MSUM Livingston Lord Library's APA Style Guide

Based upon Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (5^th ed.) (2001) Ref/BF/76.7.P83/2001.  Refer to the Manual for specific situations. 

Parenthetical references or citations identify a direct quotation or idea belonging to someone else.  In APA style, citations are included in the body of the paper, along with enough information to inform the reader of the specific work being cited via the reference list at the end of the paper.  The reference list provides complete publication information for all works cited.  

Examples of Citation in the Text

1.      One author

a.       Author’s surname part of text:  year of publication in parentheses.

       Granger (1988) found that most birds …

2. Paraphrased or attributable idea without author’s name in text:  Author’s name and year in parentheses.

              Usually in the sixth grade (Granger, 1988) …

3. A direct quote:  Author’s name, year and page numbers in parentheses.

       “Birds stayed close to …” (Granger, 1988, p. 10) 

2.      Two authors

 Cite both names every time the reference occurs in text. 

1. Granger and Smythe (1897) discovered
2. found to be unreliable (Granger & Smythe, 1897)
3. “Three types …” (Granger & Smythe, 1897, p. 122)

3.      Three, four, or five authors

Cite all author’s surnames the first time; only the first author’s surname with et al. in subsequent cites.

1.  Use as first citation in text.

no good. (Yeats, Smith, & Jones, 1993)

2. Use as subsequent first citation per paragraph thereafter.

    Yeats et al., (1993) found

3. When citing a specific part of a source.

“Resulting in a …” (Yeats et al., 1993, pp. 23-24) 

4.      Six or more authors 

Use only the first author’s surname and et al.

1. Smythe et al. (1994) discovered

2. result (Smythe et al., 1994)

3.  “Total returns indicate …” (Smythe et al., 1994, chap. 2)
   

5.      No author 

Cite the first two or three words of the reference list entry (usually title) and the year.

1.  the article “Census Data” … (1993)

2. future assessment (“Census Data,” 1993)

3.  “Results indicate …” (“Census Data,” 1993, p. 14)

Guide to the APA Style Reference List 

Items in the Reference List are arranged alphabetically by the first word of the entry, excluding articles (a, an, the).  All lines should be double-spaced, but are not in the examples listed to save space.

Journal Article

Offord, D. R., & Bennett, K. J. (1994).  Conduct disorder:  Long-term

outcomes and intervention effectiveness.  Journal of the American

Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychology, 33,  1069-1078.

 1.       Author element

• Last name first, list all authors’ names, spell out surnames, use initials for first and middle names.
• Use commas to separate authors’ names and to separate surnames from initials.
• Use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name.

2.       Date element

• Enclose date in parentheses.

3.       Article title element

• Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and proper names.
• Do not underline or enclose the title in quotation marks.
• Preserve the punctuation of the title.

4.       Journal title element

• Give the complete title, capitalize significant works, and italicize it.
• Give the volume number in Arabic numerals, italicize it, do not use “vol.” or “v.” etc., if the issue is separately paged, include the issue number, after the volume.
• Give inclusive page numbers (first page of the article through the last page).
• Use commas to separate the title from the volume number and the volume number from the pagination.

End all elements with a period.

Magazine (Magazine Article, No Author)

 You must remember this.  (1994, September 26).  Newsweek, 68-69.  

Book

 Wheelan, S. A.  (1994).  Group processes:  A developmental perspective. 

Boston:  Allyn and Bacon.

1.       Author(s) or editor(s) element

• Last name first, list all authors’ names, spell our surnames, use initials for first and middle names.
• Use commas to separate authors’ names and to separate surnames from initials.
• Use ampersand (&) before the last author’s name.
• For edited books, place editors’ names in the author position and enclose the abbreviation (Ed.) or (Eds.) in parentheses after the last editor.

2.       Date of publication element

• Enclose date in parentheses.

3.       Title element

• Capitalize first word of the title and subtitle (if any), and proper names.
• Italicize the entire title.
• If there is an edition or volume statement, enclose it in parentheses immediately following the title (e.g., 3^rd ed. Or Vol. 2).  Do not use a period between the title or volume statement.

4.       Publication element

• Give the city, if the city is not well known include the state (or country).
• Give the publisher’s name in as brief a form as possible (do not include “Publishing,” or “company,” or “Inc.,” etc.), but do not abbreviate.
• Spell out the names of associations or university presses
• If more than one location is give, use the first listed, or the place where the publisher’s home office is located.

End all elements with a period.  

Part of a Book (Article or Chapter)

 Runco, M. A.  (1994).  Creative and imaginative thinking.  In V. S. 

            Ramachandran (Ed.), The encyclopedia of human behavior.  (Vol.

2, pp. 11-16).  San Diego:  Academic Press.

Examples of Reference Lists

Hanging Indent

For most undergraduate papers using APA style, the first line of each citation in the Reference List should be along the left margin with subsequent lines of the citation indented 5-7 spaces.  The list should be double-spaced.

Example for handing indent:

                                                 Copied from APA Guide,
                                                Sample Paper and Outlines 5.29,
                                                 p. 313

Citing Internet Sources also check APA's web site at http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

Electronic sources include aggregated databases, online journals, Web sites or Web pages, newsgroups, Web- or e-mail-based discussion groups, and Web- or e-mail-based newsletters.  

Online periodical:  

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (2000). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, xxxxxx. Retrieved month day, year, from source.  

Online document:  

Author, A. A. (2000). Title of work. Retrieved month, day, year, from source.  

Internet articles based on a print source:

VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J.  (2001).  Role of reference

  elements in the selection of resources by psychology undergraduates

 [Electronic version].Journal of Bibliographic Research, 5, 117-123.

Article in an Internet-only journal:

Fredrickson, B. L. (2000, March 7).   Cultivating positive emotions to 

optimize health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3,

Article 0001a. Retrieved November 20, 2000, from

Electronic copy of a journal article, retrieved from a database:  

Stand-alone document, no author identified, no date:

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Page updated 03/28/2003 by Stacy L. Voeller

voeller@mnstate.edu