Preparing the APA list of references

Page contents:

  • Directory to APA-style references

  • Guidelines for author listings

  • Print books

  • Articles and short works in print periodicals

  • Digital written-word sources

  • Visual, audio, multimedia, and live sources

  • Academic sources (including online versions)

  • Personal communications and social media

  • Quick Help: Citing sources that don't match any model exactly (APA)

  • Quick Help: Citing digital sources (APA)

A list of references is an alphabetical list of the sources you have referred to in your essay. (If your instructor asks you to list everything you have read, not just the sources you cite, call the list Bibliography.) Begin the references list on a separate page or slide after the text of your project and any notes, under the centered heading References (not italicized or in quotation marks).

Guidelines for author listings

The list of references is arranged alphabetically. The in-text citations in your writing point readers toward particular sources on the list.

NAME CITED IN SIGNAL PHRASE IN TEXT

Driver (2007) has noted . . .

NAME IN PARENTHETICAL CITATION IN TEXT

. . . (Driver, 2007).

BEGINNING OF ENTRY IN LIST OF REFERENCES

Driver, T. (2007).

Models 1–9 below explain how to arrange author and editor names. The information that follows the name of the author depends on the type of work you are citing—a book (models 10–22), a print periodical (models 23–29), a digital written-word source (models 30–47), a media or live source (models 48–64), an academic source (models 65–68), or a personal communication (models 69–71).

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1. One author Give the last name, a comma, the initial(s), and the date in parentheses.

Zimbardo, P. G. (2007). The Lucifer effect: Understanding how good people turn evil. New York, NY: Random House.

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2. Multiple authors List up to seven authors, last name first, with commas separating authors’ names and an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name.

Miller, S. J., O’Hea, E. L., Lerner, J. B., Moon, S., & Foran-Tuller, K. A. (2011).

For a work with more than seven authors, list the first six, then an ellipsis (. . .), and then the final author’s name.

Lahmann, C., Henrich, G., Henningsen, P., Baessler, A., Fischer, M., Loew, T., . . . Pieh, C. (2011).

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3. Organization or group author

Resources for Rehabilitation. (2003).

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4. Unknown author Begin with the work’s title. Italicize book titles, but do not italicize article titles or enclose them in quotation marks. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle (if any) and proper nouns and proper adjectives.

Safe youth, safe schools. (2009).

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5. Author using a pseudonym (pen name) or screen name Give the author’s real name, if known, and give the pen or screen name in brackets. If the real name is unknown, use only the screen name.

Psych Babbler. (2013, August 4). Blogging under a pseudonym [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.overacuppacoffee.com/blogging-under-a-pseudonym/

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6. Two or more works by the same author List works by the same author in chronological order. Repeat the author’s name in each entry.

Goodall, J. (1999).

Goodall, J. (2002).

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7. Two or more works by the same author in the same year If the works appeared in the same year, list them alphabetically by title, and assign lowercase letters (a, b, etc.) after the dates.

Shermer, M. (2002a). On estimating the lifetime of civilizations. Scientific American, 287(2), 33.

Shermer, M. (2002b). Readers who question evolution. Scientific American, 287(1), 37.

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8. Editor If the source has an editor but no author, alphabetize the entry under the editor’s last name.

Mishra, P. (Ed.). (2005). India in mind. New York, NY: Random House-Vintage.

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9. Author and editor To cite a work with an author and an editor, place the editor’s name, with a comma and the abbreviation Ed., in parentheses after the title.

Austin, J. (1995). The province of jurisprudence determined. (W. E. Rumble, Ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Print books

Directory to APA-style references

Source Map: Books in APA style

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10. Basic format for a book Begin with the author name(s). (See models 1–9.) Then include the publication year, title and subtitle, city of publication, country or state abbreviation, and publisher. The source map shows where to find this information in a typical book.

Levick, S. E. (2003). Clone being: Exploring the psychological and social dimensions. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

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11. Entire anthology or collection Begin with the editor’s name, and use the label Ed. or Eds.

Rudd, E., & Descartes, L. (Eds.). (2008). The changing landscape of work and family in the American middle class: Reports from the field. Lanham, MD: Lexington.

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12. Work in an anthology or collection Give the name of the work’s author first. List editors after the work’s title, and include page numbers after the collection’s title.

Pash, D. M. (2008). Gay family values: Gay co-father families in straight communities. In E. Rudd & L. Descartes (Eds.), The changing landscape of work and family in the American middle class: Reports from the field (pp. 159–187). Lanham, MD: Lexington.

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13. Translator After the title, give the translator’s name and the abbreviation Trans. in parentheses.

Al-Farabi, A. N. (1998). On the perfect state (R. Walzer, Trans.). Chicago, IL: Kazi.

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14. Book in a language other than English Include the English translation (in brackets) after the title.

Andre, C. (2004). Psychologie de la peur [The psychology of fear]. Paris, France: Odile Jacob.

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15. Edition other than the first

Moore, G. S. (2002). Living with the earth: Concepts in environmental health science (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Lewis.

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16. One volume of a multivolume work List the volume in parentheses after the title.

Barnes, J. (Ed.). (1995). Complete works of Aristotle (Vol. 2). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

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17. More than one volume of a multivolume work List the complete span of volumes in parentheses after the title.

Barnes, J. (Ed.). (1995). Complete works of Aristotle (Vols. 1–2). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

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18. Republished book (more recent version of an older book)

Piaget, J. (1952). The language and thought of the child. London, England: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (Original work published 1932)

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19. Introduction, preface, foreword, or afterword

Klosterman, C. (2007). Introduction. In P. Shirley, Can I keep my jersey? 11 teams, 5 countries, and 4 years in my life as a basketball vagabond (pp. v–vii). New York, NY: Villard-Random House.

