IDS 101: Know Thyself: APA Style Guide & Zotero

The American Psychology Association (APA) style is designed for the social & life sciences (e.g. psychology, anthropology, medicine). These examples are adapted from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.  The print edition is located in the citation manual collection by the reference desk (Call number: Reference BF 76.7 .C66 2005, p177-190).

You will need to cite your sources in two places within your paper: in-text and bibliography
Part I outlines how to cite a source in the paragraph where you have quoted, summarized, or paraphrased from the source (called an in-text citation)

Part II outlines how to create an list of references, known as a bibliography, at the end of your paper that lists anything you cite.

For more examples, use Purdue's APA Style Guide resource: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/

PART I- CITATIONS IN TEXT

You must cite the source of either a quotation or paraphrased material, regardless of the type of source: book, magazine or journal article, newspapers, etc. The APA uses the author-date method of citation; that is, the last name of the author and the year of publication are inserted in the text at the appropriate point.

Citing a work by a single author:

A recent study of stress levels (Brown, 1991) reveals gender related differences in these levels. OR,

In a recent study of stress levels, Brown (1991) discusses gender-related differences in these levels.

Citing a work by two authors:

When a work has two authors, ALWAYS cite both names every time you cite the work in the text of your paper.

In a recent study, Williams and Jones (1984) found...

Citing a work by three, four, or five authors:

When a work has three, four, or five authors cite all authors the first time the reference occurs; in subsequent citations, include only the surname of the first author followed by "et al." and the year it was published.

[FIRST CITATION] Jones, Brown, Williams, and Smith (1991) found, in a recent study...

[SUBSEQUENT CITATIONS] Jones et al. (1991) found that...

Citing a work by six or more authors

When a work has six or more authors, cite only the surname of the first author followed by et al. and the year it was published for the first and subsequent citations. If two references with six or more authors shorten to the same form, cite the surnames of the first authors and of as many of the subsequent authors as necessary to distinguish the two references, followed by a comma and et al. and the year it was published.

Kisangau et al. (2011) found...

Citing a work without authors

When a work does not have an author, use the editor or organization name instead if it is available. When it has no identified author, cite in text the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title of an article, a chapter, or a web page and italicize the title of a periodical, a book, a brochure, or a report.

... on free care ("Study Finds," 2007)

... the book College Bound Seniors (2008)

... a study by the National Kidney and Transplant Division of Urology (1999) shows...

PART II - REFERENCES

Note: The second and subsequent lines of a citation should be indented five spaces.