APA reference guide

Notes about APA style references

In APA style, the names of authors are formatted like this:

Last name, First initial. Middle initial (if available)

•  Example: Hayes, R.B.

 Your reference list should be titled as “References,” and the title should be centered but not bolded or underlined.

 References should have a hanging indent of 0.5”

Journal article

Author(s). (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Title, volume(issue), starting page-ending page. URL or DOI

 Example:

Lee, B., Ji, D., & O’Kane, M. (2021). Examining cross-cultural child welfare practice through simulation-based education. Clinical Social Work Journal, 49(2), 271-285. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10615-020-00783-8

• If possible, include the journal article’s DOI rather than the URL.
• If there are over 21 authors, use an ellipsis between the 19th author’s name and final author’s name to represent the additional authors.

Books

Author. (Year). Title of book in sentence case (edition). Publisher. DOI or URL (if from an online source)

Example:

Harari, Y.N. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. HarperCollins Publisher.

• As of APA 7th edition, you don’t have to include the publishing location for book references.
• You don’t need to specify if it’s an ebook or print book, but if it is an accessible ebook, include the DOI or URL.
• Edition information doesn’t need to be italicized, just include it in parentheses after the title, like this: (2nd ed.)

Chapter in an edited book

Author. (Year). Chapter title in sentence case. In Editor’s Names, Title of book in sentence case (pp. Start page-end page). Publisher. DOI or URL (if applicable)

Example:

Dillard, J. P. (2020). Currents in the study of persuasion. In M. B. Oliver, A. A. Raney, & J. Bryant (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (4th ed., pp. 115–129). Routledge.

Data

Author last name, first initial. (year of publication). Title of data set (numerical identifier and version number for the data) [Data set]. Publisher of data set. DOI

Example:

O’Donohue, W. (2017). Content analysis of undergraduate psychology textbooks (ICPSR 21600; Version V1) [Data set]. ICPSR. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36966.v1

• Provide citations for data sets when you have either conducted secondary analyses of publicly archived data or archived your own data being presented for the first time in the current work.
• If you are citing existing data or statistics, cite the publication in which the data were published (e.g., a journal article, report, or webpage) rather than the data set itself.
• The date in the reference is the year of publication for the version of the data used.
• Provide the title of the data set in italics. Then provide any numerical identifier and version number for the data in parentheses without italics, separated by a semicolon.
• The bracketed description is flexible (e.g., “[Data set],” “[Data set and code book]”).
• Provide the publisher of the data set in the source element. ICPSR is one common example.

Videos

YouTube Video

Channel name (year, month date). Title of video [video]. URL

Example:

New York Daily News (2015, Aug 28). Philippe petit walks a tightrope between the twin towers in 1974 [Video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwbil5puqng

Parenthetical Citation: (New York Daily News, 2015)

Narrative Citation: New York Daily News (2015)

• Start with the name of the account that uploaded the video as the author.
• To cite the words of individuals featured in a video, name or describe the individual(s) in your sentence in the text and then provide a parenthetical citation for the video. For example, someone in an interview may provide commentary you wish to cite directly; you should provide details about who spoke and what they said in the text of the sentence and then cite the video using the parenthetical citation shown.
• Provide the specific date on which the video was uploaded.
• Italicize the title of the video.
• Include “[Video]” in square brackets after the title.
• Provide the site name (YouTube) and URL of the video.

Film/movie

Dir. last name, first name. (Director). Year of production. Film title. Production company(s).

Example:

Pollack, S. (Director). 1972. Jeremiah Johnson [Film]. Warner Bros. Pictures

• Provide the director in the author element of the reference, followed by the notation “(Director).”
• Provide the production company or companies in the source element of the reference. Separate multiple production companies with a semicolon.

TV series

Executive Producer’s last name, first name. (Executive Producer). (Time span of production (years)). Television show title. [TV Series]. Production company(s).

Example:

Serling, R. (Executive Producer). (1959–1964). The twilight zone [TV series]. Cayuga Productions; CBS Productions.

Parenthetical citation: (Serling, 1959–1964)

Narrative citation: Serling (1959–1964)

• Provide the executive producer(s) in the author element of the reference.
• When there is one executive producer, use the notation “(Executive Producer).” When there are multiple executive producers, provide the notation once after all the producers’ names, the same as you would the notation “(Eds.)” for an edited book: “(Executive Producers).”
• Provide the year(s) during which the series aired in the date element of the reference.
• If the series is still airing at the time you are writing the paper, replace the second year with “present”: (2017–present).
• Provide the production company or companies in the source element of the reference. Separate multiple production companies with a semicolon.

Lectures

Lecturer Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of lecture [Format]. URL of website.

Example:

Christensen, E. (2021, March 22). Cognitive Transitions [PowerPoint slides]. Canvas@University of Nevada, Reno. https://unr.instructure.com

• If the website where the lecture is from is not accessible to the general public (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.), then use the general website URL rather than the specific URL of the lecture.
• For the Format, specify if it’s a recording, PowerPoint slides, pdf, etc.

