APA Style Sheet

Consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) for special situations.

Note: APA now uses a Digital Object Identifier (doi) as a standard part of many citations.

Style Sheet Sections
In-Text Parenthetical References
You must give credit in the text to paraphrases of words and ideas as well as to exact quotations.

There are three ways to cite sources in the text:
  1. Statements followed by the citation in parentheses.

    (Exact Quote)
    "...mothers who are overly strict and harshly punitive... who strongly
    show their anger or disappointment with their children, are likely to impede their
    children's prosocial development" (Hastings et al., 2000, p. 543).

    (Exact Quote -- Electronic Source - No page numbers given. Give section and paragraph.)
    "...mothers who are extremely strict ...may impede their children's prosocial
    development (Hastings et al., 2000, Conclusion section, para.4).

    (Paraphrase)
    Extremely critical mothers might warp children's social development
    (Hastings et al., 2000).
    [Note: This is not a good paraphrase. It changes just a few words.]

  2. Sentence includes the author(s) with the year in parentheses.
    Hastings et al. (2000) found that overly strict mothers...

  3. Sentence includes the author(s) and the year.
    A 2000 study by Hastings et al. determined that...

Note: For in-text citations with three, four or five authors, list all names followed by commas the first time, and only first author followed by et al. and date for subsequent cites; for six or more authors, use the abbreviation et al. following the first author name for all citations.

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Reference List Format
The reference list at the end of a paper provides the information needed to locate and retrieve the source documents cited in the paper.

General Notes on Reference Lists:

  • Include only sources that were used in the preparation of the paper.
  • Arrange entries in alphabetical order by last name of author.
  • Use a hanging indent: the first line is at the left margin; subsequent lines are indented five spaces.
  • Double space all entries.
  • No extra space needed between entries; the hanging indents indicate the separate citations.
  • Space once after all punctuation.
  • Use only the initials of the authors' first and middle names.
  • List all authors in reverse order: last name, first and middle initials.
  • If two or more authors are listed, use an ampersand (&) in front of the last author.
  • List up to seven authors; if there are more than seven authors, list the first six followed by an ellipsis, then the last author.
  • Use commas after authors' names and before an ampersand.
  • If no author is given, start with the title and then the date. Incorporate these into the list in proper alphabetical order, ignoring initial articles.
  • Capitalize only the first words of book or article titles and subtitles; capitalize all important words in the name of a journal.
  • Italicize the names of books and periodicals.

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Note: These examples are single-spaced to save space. In a paper, entries are double-spaced.

Book - General Guidelines
Author, X. X., Author, Y. Y., Jr., & Author, Z. Z. (Eds. if editors). (Year). Title: Capitalize only the first word of the title and also of the first word of the subtitle and proper nouns and adjectives, and italicize the entire title including the period. (If the book is a 2nd or subsequent edition, put the edition in parentheses after the title and before the period). Digital object identifier (http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxxx/xx...) if given. If no doi, Retrieved from URL (date not necessary). If no URL (i.e. a print copy), City of publication, two-letter state abbreviation: Publisher.


Book - Examples
Book (Print)
Gladding, S.T. (2005). Counseling as an art : The creative arts in counseling. Alexandria, VA:
       American Counseling Association.

Book (electronic - doi provided)
Schiraldi, G.R. (2001). The post-traumatic stress disorder sourcebook: A guide to healing, recovery and growth [Adobe
       Digital Editions version]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1036/0071393722

Book (electronic - no doi provided)
Howie, J. (1995). Ethical issues in contemporary society.
       Retrieved from http://www.netlibrary.com/

Edited Book (Print)
Sprinthall, N. A., & Mosher, R. L. (Eds.). (1978). Value development as the aim of education.
       Schenectady, NY: Character Research Press.


Chapter In Book - General Guidelines
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter, capitalizing first word of title (and subtitle if applicable), no underscore, quotation marks, or italic. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book, italics. (pp. xxx-xxx). Publisher. Digital object identifier (http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxxx/xx...) if given. If no doi, Retrieved from URL (date not necessary). If no URL (i.e. a print copy), end with City, two-Letter state abbreviation: Publisher.


 Chapter In Book - Examples
Chapter in Book (Print)
Kalish, C. W. (2000). Children's thinking about truth: A parallel to
       social domain judgments? In M. Laupta (Ed.), Rights and wrongs:
       How children and young adults evaluate the world (pp.6-22). San
       Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Chapter in Book (Electronic)
Helsley, J.D. (2008). Anxiety disorder due to a general medical condition. In
       J. Vanin & J. Helsley (Eds.) Anxiety disorders: A pocket guide for primary care
       (pp. 195-207). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-263-2_13

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Journal Articles - Guidelines And Examples

Journal Article - Continuous Pagination
Author, A. B., & Author, C. D. (Year). Title of article, capitalizing only the first word of title, and first word of subtitle, and proper nouns; no quotation marks, underscore, or italics. Name of the Periodical in Italics and All Important Words Capitalized, volume number, also italicized, inclusive pages. Digital object identifier (http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxxx/xx...) if given. If no doi, Retrieved from URL. If no URL (i.e. a print copy), end with inclusive pages.

Walker, L. J., Hennig, K. H., & Krettenauer, T. (2000) Parent and peer
       contexts for children's moral reasoning development. Child
       Development, 71, 1033-1048. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00207

Journal Article - Repaginated Issues
Same as Continuous Pagination, except after volume number, (issue number in parentheses), inclusive pages. Digital object identifier (http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxxx/xx...) if given. If no doi, Retrieved from URL (Journal home page). If no URL (i.e. a print copy), end with inclusive pages.

Denton, J. (1997). Character and moral development. Namta Journal,
       22(2), 111-116. Retrieved from http://www.montessori-namta.org/NAMTA
       /NAMServs/journal.html

Electronic Journal Article -- PDF Identical to Print Copy
Author, A. B., & Author, C. D. (Date). Title of article, capitalizing only the first word of title, and first word of subtitle, and proper nouns; no quotation marks, or italics. Name of the Periodical in Italics and All Important Words Capitalized, volume number, also italicized (issue number, if there is one, in parentheses), inclusive pages. Digital object identifier (doi) if available.

Walker, L. J., Hennig, K. H., & Krettenauer, T. (2000). Parent and peer
       contexts for children's moral reasoning development. Child
       Development, 71, 1033-1048. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00207

Electronic Journal Article -- HTML/Text (Differs from print copy, may not be paginated)
Author, A. B. & Author, C. D. (Date). Title of article, capitalizing only the first word of title, and first word of subtitle, and proper nouns; no quotation marks or italics. Name of the periodical in italics and All Important Words Capitalized, volume number also italicized (issue number, if there is one, in parentheses and not in italics). Doi or retrieval statement including complete URL of journal homepage.

Elliott-Howard, F. E., DuFrene, D. D., & Daniel, L. G. (1997). The ethical issues rating scale: An
       instrument for measuring ethical orientation of college students toward various business
       practices. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57.
       http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013164497057003012


Other Sources

Article Available Only On-line
Author. (Date if available). Title, capitalize only the first word of title, and first word of subtitle, and proper nouns or
adjectives; no quotation marks, underscore, or italics. Retrieval statement including date retrieved, department or program if from a large and complex website such as a university or government agency, report number (in parentheses) if applicable, and the URL for the document itself; point directly to the document, do not close the URL with a period. If you must put a site on two lines, break before a slash or dot.

Berkowitz, M. W., & Grych, J. H. (1998) Fostering goodness: Teaching parents to facilitate
        children's moral development. Retrieved from The Center for Academic Integrity,
        Duke University, http://tigger.uic.edu /~lnucci/MoralEd/articles/berkowitzfostering.html


Websites
Note: If you are citing an entire Website rather than a specific page within the Website, an in-text parenthetical citation containing the URL is all that is necessary. The "Websites" below exemplify the general category of individual Webpages that are often untitled or generically titled, usually have no identified author, and in any case are NOT in the form of a discrete, terminal document such as a PDF or sole, substantive article on an HTML page. Most Websites' index pages fit this description, as do many of the other pages within those Websites.

Guidelines
Author and/or source if given. (Date if given). Title in italics if given. Retrieval statement; may have to include additional department or program information if from a large and complex website and some information does not appear to belong in title. Include report number (in parentheses) if applicable, and conclude with the URL for the document itself; point directly to the document, do not close the URL with a period. If you must put a site on two lines, break before a slash or dot.

Examples

University of Maryland at College Park, Department of Education Leadership, Higher Education and International
       Education. About EDHI: Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www.education.umd.edu
       /EDHI/about/mission.html

Nantucket Nectars. Tom and Tom Story. Retrieved from http://www.nantucketnectars.com/tomandtom
       .php?PHPSESSID=cb108a44835a8900a0431ba525466a20

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Dissertation or Thesis
Author, last name first, followed by initials. (Date in parentheses). Title, capitalizing only the first word of title, and first word of subtitle, and proper nouns; no quotation marks, underscore, or italics (Doctoral Dissertation or Master's Thesis). If electronic, give retrieval statement, 'Retrieved from' or 'Available from'..... followed by relevant order or document number in parentheses.

Fuqua, D. R. (1980). Discrimination in skill selection as an index of performance
        in communication skills training [Doctoral dissertation]. Retrieved from
        Proquest: Dissertation and Theses Full-Text. (AAT 8024569)

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Video
Names of primary contributors if given (Function in parentheses). (Date in parentheses). Title underscored or italicized: Only the first word and proper nouns and adjectives capitalized [Type of material in brackets]. (Available from distributor's name and address, if available, in parentheses)

Sinno, J., Longley, J. (Producers), & Longley, J. (Director). (2007). Iraq
       in fragments [DVD]. (Available from Typecast Films, Seattle, WA)

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Mental Measurements Yearbook

Entire Test Description (online)
Test name as it appears at the beginning of the entry. (Date of the Mental Measurement Yearbook,*   not the test publication date). In number Mental Measurements Yearbook. Retrieval statement including database.

Defining issues test. (1992). In The eleventh mental measurements yearbook. Retrieved
       from EBSCO Mental Measurements Yearbook database.


Test Review (print)
Last name, first initial of review author. (Year of MMY publication). [Review of the name of test.] In name(s) of MMY editors, The [edition] mental measurements yearbook (pp. xxx-xxx). Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.

Sandoval, J. (2003). [Review of the Woodcock-Johnson III]. In B. S. Plake,
       J. C. Impara, & R. A. Spies (Eds.), The fifteenth mental measurements
       yearbook (pp. 1024-1028). Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements


Test Review (online)
Last name, first initial of review author. (Year of MMY publication). Review of the name of test. In The [edition] mental measurements yearbook. Retrieval statement including database.

Sutton, R. E. (1992). Review of the defining issues test. In the eleventh mental
       measurements yearbook. Retrieved from EBSCO Mental
       Measurements Yearbook database.

*Dates of Mental Meaurements Yearbooks: 9th-1985; 10th-1989; 11th-1992; 12th-1995; 13th-1998; 14th-2001; 15th-2003; 16th-2005; 17th-2007; 18th-2010.

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For more examples of APA style, we recommend the Purdue OWL APA Guide