JOLIMATE

APA Citation Style Overview

7th Edition (2020)

Online Guide with Videos Available: libguides.wsc.edu/APA

ELEMENTS OF A REFERENCE LIST ENTRY

A reference generally has four elements: author, date, title, and source. Each element ends with a period.

1) AUTHOR Who is responsible for this work?

Invert all individual authors’ names, providing the surname first, followed by a comma and the initials. Use a comma to separate an author’s initials from additional author names, even when there are only two authors; use an ampersand (&) before the final author’s name. Use one space between initials. End with a period.

One Author	Author, A. A.	Brown, L. S.
Two Authors	Author, A. A., & Author, B. B.	McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H.
2 20 Authors	Author, A.A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C.	Balsam, K. F., Martell, C. R., Jones, K. P., & Safren, S. A.
21+ Authors	Include the first 19 author’s names, insert and ellipsis (but no ampersand), and then add the final author’s name.
Group Author	Spell out the full name followed by a period.	National Cancer Institute.
Editors	Follow names with the abbreviation (Ed.) or (Eds.).	Schulz, O. P. (Ed.). Wong, C. T., & Music, K. (Eds.).
No Author	Move the title of the work to the author position before the date of publication.

2) DATE When was this work published?

Enclose the date, followed by a period in parentheses. For works that include a month, day and/or season along with the year, put the year first, followed by a comma, and then the month and date. Do not abbreviate.

Examples: (2008). No Date: (n.d.).

(2017, November).

(2019, August 26).

(2020, Spring/Summer).

3) TITLE What is this work called?

Titles fall into two broad categories: works that stand alone and works that are part of a greater whole. When a work stands alone, the title of that work appears in the title element of the reference. When a work is part of a greater whole, the title of the article or chapter appears in the title element of the reference and the title of the greater whole (the journal or book) appears in the source element. Titles use sentence case, meaning that only the first word of the title and subtitle (as indicated by a colon) plus proper nouns are capitalized.

Titles use sentence case, meaning that only the first word of the title and subtitle (as indicated by a colon) plus proper nouns are capitalized.

TYPE	SOURCES	RULE	EXAMPLE
Works that are part of a Greater Whole	Journals Articles, Edited Books Chapters	Do not italicize or use quotation marks. Capitalizeit using sentence case.	The virtue gap in humor: Exploring benevolent and corrective humor.
Stand Alone Works	Books, Reports, Webpages &	Italicize the title and capitalize it using sentence case.	Adoption-specific therapy: A guide to helping adopted children and their families thrive.
Editions & Volumes		Enclose in parenthesis after the title and move the period afterwards. Use a comma to separate independent elements.	Nursing: A concept-based approach to learning (2nd ed., Vol. 1).
Non-Academic Works	Audiobooks, Films, YouTube Videos, Photographs, Software, etc.	Provide a description of the work in square brackets after the title and before the period. Capitalize the first word of the description.	One flew over the cuckoo's nest [Film].
No Title		Include a description of the work in square brackets instead. Be sure to specify the medium in the description if needed.	[Map showing the population density of the United States as of the year 2010].

4) SOURCE Where can I retrieve this work?

The source indicates where readers can retrieved the cited work. Thus, it has the most variation. Sources, like titles, also fall into two broad categories: works that are part of a greater whole and works that stand alone. Use the reference examples provided on the following pages to determine how to cite specific sources.

COMMON REFERENCE EXAMPLES

PERIODICALS

When a periodical (i.e., journal, magazine, newspaper, newsletter, or blog), is the source, provide the periodical title, volume number, issue, number and page range.