Podcasts

Podcast host(s). (Hosts). (timespan of production. xxxx-xxxx) Podcast name [Audio podcast]. Podcast source. URL.

Example:

Meraji, S. M., & Demby, G. (Hosts). (2016–present). Code switch [Audio podcast]. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch

• List the host of the podcast as the author. Or, provide the executive producers, if known. Either way, include their role in parentheses.
• Provide the span of years during which the podcast aired in the date element of the reference.
• For a podcast that is still on the air, provide the year the podcast started airing and use the word “present” in place of the second year, for example: (2020−present).
• For a podcast that has ended and aired for multiple years, provide the start and end years, separated with an en dash, for example: (2017−2020).
• For a podcast that started and ended airing in the same year, provide just that year, for example: (2019).
• Specify the type of podcast in square brackets, for example: [Audio podcast], [Video podcast].
• In general, end the reference with the URL. If the URL of the podcast is unknown (e.g., if accessed via an app, as with the Seales example), omit the URL from the reference.

TED talk

TED talk from the website:

Last name of speaker, first initial. (year of publication, month). Title of TED talk [Video]. TED Conferences. URL.

Example:

Cuddy, A. (2012, June). Your body language may shape who you are [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are 

Parenthetical citation: (Cuddy, 2012)

Narrative citation: Cuddy (2012)

• When the TED Talk comes from TED’s website, use the name of the speaker as the author.
• Provide as specific a date as possible; in the example, only the year and month are available.
• Include the description “[Video]” in square brackets after the title of the talk.
• Credit TED Conferences as the publisher of the TED Talk and then provide the URL.

TED talk from YouTube:

TED. (Year of publication, Month Day). Title of the talk. Name of speaker [Video]. YouTube. URL.

Example:

TED. (2011, January 3). The power of vulnerability | Brene Brown [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

Parenthetical citation: (TED, 2011)

Narrative citation: TED (2011)

• When the TED talk is on YouTube, list the owner of the YouTube account (here, TED) as the author to aid in retrieval.
• Provide as specific a date as possible.
• Include the description “[Video]” in square brackets after the title of the talk.
• Credit YouTube as the publisher of the TED Talk and then provide the URL.
• When the speaker is not listed as the author, integrate their name into the narrative if desired:
• Brown explains, “as it turns out, we can’t practice compassion for others unless we can be kind to ourselves” (TED, 2011, 9:20)

Image

APA style has unique requirements for citing clip art and stock images.

• You can find stock images on Pexels,iStock, Getty Images, Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Flickr. Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint also have clip art.
• The license associated with the clip art or stock image determines how it should be credited.
• Sometimes the license indicates no reference or attribution is needed, in which case writers can reproduce the image without any reference, citation, or attribution in an APA Style paper.
• Other times, the license indicates that credit is required to reproduce the image, in which case writers should write an APA Style copyright attribution and reference list entry.
• Be sure to follow the terms of the license associated with the image you want to reproduce. The guidelines apply whether you have to purchase the image or if it is available for free. These guidelines apply to both students and professionals and to both papers and PowerPoint presentations.
• Although for most images you must look at the license on a case-by-case basis, images and clip art from programs such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint can be used without attribution. By purchasing the program, you have purchased a license to use the clip art and images that come with the program without attribution.

Dissertations and theses

Published dissertation

Author name. (Year). Title of dissertation or thesis (Publication no. if available) [Format, University]. Database. URL (if accessible).

Example:

Peck, E.Z. (2018). Language and literacy skills, attitudes, and motivation of at-risk adolescents (Publication No. 10821816) [Master’s Thesis, University of Nevada, Reno]. ProQuest Dissertation & Theses @ University of Nevada Reno.

Unpublished dissertation/thesis

Author name. (Year). Title of dissertation or thesis [Format, specify unpublished]. University name.

Example:

Harris, L. (2014). Instructional leadership perceptions and practices of elementary school leaders [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Virginia.

• With the format of unpublished dissertation, specify that it is unpublished.

Webpages and websites

Author or Agency responsible for the webpage. (Year). Title of webpage. Title of Website/Parent agency (if applicable). URL of website. 

Example:

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. (2021). Mold. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/mold/index.cfm

• Italicize the title of the webpage
• If there is no specific author, then use the agency or organization name instead.

Newspaper article

Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of article in sentence case. Newspaper Title, volume(issue), starting page-ending page. URL (if from an online source).

Example:

Villegas, P. (2021, July 12). Woman is duct-taped to her seat after trying to open plane door midflight, airline says. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/07/12/woman-restrained-on-american-airlines-flight/

• If the volume/issue/page numbers are not available, you don’t need to include them. Instead, just go straight from the newspaper title to the URL.

Sources:

American Psychological Association. (2022). Common reference examples guide. American Psychological Association.https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-examples.pdf

American Psychological Association. (2022). Reference examples. American Psychological Association. https://apastyle.apa.org