Used by: Education, Language & Linguistic Science, Psychology
The American Psychological Association (APA) style is used in psychology, health and the social sciences. This guide is gradually being updated to APA Style 7th edition. We've noted where the section is updated but otherwise assume the guidance is for APA 6th. Check your department requirements for which version to use.
Information from sources in the text is shown with in-text citations that include the author's surname and the publication year (and a page number in some situations). These can appear after the information, or integrated into the sentence:
The in-text citation examples given throughout this guide use the (Neville, 2010) version.
The reference list at the end of the document includes the full details of each source so the reader can find them themselves. The list is organised alphabetically by author surname.
The information to include depends on the types of source - see the examples on this page.
This guidance applies to all source types.
In-text: (Santrock, 2011)
Reference List:
List both authors in the order they appear in the publication. Use an ampersand (&), not 'and' between names.
In-text: (Lee & Benati, 2007)
Reference List:
In the citation use the surname of the first author followed by 'et al.' (including the full stop). In the reference list, list all authors in the order they appear in the publication. Use an ampersand (&), not 'and' between names. In subsequent citations, give the first author's name followed by et al. (the full stop is important!).
In-text (Wilkinson et al., 2011)
Reference List:
In all in-text citations, give the first author's name followed by et al. (the full stop is important!). In the reference list, include the names of the first 19 authors, insert an ellipsis (three dots) but no ampersand, then include the name of the final author.
In-text: (Halonen, et al., 2003)
Reference List:
If you're pulling together information from a number of sources to support your argument you may want to include more than one source in one in-text citation. For example:
They should appear alphabetically, matching the order in which they will appear in your reference list.
If an author (or a group of authors) have more than one publications in the same year, add lower-case letters (a, b, c, etc.) to the year to differentiate between them. Add a to the first source cited, b to the second course and so on. For example:
In-text: (Carroll, 2007a; Carroll, 2007b)
References:
It's important to use quality sources to support your arguments, so you should carefully consider the value of using any source when you can't identify its author.
For online sources, look carefully for named contributors, such as in the ‘about us’ sections. For printed material look carefully at the publication/ copyright information, which is often on the inside cover of a book or back page of a report. If you cannot locate the information you could use the name of the organisation for the author, for example (NSPCC, 2012).
Knowing when a source was created, published, or last updated is important as this helps you to determine the relevance and reliability of the source. For online sources look carefully for created and/ or last updated dates on the page(s). If you can't locate a date write (n.d.) instead of the year to denote ‘no date’.
Quotations are word-for-word text included in your work and must be clearly distinguished from your own words and ideas. You must also include the page number(s) in the in-text citation.
Use a brief-phrase within your paragraph or sentence to introduce the quotation before including it inside double quotation marks “ ”. For example:
Use block quotation, without quotation marks, but clearly indented to indicate these words are not your own. For example:
A secondary reference is given when you are referring to a source which you have not read yourself, but have read about in another source, for example referring to Jones’ work that you have read about in Smith. Avoid using secondary references wherever possible and locate the original source and reference that.
Only give a secondary reference where it's not possible to read the original source, and you think it's essential to use the material. It is important to think carefully about using secondary references as the explanation or interpretation of that source by the author you have read may not be accurate. For example, if Allport's work is cited in Nicholson and you did not read Allport's work, list the Nicholson reference in the reference list. In the text, use the following citation:
Only list the sources that you have read in your reference list - ie. list Nicholson but not Allport in the reference list.
Include the page number(s) in an in-text citation when:
Giving page numbers lets the reader locate the specific item you're referring to.
You should only capitalise the first letter of the first word of a book, journal article, etc and any word following a colon in the title. The exception is if these include proper nouns – names of people or organisations.
Usually in-text citations are included in your word count as they are integral to your argument.
This may vary depending on the assignment you are writing and you should confirm this with your module tutor. If in-text citations are included this does not mean you should leave out citations where they are appropriate.
Contact your Academic Liaison Librarian if you have any questions about referencing.
Examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for key source types.
Use these examples alongside the information given in the 'Guidance for all source types' box. Pay particular attention to the guidance on formatting for one, two or more authors.
