (2019). Triennial report on monitoring adherence to the NIH policy on the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical research (FY 2016-2018). National Institutes of Health. https://report.nih.gov/UploadDocs/2019-NCATS-Triennial_Inclusion_Report.pdf

National Women’s Law Center. (2019, December 20). NWLC reacts to Trump administration finalizing backdoor abortion ban [Press release]. https://nwlc.org/press-releases/nwlc-reacts-to-trump-administration-finalizing-backdoor-abortion-ban/

Examples: Unpublished & Archival Materials

Interview/Discussions Materials

For more information see: Publication Manual, sections 8.7-8.9, pp. 259-261.

Personal communication including unpublished interviews and class discussions are cited in the text only because they do not provide recoverable data that readers can access. An example of an in-text citation would be:

(P. A. Johnson, personal communication, July 19, 2019).

 

Archival Materials

For more information see: Publication Manual, section 10.8, pp. 335-337.

Format

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of material [Description of Material]. Name of Collection (Call number, Box number, File name or number, etc.). Name of Repository, Location.

If there is no title on the document, include a description of the material in square brackets.

Examples

History department. (1974, December). First Semester Final Examination. History Department Records (30, box 1, folder 14). Wellesley College Archives, Wellesley, MA.

Publicity office. (1971). Slides for admissions representatives. [Photographic slides]. Publicity Office Records (1SD 1969-1975, box 21). Wellesley College Archives, Wellesley, MA.

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Acknowledgement

The Wellesley College Research & Instruction Team would like to thank the Williams College library team for agreeing to let us reuse and share their excellent resources.