This is a guide to the most frequently used citation types, based on both the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, 2009. Check this resource for additional citation formats.
Please note:
- In a manuscript, APA requires that references be double-spaced and in a hanging indent format; the first line of each reference is set flush left and subsequent lines are indented.
- Double-check any automatically generated citations for accuracy, such as from RefWorks, EndNote, CINAHL, etc.
New in 2009:
- DOI (digital object identifier) is needed for both electronic and print articles, if available.
- For journal articles, include issue number only if each issue begins with page 1.
- Give all authors names, up to and including 7 authors. When there are 8 or more authors, include the first 6 names, then insert 3 ellipses and add the last author's name.
- For online references, date of retrieval is no longer included for material that is the "version of record" / final version.
Citing Print Resources
Type of Entry |
Reference List |
Reference Citation in Text |
| Book with 1 to 2 authors | Cohen, L.G., & Spenciner, L.J.
(1994). Assessment of young children. White Plains, NY: Longman. |
(Cohen & Spenciner, 1994) |
| Book with 3-7 authors [include all authors] | Pratkanis, A.R., Brekler, S.J.,
& Greenwald, A.G. (1989). Attitude structure and function.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. |
(Pratkanis, Breckler, &
Greenwald, 1989) first citation (Pratkanis et al., 1989) subsequent citations |
| Edited book | Gibbs, J.T., & Huang, L.N.
(Eds.), (1991). Children of color: Psychological interventions with
minority youth. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. |
(Gibbs & Huang, 1991) |
| Chapter from a book | Masaro, D. (1992). Broadening the
domain of the fuzzy logical model of perception. In H.L. Pick, Jr., P. van
den Broek, & D.C. Knill (Eds.), Cognition: Conceptual and
methodological issues (pp. 51-84). Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
|
(Masaro, 1992) |
| Journal article with 2 authors | Klimoski, R., & Palmer, S.
(1993). The ADA and the hiring process in organizations. Consulting
Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 45, 10-36. |
(Klimoski & Palmer, 1993) |
| Journal article with 3-7 authors [include all authors] | Kendall, P.C., Stark, K.D., &
Adam, T. (1990). Cognitive deficit or cognitive distortion of childhood
depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 18, 255-270. |
(Kendall, Stark, & Adam, 1990) first citation (Kendall et al., 1990) subsequent citations |
| Journal article with 8 or more authors | Gilbert, D. G., McClernon, J. F., Rabinovich, N. E., Sugai, C., Plath, L. C., Asgaard, G., . . . Botros, N. (2004). Effects of quitting smoking on EEG activation and attention last for more than 31 days and are more severe with stress, dependence, DRD2 A1 allele, and depressive traits. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 6, 249-267. |
(Gilbert et al., 2004) | Newspaper article with no author | New drug appears to sharply cut
risk of death from heart failure. (1993, July 15). The Washington Post,
p. A12. |
("New Drug," 1993) |
| Magazine article | Posner, M.I. (1993, October 29).
Seeing the mind. Science, 262, 673-674. |
(Posner, 1993) |
Citing Electronic Resources
Regardless of format, authors using and citing Internet sources should observe the following guidelines:
- In general, include the same elements, in the same order, as you would for a print source, and add as much electronic retrieval information as needed for others to locate this source.
- Direct readers as closely as possible to the information being cited; reference specific documents rather than home pages.
- When a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is available, include the DOI instead of the Web site address in the reference. See Where to Find a DOI.
- If no DOI assigned, provide the home page URL for the journal or book publisher.
- Do not insert a hyphen if you need to break the URL across lines. Instead break the URL before punctuation (one exception is http://)
- Do not include retrieval dates unless the material may change over time (e.g., wikis).
- In general, it is not necessary to include database information in the citation.
- When citing an entire website, it is sufficient to give the address of the site in just the text.
Example: Kidspsych is a wonderful interactive website for children.
Type of Entry |
Reference List |
Reference Citation in Text |
| Electronic book retrieved from database | Karch, A.M. (2009). Lippincott's nursing drug guide. [Books@OVID version]. Retrieved from http://www.ovid.com/site/products/books_landing.jsp |
(Karch, 2009) |
| Electronic chapter retrieved from database | Marion, D.W. (2009). Diaphragmatic pacing. In: D.S. Basow (Ed.), UpToDate. Retrieved from http://www.uptodate.com |
(Marion, 2009) |
| Electronic journal article with 1-2 authors, retrieved from database, with DOI | Wilens, T.E., & Biederman, J. (2006). Alcohol, drugs, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A model for the study of addictions in youth. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 20, 580-588. doi:10.1177/0269881105058776 |
(Wilens & Biederman, 2006) |
| Electronic journal article, 3-7 authors, retrieved from database, without DOI | Tang, P., Yuan, W., & Tseng, H. (2005). Clinical follow-up study on diabetes patients participating in a health management plan. Journal of Nursing Research, 13, 253-261. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com |
(Tang, Yuan, & Tseng, 2005) first citation (Tang et al., 2005) subsequent citations |
| Electronic journal article with 1-2 authors, without DOI | Sillick, T.J., & Schutte, N.S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem mediate between perceived early parental love and adult happiness. E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38-48. Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap |
(Sillick & Schutte, 2006) |
| Electronic journal article with DOI, advance online publication | Von Ledebur, S.C. (2007). Optimizing knowledge transfer by new employees in companies. Knowledge Management Research & Practice. Advance online publication. doi:10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500141
|
(Von Ledebur, 2007) |
| Web page with no author listed | New child vaccine gets funding boost. (2001). Retrieved March 21, 2001,
from http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/story_13178.asp
|
("New child vaccine," 2001) |
| Newspaper article online | Brody, J.E. (2007, December 11). Mental reserves keep brain agile. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
|
(Brody, 2007) |
| Government report online | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2003). Managing asthma: A guide for schools (NIH Publication No. 02-2650). Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/asth_sch.pdf
|
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], National Institutes of Health [NIH], National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [NHLBI], 2003) first citation
(HHS, NIH, NHLBI, 2003) subsequent citations |
Revised September 28, 2009.
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/styleguides/apa.html