In-text: (Santrock, 2011)
Reference list:
Information to include
Author(s) Surname, Initial. (year). Name of book (Edition if not the first). Publisher name. Doi if available
For books written or published in another language, see the Book (translated to English) and Book (read in another language) sections below.
In-text: (Alexander, 2009)
Reference list:
Information to include
Chapter author(s) Surname, Initial. (year). Title of chapter. In editor(s) Initial, Surname (Ed/Eds.), Title of edited book. (pp. Page numbers). Publisher name. Doi if available
In-text: (Daniels et al., 2009)
Reference list:
Information to include
Editor(s) Surname, Initial. (Ed/Eds.). (year). Title of edited book. Publisher name. Doi if available
Most journal papers are now available in electronic form, usually with a DOI (a special type of link). If there isn't a DOI, include the URL instead or leave this out if you are referencing a printed journal article.
In-text: (Forlin, 2010)
Reference list:
Information to include
Author(s) Surname, Initial. (year). Title of paper. Name of journal. volume(issue). page numbers. DOI if available
Include the most precise date of publication given - usually full date for newspaper articles, month and year for magazines.
In-text: (Clarkson, 2008; Swain, 2008)
Reference list:
Information needed
Author(s) Surname, Initial. (year, month date). Title of article. Name of newspaper/magazine. p. page numbers.
Use the article title instead of the author name. In the in-text citation, put the title (or a shortened version) between quotation marks (").
In-text: ("Editorial: French Elections," 2012)
Reference list:
Information needed
Title of article. (year, month date). Name of newspaper/magazine. p. page numbers.
In-text: (Richardson, 2011)
Reference List:
Information to include
Author(s) Surname, Initial. (year). Name of specific webpage. Name of full website. URL
In-text: (BBC News, 2011)
Reference list:
Information to include
Name of full website (year). Name of specific webpage. URL
Examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for other source types.
Use these examples alongside the information given in the 'Guidance for all source types' box. Pay particular attention to the guidance on formatting for one, two or more authors.
In-text: (Education Act 2011)
Reference list:
In-text: (Master Atlas of Greater London, 2007)
Reference List:
In-text: (Brandon, 2010)
Reference List:
If you are reading an English language version of a book originally published in another language follow this example.
In-text: (Freud, 2002)
Bibliography/ Reference List:
If you are reading a book in another language, follow this example:
In-text: (Hoops, 1932)
Bibliography/ Reference List:
In-text: (The Cogent Group, 2009)
Reference list:
If conference proceedings have been published in book form, cite the paper as if for a chapter in a book.
In-text: (Bartram, 2010)
Reference list:
If conference proceedings have been published in book form cite them as for a book.
In-text: (ALT-C, 2011)
Reference list:
Include the type of resource in square brackets after its name: [CD], [CD-Rom, [DVD]
In-text: (Wedding & Stevens, 2008)
Reference list:
In-text: (Beauty and the Beast, 2012)
Reference list:
In-text: (The National Autistic Society, n.d.)
Reference list:
In-text: (The National Autistic Society, n.d.)
Reference list:
n.d. denotes no date given - include the year when known
In-text: (Paperback Oxford English Dictionary, 2006)
Reference list:
If there are no page numbers, give the chapter number for direct quotes eg, "…" (Bartram, 2010, ch.1).
In-text: (Bartram, 2010)
Reference list:
In-text: (Collins, 2011)
Reference list:
Personal communications such as personal emails, private letters, and telephone conversations are non-recoverable and so are not included in the reference list. Cite them in-text only with the initials and surname of the author.
In-text: in an email from I. Johnson (personal communication, 22 May 2012)
Note: No personal communication is included in your reference list; instead, parenthetically cite the communicator's name, the phrase "personal communication," and the date of the communication in your main text only.
In-text: (Hornberger, 2008)
Reference list:
In-text: (Manstead & Hewston, 1996)
Reference list:
In-text: (Lloyd, 2008)
Reference list:
In-text: (Great Britain. Dept. for Education, 2010)
Reference list:
Cm. is the abbreviation used to designate a command paper. This example is command paper 7980.