Capitalize the title of the periodical using title case, reproducing them as shown on the cited work. Italicize the volume number. Include an issue number, if it is available, immediately after the volume number (with no space in between) and enclose in parentheses. Place a comma afterwards, followed by the page range and a period. Omit elements if they are not present in the cited work.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year, Month Day). Title of the article in sentence case. Periodical Title in Title Case, volume(issue), page-page. DOI or URL

Journal Article, with a DOI:

McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use:A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review, 126(1), 1-51. https:// doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126

Journal Article, with a DOI, 21 or more authors:

Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M., Saha, S., White, G., Woollen, J., Zhu, Y., Chelliah, M., Ebisuzaki, W., Higgins, W., Janowiak, J., Mo, K. C., Ropelewski, C., Wang, J., Leetmaa, A., . . Joseph, D. (1996). The NCEP /NCAR 40-year reanalusis project. Bulletin of the American Meterological Society, 77(3), 437-471. http:// doi.org/fg6rf9

Journal Article, without a DOI, with a nondatabase URL:

Ahmann, E., Tuttle. L. J., Saviet, M., & Wright, S. D. (2018). A descriptive review of ADHD coaching research: Implications for college students. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 31(1), 17-39. http://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped/archived-jped/jped-volume-31

Journal, Magazine, or Newspaper Article, without a DOI, from most academic research databases or print version (Do not include database name or URL):

Anderson, M. (2018). Getting consistent with consequences. Educational Leadership, 76(1), 26-33. Goldman, C. (2018, November 28). The complicated calibration of love, especially in adoption. Chicago Tribune. Hess, A. (2019, January 3). Cats who take direction. The New York Times, C1.

Magazine or Newspaper Article, with nondatabase URL:

Bustillos, M. (2013, March 19). On video games and storytelling: An interview with Tom Bissell. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/on-video-games-and-storytelling -an-interview-wth-tom-bissell

Guarino, B. (2017, December 4). How will humanity react to alien life? Psychologists have some predictions. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/nes/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/12/04/how-will-humanity-react-to-alien-life-psychologists-have-some-prediction

Blog Post:

Klymkowsky, M. (2018, September 15). Can we talk scientifically about free will. Sci-Ed. https:// blogs.plos.org/scied/2018/09/15/can-we-talk-scientifically-about-free-will/

BOOKS

When a book is the source, provide the name of the publisher as shown on the work, followed by a period. Do not include designations of business structure (e.g., Inc., Ltd., , LLC) in the publisher name. Do not include the publisher location. If two or more publishers are listed, include all of them in the order shown in the work. When the author is the same as the publisher, omit the publisher from the reference. It is not necessary to note when you used an audiobook verses a book or an ebook when the content is the same.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the book in sentence case. Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Editor, E. E., & Editor, F. F. (Eds.). (Year). Title of the book in sentence case (2nd ed., Vol. 4). Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Authored Book:

Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https:// doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000

Burgess, R. (2019). Rethinking global health: Frameworks of power. Routledge.

Authored Book, with editor credited on the book cover:

Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer (D. Wright, Ed.). Chelsea Green Publishing.

Edited Book:

Hacker, Hughes, J. (Ed.). (2017). Military veteran psychological health and social care: Contemporary approaches. Routledge.

BOOK CHAPTERS & REFERENCE ENTRIES

For works with editors, in the source element of the reference, write the word “In” followed by the initials and surnames (not inverted) of the editors and the editor abbreviation following in parentheses. Then add a comma, the title of the whole book or reference work in italic sentence case, the page or page range of the chapter or entry in parentheses without italics and a period. Then provide the name of the publisher.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the chapter/entry in sentence case. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of the work in sentence case (edition, page range). Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Chapter in an Edited Book:

Balsam, K. F., Martell, C. R., Jones, K. P., & Safren, S. A. (2019). Affirmative cognitive behavior therapy with sexual and gender minority people. In G. Y. Inwamasa & P. A. Hays (Eds.), Culturally responsive cognitive behavior therapy: Practice and supervision (2nd ed., pp. 287-314). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000199-012

Weinstock, R., Leong, G. B., & Silvia, J. A. (2003). Defining forensic psychiatry Roles and responsibilities. In R. Rosner (Ed.), Principles and practice of forensic psychiatry (2nd ed., pp. 7-13). CRC Press.

Entry in a Dictionary, Thesaurus, or Encyclopedia:

Graham, G. (2019). Behaviorism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2019 ed.). Stanford University. https://plato.standord.edu/archives/sum209/entries/ behaviorism/

List of oldest companies. (2019, January 13). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia/org/w/index.php? title=List_of_oldest_companies&oldid=878158136

DISSERTATIONS & THESES

For published dissertations and theses, the university name appears in square brackets after the title.

