Most disciplines in the social sciences—psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science, education, and economics—use the author-date system of documentation established by the American Psychological Association (APA). This citation style highlights dates of publication because the currency of published material is of primary importance in these fields. For more information about APA format, see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition (2010).

This new edition now advises users to omit retrieval dates for content that is unlikely to change, such as published journal articles, and to omit the database from which material is retrieved as long as an identifier such as a URL (Internet address) or DOI (digital object identifier) is included.

The numbered entries that follow introduce and explain some conventions of this citation style using examples relating to the topic of stress management. Note that in the titles of books and articles only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized.

1. Book by a Single Author Begin with the author’s last name and initials followed by the date of publication in parentheses. Next, italicize the book’s title and end with the place of publication and the publisher.

Nakazawa, D. J. (2009). The autoimmune epidemic. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

2. Book by Multiple Authors or Editors Begin with the authors’ last names and initials followed by the date of publication in parentheses. Next, italicize the book’s title and end with the place of publication and the publisher. Invert all authors’ names and use an ampersand before the last name.

Williams, S., & Cooper, L. (2002). Managing workplace stress: A best practice blueprint. New York, NY: Wiley.

3. Article in a Reference Work List the author of the article, the publication date, and the article title. This information is followed by the word In and the italicized title of the reference work. Include the volume number and inclusive page numbers of the article in parentheses, followed by the place of publication and the publisher. If an online edition of the reference work is cited, give the retrieval date and the URL. Omit end punctuation after the URL.

Beins, B. C. (2010). Barnum effect. In I. B. Weiner & W. E. Craighead (Eds.), The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology (4th ed., Vol. 4, pp. 203–204). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Biofeedback. (2007). In Encyclopaedia Britannica online. Retrieved from www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/65856/biofeedback

4. Government Document Use the office or governmental department as the author followed by the publication date. Italicize the title of the document and end with the place of publication and the publisher (usually “Washington, DC,” and “Government Printing Office”).

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1997). Violence in the workplace: Guidelines for understanding and response. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

5. Journal Article Begin with the author’s last name and initials followed by the date of publication in parentheses. Next, list the title of the article, and italicize the title of the journal in which it is printed. Then give the volume number, italicized, and the issue number in parentheses if the journal is paginated by issue. End with the inclusive page numbers of the article.

Dollard, M. F., & Metzer, J. C. (1999). Psychological research, practice, and production: The occupational stress problem. International Journal of Stress Management, 6(4), 241–253.

6. Journal Article Online If a DOI number is given, add “doi:” and the number after the publication information. If there is no DOI, add “Retrieved from” and the URL for the journal home page. It is no longer necessary to include the database from which an article is retrieved or the date of retrieval for a published article. Omit the end period after a DOI or URL.

Christian, M. S., Bradley, J. C., Wallace, J. C., & Burke, M. J. (2009, September). Workplace safety: A meta-analysis of the roles of person and situation factors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 1103–1127. doi:10.1037/a0016172

7. Magazine Article Begin with the author’s last name and initials followed by the date of publication, including the month or the month and day, in parentheses. Next, list the title of the article and the title of the magazine, italicized. Give the volume number, italicized, followed by the inclusive page numbers of the article.

Cobb, K. (2002, July 20). Sleepy heads: Low fuel may drive brain’s need to sleep. Science News, 162, 38.

8. Newspaper Article Begin with the author’s last name and initials followed by the date of publication, including the month and day, in parentheses. Next, list the title of the article and, in italics, the newspaper in which it is printed. End with the section and page or pages on which the article appears. Note that the abbreviation p. or pp. is used for newspaper page numbers. If the article was found online, omit page numbers, give the URL for the home page, and do not add end punctuation.

Zimmerman, E. (2010, December 19). Learning to tame your office anxiety. The New York Times, p. BU8.

Zimmerman, E. (2010, December 19). Learning to tame your office anxiety. The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com

9. Unsigned Newspaper Article If a newspaper article does not list an author, give the title, the publication date in parentheses, the name of the newspaper in italics, and the page on which the article appears.

Stress less: It’s time to wrap it up. (2002, December 18). Houston Chronicle, p. A1.

10. Document from a website List the author, the date of publication (use “n.d.” if there is no date), the title of the document, italicized, the words “Retrieved from” and the URL for the document. If there is no author, begin the entry with the document title followed by the date. Do not include a retrieval date unless the content is likely to change. Do not add punctuation at the end of the URL.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1999). Stress . . . at work (NIOSH Publication No. 99-101). Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/99-101

11. Entire website To cite an entire website, including personal websites, it is usually sufficient to simply note the site in your speech. For example,

Dr. Wesley Sime’s stress management page is an excellent resource (http://www.unl.edu/stress/mgmt).

It is not necessary to include a citation in the reference list.

12. Electronic Mailing List, Newsgroup, Online Forum, or Discussion Group Message Cite the author’s name, the posting date in parentheses, the subject line, and a description of the message in brackets, followed by “Retrieved from” and the URL for the list or an archived copy of the message. Include the name of the list if this is not part of the URL.

Lippin, R. (2008, November 2). Re: The relation between work-related psychosocial factors and the development of depression [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from Occupational & Environmental Medicine Mailing List, http://lists.unc.edu/read/archive?id=4872034

Dimitrakov, J. (2001, February 21). Re: Immune effects of psychological stress [Online discussion group message]. Retrieved from http://groups.google.com/group/sci.med.prostate.prostatitis/ browse_thread/thread/5cd921bc1b52688b/b28274accd8aec0f?lnk=gst& q=immune+effects+of+psychological+stress#b28274accd8aec0f

13. Blog post or comment Cite the author’s name, the date of the post, the title of the post and the description “Web log post” in brackets, and then give the URL for the post. For a comment to a blog post, add “Re:” before the title and use “Web log comment” for the description.

Lippin, R. (2007, July 31). US corporate EAP programs: Oversight, Orwellian or Soviet psychiatry redux? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://medicalcrises.blogspot.com/2007/07/us-corporate-eap-programs-oversight.html

14. E-mail Message To cite personal e-mail correspondence, it’s sufficient to simply note the message in your speech. For example,

An e-mail message from the staff of AltaVista clarifies this point (D. Emanuel, personal communication, May 12, 2005).

The APA manual states that e-mail correspondence, like other personal communications, should not be included in the reference list; check with your instructor to see what his or her expectations are for your APA reference list.

15. Abstract from an Information Service or Online Database Begin the entry with the publication information as for a print article. End the entry with “Abstract retrieved” followed by the URL of the database or the name of the database and any identifying number.

Viswesvaran, C., Sanchez, J., & Fisher, J. (1999). The role of social support in the process of work stress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 314–334. Abstract retrieved from ERIC database. (EJ581024)

16. Personal Interview To cite a personal, unpublished interview, it’s usually sufficient to note the interview in your speech. For example,

During her interview, Senator Cole revealed her enthusiasm for the new state-funded stress management center (M. Cole, personal communication, October 7, 2005).

The APA manual states that personal interviews, like other personal communications, should not be included in a bibliography; check with your instructor to see what his or her expectations are for your APA bibliography.