APA Citation Guide
In-Text Format
Short Quotations: If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash). You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
Example A: According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).
Example B: She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.
Long Quotations: Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.
Summary or Paraphrase: If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work.
Example A: According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
Example B: APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).
References Format
Author/s: Last Name first, followed by initials. If multiple authors, separate author names with a comma. Use the ampersand instead of "and."
Example A: Ahmed, S. (2012). On being included: Racism and diversity in institutional life. Duke University Press.
Example B: Soto, C. J., & John, O. P. (2017). The next big five inventory (BFI-2): Developing and assessing a hierarchical model with 15 facets to enhance bandwidth, fidelity, and predictive power. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(1), 117-143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000096Articles in Periodicals: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Example A (Article in Print Journal): Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5–13.
Example B (Article in Electronic Journal): Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement, 6(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979
Books: Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (E. Editor, Ed.). Publisher. DOI (if available)
Example A: Stoneman, R. (2008). Alexander the Great: A life in legend. Yale University Press.
Example B: Malory, T. (2017). Le morte darthur (P. J. C. Field, Ed.). D. S. Brewer. (Original work published 1469-70)
Webpage or Piece of Online Content:
Example A: Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist. Medium.https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01
Article from an Online Periodical:
Example A (with DOI assigned): Drollinger, T., Comer, L. B., & Warrington, P. T. (2006). Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. Psychology & Marketing, 23(2), 161-180. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20105
Example B (no DOI assigned): Perreault, L. (2019). Obesity in adults: Role of physical activity and exercise. UpToDate. Retrieved January 12, 2020, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/obesity-in-adults-role-of-physical-activity-and-exercise