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation or thesis in sentence case [Type of publication, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Database or Archive Name. URL

Hollander, M. M. (2017). Resistance to authority: Methodological innovations and new lessons from the Milgram experiment (Publication No. 10289373) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Hutchenson, V. H. (2012). Dealing with dual differences: Social coping strategies of gifted and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer adolescents [Master’s thesis, The College of William & Mary]. William & Mary Digital Archive. https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/bitstream/ handle/10288/16594/HutchesonVirginia2012.pdf

FILM & VIDEO

The author of an audiovisual work is determined by media type (see p. 341 of the APA manual). Describe the audiovisual work in square brackets after the title. A single TV series episode or webisode follows a similar pattern as a book chapter in a book (see p. 343 of the APA manual).

Author, A. A. (Description if other than author) [username]. (Year, Month Day). Title of film or video [Description]. Production Company/Label/Site. URL

Film or TV Series

Forman, M. (Director). (1975). One flew over the cuckoo's nest [Film]. United Artists. Simon, D., Colesberry, R. F., & Kostroff Nobel, N. (Executive Producers). (2002 2008). The wire [TV series]. Blown Deadline Productions; HBO.

Streaming Video

Cutts, S. (2017, November 24). Happiness [Video]. Vimeo. https://vomeo.com/244405542 Fogarty, M. [Grammar Girl]. (2016, September 30). How to diagram a sentence (absolute basics) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/deiEY5Yq1ql

REPORTS, GRAY LIT & INFORMALLY PUBLISHED WORKS

Reports and gray literature covers reports such as government reports, technical reports and research reports as well as press releases, codes of ethics, grants, policy briefs, and so forth (see pp. 329-337 of the APA manual for additional examples). It may be helpful to describe some of the lesser know types of gray literature in square brackets after the title. When the author is the same as the publisher, omit the publisher from the reference.

Name of Group or Authors. (Year, Month Day). Title of report in sentence case (Report No. 123). Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Name of Group or Authors. (Year, Month Day). Title or gray literature in sentence case [Description]. Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Report by a government agency or other organization:

National Cancer Institute. (2018). Facing forward: Life after cancer treatment (NIHPublication No. 18 -2424). U.S. Department of health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https:// www.cancer.gov/publications/patient- education/life-after-treatment.pdf

Report by individual authors at a government agency or other organization:

Fried, D., & Polyakova, A. (2018). Democratic defense against disinformation. Atlantic Council. https://www.alanticcouncil.org/images/publications/Democratic_Defense_Against_Disinformation_FINAL.pdf

Press release:

U.S. Drug Food and Drug Administration. (2019, February 14). FDA authorizes first interoperable insulin pump intended to allow patients to customize treatment through their individual diabetes management devices [Press release].https://www/fda/gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/umc631412.htm

Informally published work, from ERIC database:

Ho, H. K. (2014). Teacher preparation for early childhood special education in Taiwan (ED545393). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED545393.pdf

SOCIAL MEDIA

Cite only original content for social media sites. For text only posts, include the text of a social media post up to the first 20 words. Note the presence of audiovisuals (in square brackets) after the text of the post. Do not alter the spelling and capitalization in a social media reference. Maintain hashtags and links. Replicate emojis, if possible, or describe in brackets.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. [username]. (Year, Month, Days). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Description of audiovisuals] [Description of media]. Site Name. URL

Gaiman, N. (2018, March 22). 1000, 000+ Rohingya refugees could be at serious risk during Bangladesh’s monsoon season, My fellow UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett is [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. http://bit.ly/2JQxPAD

White, B. [@BettyMWhite]. (2018, June 21). I treasure every minute we spent together #koko [Image attached] [Tweet]. Twitter.https://twitter.comBettyMWhite/status/1009951892846227456

Zeitz MOCAA [@zeitzmocca]. (2018, November 26). Grade 6 learners from Parkfields Primary School in Hanover Park visited the museum for a tour and workshop

WEBSITES

Use this category only if there is no other reference category that fits and the work has no parent or overarching publication (e.g., journal, blog, conference proceedings) other than the website itself. If you cite multiple webpages from a website, create a reference for each. When the author name and the site name are the same, omit the site name from the source element. Include a retrieval date only when the content is designed to change over time and the page is not archived.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year, Month, Day). Title of work in sentence case. Site Name. URL