In-text: [INSERT IMAGE] Table X Common Abbreviations for Units of Measurement (APA, 2010, p. 109, table 4.4)
Reference List:
In-text: [INSERT IMAGE] Classical Conditioning (Kulich, 2006)
Reference list:
Eg, an interview conducted by someone else that has been published in such as a newspaper or journal
In-text: (Beard, 2012)
Reference list:
You are not encouraged to cite these, except where an interview has been conducted as part of a non-empirical assignment. That is, only cite if you discuss an interview within your assignment where you had not been required to conduct interviews, but did so to augment your work. Consideration also needs to be given to confidentiality and interviewee anonymity as appropriate.
In-text: (Smith, 2012)
Reference list:
In-text: (Andrews, 2010)
Reference list:
In-text: (Andrews, 2010)
Reference list:
Personal communications such as personal emails, private letters, and telephone conversations are non-recoverable and so are not included in the reference list. Cite them in-text only with the initials and surname of the author.
In-text: Johnson, I. (2011, August 4). Letter to the author.
Bibliography/ Reference List:
If the letter is published:
If the letter is from an unpublished collection:
In-text: (Munshi, 2010)
Reference list:
In-text: (Cotton MS Caligula A IX, 1250-1300)
Reference list:
Each one will have titles and references within it or you can refer to the actual microfiche record number, where it is stored and when accessed. This is an example of a historic periodical.
In-text: In-text: (Brown, 1794)
Reference list:
In-text: (Vitebsk, 2012)
Reference list:
In-text: (Puccini, 1980)
Reference list:
In-text: (YaleCourses, 2008)
Reference list:
In-text: (Monet, 1899)
Reference list:
In-text: first citation (Gardner, Harlen, Hayward, & Stobart, 2008), subsequent citations Gardner et al., 2008)
Reference list:
In-text:(Higher Education (Fees) Bill HL 2012-13)
Reference list:
HC stands for House of Commons, with HL being used for Bills originating in the House of Lords. The date represents the parliamentary session and the number in [ ] the number of the bill.
In-text: (U.S. Patent No. D582022, 2008)
Reference list:
OR
In-text: (Berberet & Bates, Kohler Company, 2008)
Reference list:
In-text: (Jarche, 1931)
Reference list:
In-text: (Yes, Prime Minister, 2012)
Reference list:
In-text: (Webster, 1998)
Reference list:
In-text: (Kipling, 1999, p. 530)
Reference list:
In-text: (Teachers TV, 2008)
Reference list:
In-text: (O'Dea, 2011)
Reference list:
Religious and sacred texts include such as the Bible, Talmud, and Qur’an.
The Publication Manual of the APA (2010, p.179) states that you do not need to include religious or sacred texts in the reference list. Identify the version of the text used in the first citation and provide the book, chapter, and verse details in a universally accepted, consistent form.
For example:
1 Cor. 13:1 (Revised Standard Version).
This refers to St Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 1 sourced from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
(Qur’an 5:3-4).
This refers to chapter 5, verses 3-4 of the Qur’an.
In-text: (Hollingworth & Mansaray, 2012)
Reference list:
In-text: (Higher Education Academy, 2008)
Reference list:
This format is for when you read a more recent version of an older work. In-text, the date of the original publication is given before the later one you read. In the bibliography/ reference list you give the date of the version you read with the original date at the end of the reference.
In-text: (Erikson, 1951/1977)
Reference list:
In-text: (Runciman, 2002)
Reference list:
In-text: Belle & Sebastian, 2003, track 8)
Reference list:
In-text: (British Standards Institute, 2006)
Reference list:
In-text: (The Apprentice, 2012)
Reference List:
Personal communications such as personal emails, private letters, and telephone conversations are non-recoverable and so are not included in the reference list. Cite them in-text only with the initials and surname of the author.
In-text: in a text message from I. Johnson (personal communication, 22 May 2012).
In-text: (Missuno, 2012)
Reference List:
Information to include
Author(s) Surname, Initial. (year). Title of thesis. [level of qualification, institution]. Database name.
Use either the proper name of the author or Twitter pseudonym. In the following example either (York Psychology, 2012) or (@YorkPsychology, 2012) can be used in-text and in the Reference list reference.
In-text: (York Psychology, 2012)
Reference list:
In-text: (ELDT, 2012)
Reference list:
In-text: (Psychology Wiki, n.d.)
Reference list: