List your sources at the end of your paper on a new page titled “References,” centered at the top. Double-space your list, and organize it alphabetically by authors’ last names (or by titles for works without an identified author). Arrange several works by the same author by date, moving from earliest to most recent. If an author has two works published in the same year, arrange these alphabetically, and add a letter after each date (2009a, 2009b) so the date in your text citation leads to the correct entry.
For a sample reference page, see A Sample APA Research Paper and section A in the Quick Format Guide.
Format each entry with a “hanging indent” so that subsequent lines are indented one-half inch (about five to seven spaces), just as a paragraph is. Include only sources that you actually cite in your paper unless your instructor requests otherwise.
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APA style simplifies the following details:
Supply only initials (with a space between them) for an author’s first and middle names.
Use an ampersand (&, as in a citation in parentheses), not “and” (as you would write in your paper), before the name of the last of several authors.
Spell out names of months, but abbreviate terms common in academic writing (such as “p.m.,” “Vol.” for “Volume,” or “No.” for “Number”).
Capitalize only the first word, proper names, and the first word after a colon in the title of a book, article, or Web site. Capitalize all main words in the title of a journal or other periodical.
Do not use quotation marks or italics for an article title in your reference list (but use quotation marks if you mention it in your text).
Italicize a Web site, book, or periodical title (and its volume number).
List only the first of several cities where a publisher has offices, and add the abbreviated state (unless a university’s name identifies it). For locations abroad, spell both city and country.
Shorten the name of a publisher, but include “Press” and “Books.”
Use “Author” instead of the publisher’s name if the two are the same.
For an article, give volume, issue (if each begins with page 1), and any digital object identifier (DOI), a unique number that identifies it with a permanent Web address. If no DOI is available for an online article, supply the URL for the journal’s or publisher’s home page, even if you used a database.
Include an access date only for online sources that might change.
Omit a final period after the URL.
Keep in mind these two key questions, which are used to organize the sample entries that follow:
Who wrote it?
What type of source is it?
As you prepare your entries, begin with the author. The various author formats apply whatever your source—article, book, Web page, or other material. Then, from the following examples, select the format for the rest of the entry, depending on the type of source you have used. Follow its pattern in your entry, supplying the same information in the same order with the same punctuation and other features.
Skim the following directory to find sample entries to guide you as you cite and list your sources. Notice that the examples are organized according to questions you might ask and that comparable print and electronic sources are grouped together. See A Sample APA Research Paper written by a student.
Who Wrote It?
Individual Author
Two Authors
Three or More Authors
Same Author with Multiple Works
Organization Author
Author of Edited Work
Author and Translator
Unidentified Author
What Type of Source Is It?
Article in a Printed or an Electronic Periodical
Article from a Journal Paginated by Volume
Article from a Journal Paginated by Issue
Article Accessed through a Library or Subscription Database
Abstract for an Article
Article from a Printed Magazine
Article from an Online Magazine
Article from a Newsletter
Article from a Printed Newspaper
Article from an Online Newspaper
Editorial
Letter to the Editor
Review
Printed or Electronic Book
Printed Book
Online Book
E-book
Multivolume Work
Revised Edition
Book without a Date
Part of a Book
Selection from a Book
Preface, Introduction, Foreword, or Afterword
Article from a Reference Work
Other Printed or Electronic Document
Government Document
Research Report
Report from an Academic Institution
Pamphlet
Doctoral Dissertation
Internet or Electronic Source
Document from a Web Site
Section from an Online Document
Document from a Campus Web Site
Blog Post
Computer Software
Visual or Audio Source
Sound Recording
Program on Television or Radio
Film
Field Source
Personal Interview
E-mail or Electronic Posting
Who Wrote It?
Individual Author
Abeles, V. (2015). Beyond measure: Rescuing an overscheduled, overtested, underestimated generation. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
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Two Authors
Diamandis, P. H., & Kotler, S. (2014). Abundance: The future is better than you think. New York, NY: Free Press.
Three or More Authors
Provide names for three to six authors; for more than six, simply use “et al.” (“and others”) instead of adding more names.
Schiller, B., Hill, C., & Wall, S. (2016). The economy today (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Same Author with Multiple Works
Arrange the titles by date, the earliest first. If some share the same date, arrange them alphabetically, and letter them after the date.
Mukherjee, S. (2010). The emperor of all maladies: A biography of cancer. New York, NY: Scribner.
Mukherjee, S. (2015a). Blood feuds. Blood, 126, 1264-1265. doi:10.1182/blood-2015-07-659540
Mukherjee, S. (2015b). The laws of medicine: Field notes from an uncertain science. New York, NY: TED Books.
Organization Author
American Lung Association. (2015). New ozone standards will save lives, protect health. Washington, DC: Author.
Author of Edited Work
Skloot, R., & Folger, T. (Eds.). (2015). The best American science and nature writing 2015. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Author and Translator
Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the twenty-first century (A. Goldhammer, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. (Original work published 2013)
Unidentified Author
Vets shine in arts, sciences, public service. (2015, December). Vietnam, 28(4), 16.
What Type of Source Is It?
Once you have found the author format that fits, look for the type of source that matches. Mix and match the patterns illustrated as needed. For example, the revised edition of an edited collection of articles might send you to several examples until you have identified all elements.
Article in a Printed or an Electronic Periodical
Article from a Journal Paginated by Volume
If the pages for the year’s volume are numbered consecutively, no issue number is needed. Italicize the volume number as well as the journal title.
Include the DOI if provided; no period added after the DOI
Dreby, J. (2015). U.S. immigration policy and family separation: The consequences for children’s well-being. Social Science & Medicine, 132, 245-251. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.08.041
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Article from a Journal Paginated by Issue
If each issue begins with page 1, add the issue number in parentheses, without italics, leaving no space after the volume number.
Molano, A., Torrente, C., & Jones, S. (2015). Relative risk in context: Exposure to family and neighborhood violence within schools. Journal of Latino-Latin American Studies, 7(1), 9-32.
If you want to list a special issue about a topic, rather than singling out an article, begin with the issue editor or, if none, with the issue title.
Internet memes [Themed issue]. (2015). Journal of Visual Culture, 13(3).
Article Accessed through a Library or Subscription Database
To see how to create the listing for a journal article from a database, see Source Navigator: Article in a Scholarly Journal from a Database.
Supply any DOI, or search for and identify the home page for the journal. Name the database only for a source otherwise hard to find.
Powell, A. (2015). Youth “at risk”? Young people, sexual health and consent. Youth Studies Australia, 26(4), 21-28. Retrieved from http://www.acys.info/ysa ———No period added
Abstract for an Article
If you use only the abstract, cite it, not the full article. Add “Abstract” in brackets after the title, or use it to begin the retrieval line.
Bordun, T. (2015). Onscreen and off-screen flesh and blood: Performance, affect and ethics in Catherine Breillat’s films. Studies in European Cinema, 12(2), 132-143. Abstract retrieved from EBSCOHost.
Article from a Printed Magazine
Volk, S. (2015, March). The doctor and the salamander. Discover, 36(2), 28-37.
To see how to create the listing for a magazine article, see Source Navigator: Article in a Print Magazine.
Article from an Online Magazine
Abrams, L. (2015, April 30). FDA: KIND bars aren’t actually healthy. Salon.com. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com
Article from a Newsletter
Grose, J. (2015, October 23). How to negotiate your maternity leave at a small company. Lenny. Retrieved from http://www.lennyletter.com/culture/news/a107/how-to-negotiate-your-maternity-leave-at-a-small-company/
Article from a Printed Newspaper
Weisman, R. (2015, November 12). For Biogen’s growth, a new prescription. The Boston Globe, p. C1.
Article from an Online Newspaper
Navarro, M. (2015, November 12). Public housing nationwide may be subject to smoking ban. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Editorial
Eradicating disease [Editorial]. (2015, October 10). The Economist, 417(8959), 13.
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Letter to the Editor
Sims, D. (2014, December 31). A kinder, gentler intelligence [Letter to the editor]. National Review, 66(24), 2.
Review
McCarry, C. (2015, November 6). Science strange and dangerous [Review of the book End of the cold war]. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://wsj.com
Printed or Electronic Book
Printed Book
To see how to create the listing for a book, see Source Navigator: Book.
Gladwell, M. (2015). David and Goliath: Underdogs, misfits, and the art of battling giants. New York, NY: Little, Brown.
Online Book
Einstein, A. (1920). Relativity: The special and general theory. Retrieved from http://www.bartleby.com/173/
E-book
Varcarolis, E. (2014). Manual of psychiatric nursing care planning: Assessment guides, diagnoses, psychopharmacology (5th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/manual-of-psychiatric-nursing-care-planning-elizabeth-m-varcarolis/1100213063?ean=9781437717839
Multivolume Work
McInness, M., Everad, M., Finlayson, C. M., & Davidson, N. (Eds.). (2016). Encyclopedia of wetlands (Vol. 2). New York, NY: Springer.
Revised Edition
Pierce, B. (2016). Genetics essentials: Concepts and connections (11th ed.). New York, NY: Worth.
Book without a Date
Reade, T. (n.d.). American Originals. Wichita, KS: Midtown Press.
Part of a Book
Selection from a Book
Stevenson, B. (2015). The high road. In A. Johnson (Ed.), The best American nonrequired reading 2015 (pp. 387-389). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Preface, Introduction, Foreword, or Afterword
Strayed, C. (2015). Introduction. In I. Fitzgerald, Pen & ink: Tattoos and the stories behind them (p. 1). New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
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Article from a Reference Work
Norman, C. E. (2003). Religion and food. In Encyclopedia of food and culture (Vol. 3, pp. 171-176). New York, NY: Scribner.
Other Printed or Electronic Document
Many research reports and similar documents are collaborative products, prepared under the auspices of government, academic, or other organizational sponsors. Start with the agency name if no specific author is identified. In parentheses, add any report number assigned by the agency right after the title. Add the publisher (unless it is also the author) before the URL (if there is one).
Government Document
U.S. Federal Trade Commission. (2015). House alarms can’t stop scammers. Retrieved from http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/house-alarms-cant-stop-scammers
Research Report
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2014). Principles of adolescent substance use disorder treatment: A research-based guide (NIH Publication No. 14-7953). Retrieved from https://d14rmgtrwzf5a.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/podata_1_17_14.pdf
Report from an Academic Institution
Tavoni, M., & van Vuuren, D. P. (2015). Regional carbon budgets: Do they matter for climate policy? Cambridge, MA: Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Pamphlet
Label the source in brackets as a brochure.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2012). Federal benefits for veterans, dependents, and survivors [Brochure]. Washington, DC: Author.
Doctoral Dissertation
Scotty, E. (2014). Sensitivity of atmospheric pollutants to changes in modeled natural and anthropogenic emissions (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Internet or Electronic Source
To help a reader find the same material you used, identify a specific document and give its URL.
Document from a Web Site
Rist, R. C., Martin, F. P., & Fernandez, A. M. (2015). Poverty, inequality, and evaluation: Changing perspectives. Retrieved from World Bank Group Web site: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/10/25161477/poverty-inequality-evaluation-changing-perspectives
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Section from an Online Document
Vitality Institute. (2015). Critical role of prevention in population health improvement. In Beyond the four walls: Why community is critical to workforce health (sec. 3). Retrieved from http://thevitalityinstitute.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/VitalityInstitute-BeyondTheFourWalls-Report-28July2015.pdf
Document from a Campus Web Site
For updates to online formats, visit the APA Web site at apastyle.apa.org.
Identify the university and sponsoring program or department (if applicable) before giving the URL for the specific page or document.
Allin, C. (2012). Common sense for college students: How to do better than you thought possible. Retrieved January 5, 2016, from Cornell College, Department of Politics Web site: http://www.cornellcollege.edu/politics/resources-students/policies/common-sense-cwa.shtml
To see how to create the listing for a Web page, see Source Navigator: Page from a Web Site.
Blog Post
Breitenbach, S. (2015, October 19). Many states still grapple with regulating medical marijuana [Blog post]. Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2015/10/19/many-states-still-grapple-with-regulating-medical-marijuana
Computer Software
Microsoft Office 2016 [Computer software]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft.
Visual or Audio Source
Sound Recording
Atandi Anyona, A., & Koons, R. (Writers). (2012). Singing against apartheid: An audio essay [Audio essay]. Retrieved from http://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/content/singing-against-apartheid-audio-essay
Program on Television or Radio
Glassman, G., & Klein, L. (Directors/Producers). (2015). “Hagia Sophia: Istanbul’s Mystery” [Television series episode]. In V. Abita & M. Catteau (Executive producers), Nova. Boston, MA: WGBH.
Film
Eastwood, C. (Director). (2014). American sniper [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Brothers.
Field Source
Personal Interview
Omit a personal interview from your reference list because it’s not accessible to readers. Instead, mention it in your paper as a personal communication.
E-mail or Electronic Posting
See the personal communication citation under What Type of Source Is It? in Citing Sources in APA Style and the blog post citation above.
Cite inaccessible, nonpublic messages as personal communications. Otherwise, supply author, date, title, a description in brackets such as [Blog post], and a “Retrieved from” line with the URL. If this source is considered unstable, include retrieval date (see blog post citation above).
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Listing Sources in APA Style
Have you started each entry with the appropriate pattern for the author’s name? Have you left spaces between the initials for each name?
Have you used “&” (not “and”) before the last coauthor’s name?
Have you included the date in each entry?
Have you followed the sample pattern for the type of source used?
Have you used capitals and italics correctly for the titles in your entries?
Have you included the conventional punctuation—periods, commas, colons, parentheses—in your entry?
Have you accurately recorded names of the author, title, and publisher?
Have you checked the accuracy of dates, pages, and other numbers?
Have you correctly typed or pasted in the DOI or URL of an electronic source? Have you split a long URL before a punctuation mark? Have you ended without adding a final period after a DOI or URL?
Have you arranged your entries in alphabetical order?
Have you checked your final list of references against your text citations so that every source appears in both places?
Have you double-spaced your reference list, like the rest of your paper? Have you allowed an inch margin on all sides?
Have you begun the first line of each entry at the left margin? Have you used your software to indent each additional line one-half inch (or five to seven spaces)?
Have you checked any entry from a citation management system as carefully as your own entries?