quicktips
APA documentation style
(pdf)
APA DOCUMENTATION relies on a combination of in-text citations and a Reference List at the end of your paper. In-text citations include a combination of the author's last name, date of publication, and location reference, all separated by commas. The Reference List is a list of complete publication information from the resources you cited in your paper, alphabetized by the author's last name.
PARAPHRASED IN-TEXT CITATIONS always include dates, but they may be listed in two ways:
- If the author's name is included in your own description, only the date needs to be placed in parentheses: Patterson (1998) has noticed the same phenomenon....
- If you simply allude to a study, both the author's last name and the year must be listed in parentheses: This same phenomenon has been noted elsewhere (Patterson, 1998).
- If you use more than one article published by the same author in the same year, you differentiate with letters, e.g. Smith (1999a) and Smith (1999b).
DIRECT QUOTES require the author's last name, publication date, and page with the abbreviation p. in front or section title and paragraph number with the abbreviation para. or the ¶ symbol in front for non-paginated online sources:
- “The likelihood that adopted children will develop normally is highly contingent on the attitude of their parents” (Patterson, 1998, p. 201).
- “Social workers act honestly and ... promote ethical practices on the part of the organizations with which they are affiliated” (NASW, 1999, Ethical Principles section, ¶ 6).
VARIATIONS OF IN-TEXT CITATIONS occur in situations of multiple authors, institutions as authors, personal communication, specific parts of a source, etc.
- Many research articles have multiple authors. In such cases, all author names are listed the first time a source is mentioned (e.g., Patterson, Stevens, Thompson, & Williams), and thereafter the list is reduced (e.g., Patterson et al.). When there are six or more authors, the convention “et al.” is used throughout.
- Personal communications are the only sources cited in-text only and not included in the Reference List. Each in-text citation for a personal communication includes the first initial and last name, the words personal communication, and the complete date (e.g., S. White, personal communication, August 11, 2005). (See a handbook for other specific requirements.)
A REFERENCE LIST at the end of your paper should include the complete publication information for each source you have cited. Items in the Reference List should be arranged alphabetically according to the first author's last name. Only the first title word (and if the title includes a colon, the first title word after the colon) of an article or book is capitalized, each word in a journal title is capitalized, and only the first letters of authors' first names are given.
(Please note that in an actual reference list in APA style, all references would have hanging indents after the first line. See pdf version for an example.)
REFERENCES
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Adams, M., Bell, L.A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1997). Teaching for diversity and social justice: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.
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Journal Article with two authors
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Abde, D., & Feinstein, S. (1999). Cutting through the pain: Self-injury among high school students. School Social Work Journal, 24 (1), 57-71.
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Section from an Edited book
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Blumenfeld, W. J. (2000). Heterosexism. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, R. Castaneda, H. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (pp.261-266). New York: Routledge.
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Electronic Reference with Corporate Author
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Human Rights Watch. (2001, May). Hatred in the Hallways. Retrieved December 2, 2002, from http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/
uslgbt/Final-05.htm#P609_91364
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Merkle, D. G. (1997, January). Inclusive science education: What does it look like? Confronting homophobia and providing equality for homosexuals in our science classrooms. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science, Cincinnati, OH.
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Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-193, § 912, 110 Stat. 2353-2354 (1997).
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Book w/ Edition |
Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. (2001). Research methods for social work (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Inc. |
For more information:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5 th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association. (2003). APA style. Retrieved June 9, 2005, from http://www.apastyle.org
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