PsycInfo database: APA Style Guide

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 more than two, but less than six, authors

When a work has more than two authors but less than six authors, list every author the first time; thereafter, cite only the last name of the first author followed by "et al."

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

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

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 that...

PART II - REFERENCES

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

Book by one or more main authors

Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E.B. (1979). The elements of style (3rd ed.) New York: MacMillan.

Edited book

Letheridge, S., & Cannon, C.R. (Eds.). (1980). Bilingual education: Teaching English as a second language. New York: Praeger.

Book editions

Wink, J. (2005). Critical pedagogy: Notes from the real world (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Article or chapter in an edited book

Hartley, J.T., Harker, J.O., & Walsh, D.A. (1980). Contemporary issues and new directions in adult development of learning and memory. In L.W. Poon (Ed.), Aging in the 1980s: Psychological issues (pp. 239-252). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Journal article, one author

Paivio, A. (1975). Perceptual comparisons through the mind's eye. Memory and Cognition, 3, 635-647.

Journal article, two authors

Barber, A. E. & Roehling, M. V. (1993). Job postings and the decision to interview: A verbal protocol analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 845-856.

Journal article, more than two authors

Horowitz, L.M., Post, D.L., French, R.S., Wallis, K.D., & Siegelman, E.Y. (1981). The prototype as a construct in abnormal psychology: 2. Clarifying disagreement in psychiatric judgments. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 90, 575-585.

Note: Citations for journals with separate pagination for each issue should include the issue number in parentheses after the volume number. ie.,81 (2), 444-447.

Magazine article

Jensen, L. (1993, December 30). What's love got to do with it. Time, 69, 643-644.

Newspaper article, no author

Study finds free care used more. (1982, April). APA Monitor, p. 14.

Speech

Simpleton, J. (2009, January). Nationalization of Government. Speech presented at the Preservation of Democracy Society, Knoxville, TN.

Televison Broadcast

Riker, David (Director). (2005, February 11). The city: La ciudad [Television broadcast]. Alexandria: Public Broadcasting Service. 

 

ERIC Document

Jordan, W.J., & Nettles, S.M. (1999). How students invest their time out of school: effects on school engagement, perceptions of life chances, and achievement (Report No. 29). Baltimore, MD: Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED428174)

Internet resource

 

Author/editor. (Year, month day). Title. Retrieved (Access date), from (complete URL).

Unlandherm, F. (1997, May 2). Middle East studies resources. Retrieved August 19, 1997 from http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/MiddleEast/index.html.

Arab republic of Egypt. (1997, June 1). Retrieved August 18, 1997 from http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/countries/egypt.html.

Other examples of citing Internet resources

Nancy Crane and Xia Li, Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information (Ref. PN171. F56 L5 1996), or the Concise Rules of APA Style (Ref BF 76.7 .C66 2005), p. 177-190. They are shelved adjacent to the Reference Desk, and the APA style guide help is online at APA Style.org.