Webpage on a news website (not a Newspaper/Magazine):

Avramova, N. (2019, January 3). The secret to a long, happy, healthy life? Think age positive. CNN. https://www/cnn.com/2019/01/03/health/respect-toward-elderly-leads-to-long-ife-intl/ index.html

Webpage on a website with a group author:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, January 23). People at high risk of developing flu-related complications. https://www/cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/high_risk.htm

Webpage on a website with an individual author:

Martin Lillie, C. M. (2016, December 29). Be kind to yourself: How self-compassion can improve your resiliency. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayclinic.org/health-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/selfcompassion-can-improve-your-resiliency/art-20267193

IN-TEXT CITATIONS

APA Style uses the author-date citation system to cite references in the text. In this system, each work used in a paper has two parts: an in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry. The in-text citation appears within the body of the paper and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication. In-text citations have two formats: parenthetical and narrative. In parenthetical citations, the author name and publication date appear in parentheses. In narrative citations, this information is incorporated into the text as part of the sentence. It is best to paraphrase sources rather than directly quoting them. However, when a direct quotation is necessary, always provide the author, year, and page number. To indicate a single page, use the abbreviation “p.” For multiple pages sue the abbreviation “pp.”

Parenthetical Citation
Paraphrase	As metaphors for the workings of nature, Darwin used the tangled bank, the tree of life, and the face of nature (Gould, 1989).
Short Quotation	Darwin used the metaphor of the tree of life "to express the other form of interconnectedness–genealogical rather than ecological" (Gould, 1989, p. 14).
Narrative Citation
Paraphrase	Gould (1989) attributes Darwin's success to his gift for making the appropriate metaphor.
Short Quotation	Gould (1989) explains that Darwin used the metaphor of the tree of life "to express the other form of interconnectedness–genealogical rather than ecological–and to illustrate both success and failure in the history of life" (p. 14).

BASIC IN-TEXT CITATION STYLES

Author Type	Parenthetical Citation	Narrative Citation
One Author	(Luna, 2020)	Luna (2020)
Two Authors	(Salas & D'Agistino, 2020)	Salas and D’Agistino (2020)
Three or More Authors	(Martin et al., 2020)	Martin et al. (2020)
Group Author with Abbreviation	First Citation: (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2020) Subsequent Citations: (NIMH, 2020)	First Citation: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2020) Subsequent Citations: NIMH (2020)
Group Author without Abbreviation	(Stanford University, 2020)	Stanford University (2020)

Avoiding Ambiguity

Sometimes multiple works with three or more authors and the same publication year shorten to the same in-text citation form. To avoid ambiguity, write out as many names as needed to distinguish the references and abbreviate the rest of the names to “et al.”

First work: (Kappor, Bloom, Montez, et al., 2017)

Second work: (Kappor, Bloom, Zucker, et al., 2017)

Works with the Same Author & Same Date

When multiple references have an identical author (or authors) and publication year, include a lowercase letter after the year: (Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012a).

Unknown Author For works with an unknown author, include the title and year of publication in the in-text citation. If the title of the work is italicized in the reference, also italicize it in the in-text citation. If it is not italicized, use double quotation marks. Use title case even though sentence case is used in the reference. If the title is long, shorten it.

Book with no author: (Interpersonal Skills, 2019)

Magazine article with no author: (“Understanding Sensory Memory,” 2018)

Citing Multiple Works When citing multiple works parenthetically, place the citations in alphabetical order, separating them with semicolons: (Adams et al., 2019; Shumway & Shulman, 2015; Westinghouse, 2017). Arrange two or more works by the same authors by year of publication. Place citations with no date first: (Department of Veterans Affairs, n.d., 2017a, 2017b, 2019

Direct Quotation of Material Without Page Numbers To directly quote from material that does not contain page numbers, you can provide a heading or section name, provide a paragraph number, or a combination of the two:

(Gecht-Sliver & Duncombe, 2015, Osteoarthritis section)

(Chamberlin, 2014, para. 1)

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