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APA Reference Guide What is APA format?

The American Psychological Association (APA), both a professional association and a publisher, has established style rules and procedures to encourage ease of reading, accuracy, and respect in scholarly communication. In 2009, the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was published. The book has assisted countless users with the scholarly writing process, instructing them in the creation of documents that are formatted with proper headings, tables, and figures. Additionally, they are instructed in the importance of word choices and the ethics of authorship.

How do I get help?  Always check with your instructor. He or she is the final authority on what your paper should look like, even if his or her requirements differ from the guidelines outlined in the APA manual!

 Online Writing Center consultants are available. - Visit their webpage: http://www.nu.edu/OurPrograms/StudentServices/writingcenter.html - Go to the online scheduler and make an appointment for an online consultation: http://nu.mywconline.com

 Librarians are available for reference assistance. - Call 1-866-NU-ACCESS (x7900 or “Library”)

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Author(s) Date Title Source

Basic APA Citation Elements & Order of Appearance

Kelves, D. J. (2002). Of mice & money: the story of the world’s first animal planet. Daedalus, 131(2), 78.

author(s) article title

journal title hanging indent, 1/2 inch volume, issue

and page(s)

date

+ + +

Library [email protected]

To ask for reference assistance

Writing Center http://nu.mywconline.com

To schedule an online consultation

APA In-Text Citation Examples When citing a source in the text of your paper, APA style uses parenthetical in-text citations to tell readers where you obtained your information or ideas. You will give more detailed information about your sources in the reference section at the end of your paper.

You must credit any information you get from another source, including paraphrased text, direct quotations, and original ideas.

Created by the National University Library in collaboration with the National University Writing Center Copyright © 2014 National University Library System. All rights reserved. Pub 02/14

In-text citations usually contain the author’s last name and the date of publication, and are usually placed at the end of the sentence or paragraph that refers to the source. Notice, however, that the year of publication immediately follows the author’s name, even when the page number is at the end of the sentence.

Example: A journal article written by John Smith published in 2005, would be cited like this in the text of the paper.

If there is no author, use the first few words in the title of the source in quotes. If there is no publication date, use the initials n.d.

Example: A Web page called “Student Guide to Using APA,” with no publication date would be cited like this in the text of the paper.

If you are quoting directly from a source, you must include the page number where the quote is found.

Example: A quote by John Smith, published in a book in 2002 would be cited like this in the text of the paper.

If you are quoting from a quote within a source (secondary work), you reference the source you are using, not the source of the quote.

Example: A study by Seidenberg and McClelland, cited in an article by Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller in 1993, would be cited like this in the text of the paper.

Many students have difficulty learning APA style at first (Smith, 2005, p. 122). or Smith (2005) stated that many students have difficulty learning APA style (p. 122).

It is important to use APA correctly so that others can verify your research (“Student Guide,” n.d.).

Note: Do not include the URL of a website you cite in the body of your paper. The URL will be included in your reference page at the end of the paper.

According to Smith (2002), “Quite a few students encounter difficulties whenever they attempt to learn APA for the first time” (p. 122). or “Quite a few students encounter difficulties whenever they attempt to learn APA for the first time” (Smith, 2002, p. 122).

“Seidenberg and McClelland’s study (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993, p. 53) fills a major gap in previous research.” or Coltheart (1993) cited the study by Seidenberg and McClelland, saying it “fills a major gap in previous research” (p. 53). Note: Whenever possible, use the primary source.

http://library.nu.edu 858-541-7900

Newspaper: Online version

Hilts, P. J. (1999, February 16). In forecasting their emotions, most people flunk

out. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

Web page International Reading Association. (2011). Lesson plans. Retrieved from

http://www.reading.org/Resources/LessonPlans.aspx

Magazine article Kandel, E. R., & Squire, L. R. (2000, November 10). Neuroscience: Breaking

down scientific barriers to the study of the brain and mind. Science,

290(5494), 1113-1120. doi:10.1126/science.290.5494.1113

Journal article

Klimoski, R., & Palmer, S. (1993). The ADA and the hiring process in

organizations. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research,

45(2), 10-36. doi:10.1037/1061-4087.45.2.10

Legal case Lessard v. Schmidt, 349 F. Supp. 1078 (E.D. Wis. 1972).

Thesis retrieved from database

McNiel, D. S. (2006). Meaning through narrative: A personal narrative

discussing growing up with an alcoholic mother. Retrieved from

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 1434728).

ERIC document

Mead, J. V. (1992). Looking at old photographs: Investigating the teacher tales

that novice teachers bring with them (National Center for Research on

Teacher Learning Report No. NCRTL-RR-92-4). Retrieved from ERIC

database. (ED 346082).

Book: No author

Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA:

Merriam-Webster.

Electronic book

Rothstein-Fisch, C. (2003). Bridging cultures: Teacher education module.

Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Retrieved from

http://www.taylorandfrancis.com

Motion picture

Scorsese, M. (Producer), & Lonergan, K. (Writer/Director). (2000). You can

count on me [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.

Electronic textbook

Thompson, A. A. (2008). Crafting and executing strategy: The quest for

competitive advantage: Concepts and cases (16th ed.). Dubuque, IA:

McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Retrieved from http://www.vitalsource.com

YouTube or other Internet video

Yavapai College. (2010, March 31). Diagnosis: Plagiarism [Video file].

Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3_tin1ik6E

Book

Beck, C. J. A., & Sales, B. D. (2001). Family mediation: Facts, myths, and

future prospects. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Chapter in an edited book

Bjork, R. A. (1989). Retrieval inhibitions as an adaptive mechanism in human

memory. In H. L. Roediger III & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.). Varieties of

memory & consciousness (pp. 309-330). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence

Erlbaum. Online journal article:

DOI Brown, A., & Campione, J. (1986, October). Psychological theory and the study

of learning disabilities. American Psychologist, 41(10), 1059-1068.

doi:10.1037/0003-066X.41.10.1059 Online journal article:

No DOI If article is freely

available, provide exact URL

Campbell, A., & Ntobedzi, A. (2007, December 17). Emotional intelligence,

coping and psychological distress: A partial least squares approach to

developing a predictive model. E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 3(2),

39-54. Retrieved from

http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap/article/view/91 Online journal article:

No DOI If retrieved

from a database, provide journal

home page URL

Couillard, D., Garnett, J., Hutchins, A., Fawcett, M., & Maycock, G. (2006,

December). Student risk factors identified by school counselors and

student achievement. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 52(4),

277-288. Retrieved from

http://www.education.ualberta.ca/educ/journals/ajer.html Newspaper

Davis, J. (1993, July 15). Drug cuts heart failure risk. The New York Times,

p. A12. Edited book

Gibbs, J. T., & Huang, L. N. (Eds.). (1991). Children of color: Psychological

interventions with minority youth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Internet document:

Corporate author If source material may

change over time, include retrieval dates

Greater New Milford (CT) Area Healthy Community 2000, Task Force on Teen

and Adolescent Issues. (n.d.). Who has time for a family meal? You do!

Retrieved October 5, 2000, from http://www.familymealtime.org

Internet document: No author

GVU’s 8th WWW user survey. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/user_surveys/survey-1997-10

Note: Reference entries are double-spaced with a hanging indent and alphabetized by author last name. One space follows all punctuation. Give the author’s last name and first initials. Place parentheses around the publication date. Capitalize the first word of the title, subtitle, and proper nouns (if any). Italicize the title of the work and volume number (if any).

If you cannot find an example for your citation, follow the closest model in the APA Manual.

Sample Reference ListSample Reference List Citation TypesCitation Types