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20. Government publication

Office of the Federal Register. (2003). The United States government manual 2003/2004. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

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21. Book with a title within the title Do not italicize or enclose in quotation marks a title within a book title.

Klarman, M. J. (2007). Brown v. Board of Education and the civil rights movement. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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22. Article in a reference book

Dean, C. (1994). Jaws and teeth. In The Cambridge encyclopedia of human evolution (pp. 56–59). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

If no author is listed, begin with the title.

Articles and short works in print periodicals

Directory to APA-style references

Source Map: Articles in print periodicals in APA style

Begin with the author name(s). (See models 1–9.) Then include the publication date (year only for journals, and year, month, and day for all other periodicals); the article title; the periodical title; the volume number and issue number, if any; and the page numbers. The source map shows where to find this information in a sample periodical.

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23. Article in a print journal Include the issue number (in parentheses and not italicized) after the volume number (italicized).

Hall, R. E. (2000). Marriage as vehicle of racism among women of color. Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, 37(2), 29–40.

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24. Article in a print magazine Include the month (as well as the day, if given).

Solomon, A. (2014, March 17). The reckoning. The New Yorker, 90(4), 36–45.

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25. Article in a print newspaper Use p. or pp. with the page numbers.

Fackler, M. (2014, April 9). Japan’s foreign minister says apologies to wartime victims will be upheld. The New York Times, p. A6.

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26. Editorial or unsigned article in a print publication Add an identifying label such as [Editorial].

The tyranny of the glass boxes [Editorial]. (2014, April 22). The New York Times, p. A24.

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27. Letter to the editor in a print publication Add an identifying label.

MacEwan, V. (2014, January). [Letter to the editor]. The Believer, 12(1),4.

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28. Review in a print publication Include the author and title of the review, if given. In brackets, give the type of work, the title, and the author (for a book) or year (for a motion picture)

Lane, A. (2014, March 17). Double trouble [Review of the motion picture Enemy, 2014]. The New Yorker, 90(4), 78–79.

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29. Interview in a print publication

Blume, J. (2014, January). Judy Blume in conversation with Lena Dunham [Interview by Dunham]. The Believer, 12(1), 39–48.

Digital written-word sources

Directory to APA-style references

Source Map: Articles from databases in APA style

Source Map: Reports and long works from websites in APA style

Tutorial: How to cite a database in APA style

Tutorial: How to cite a website in APA style

Updated guidelines for citing digital resources are maintained at the APA’s website (blog.apastyle.org/).

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30. Work from an online database Give the author, date, title, and publication information as you would for a print document. Include both the volume and issue numbers for all journal articles. If the article has a digital object identifier (DOI), include it. If there is no DOI, write Retrieved from and the URL of the journal’s home page (not the URL of the database). The source map shows where to find this information for a typical article from a database.

Hazleden, R. (2003, December). Love yourself: The relationship of the self with itself in popular self-help texts. Journal of Sociology, 39(4), 413–428. Retrieved from http://jos.sagepub.com

Morley, N. J., Ball, L. J., & Ormerod, T. C. (2006). How the detection of insurance fraud succeeds and fails. Psychology, Crime, & Law, 12(2), 163–180. doi:10.1080/10683160512331316325

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31. Article from a journal on the web Give information as for an article in a print journal (see model 23). If the article has a DOI (digital object identifier), include it. If there is no DOI, include the URL for the journal’s home page or for the article, if it is difficult to find from the home page.

Cleary, J. M., & Crafti, N. (2007). Basic need satisfaction, emotional eating, and dietary restraint as risk factors for recurrent overeating in a community sample. E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(3), 27–39. Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap/article/view/90/116

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32. Article from a magazine on the web Give information as for an article from a print magazine (see model 24). If the article has a DOI (digital object identifier), include it. If there is no DOI, include the URL for the magazine’s home page.

Kinsley, M. (2014, April 28). Have you lost your mind? The New Yorker, (90)10, 24–31. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/

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33. Article from a newspaper on the web Include information as for a print newspaper article (see model 25). Add the URL of the searchable website.

Barringer, F. (2008, February 7). In many communities, it’s not easy going green. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

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34. Abstract for a journal article online Include a label.

Gudjonsson, G. H., & Young, S. (2010). Does confabulation in memory predict suggestibility beyond IQ and memory? [Abstract]. Personality & Individual Differences, 49(1), 65–67. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.03.014

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35. Comment on an online article Give the writer’s real name (if known) or screen name. If both are given, follow the real name with the screen name in brackets. Use Re: before the title of the article, and add the label Comment in brackets.

The Lone Ranger. (2014, April 22). Re: The American middle class is no longer the world’s richest [Comment]. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

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36. Digital book (online or e-reader) For a book you read online, give the URL for the home page of the site after the book title.

Stossel, S. (2013). My age of anxiety: Fear, hope, dread, and the search for peace of mind. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/

If you downloaded the book to an e-reader such as a Kindle or Nook, give the version after the title. Include the DOI, if given, or the URL of the home page for the site from which you downloaded the file.

Schaap, R. (2013). Drinking with men: A memoir [Nook version]. Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

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37. Online editorial or letter to the editor Include the author’s name (if given) and the title (if any). For an editorial, give the label [Editorial]. For a letter, give the label [Letter to the editor].

Shorter drug sentences [Editorial]. (2014, April 10). The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

Starr, E. (2014, April 4). Local reporting thrives in high schools [Letter to the editor]. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/

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38. Online review Cite an online review as you would a print review (see model 28), and end with a retrieval statement.

Miller, L. (2014, April 20). How the American office worker wound up in a box [Rev. of the book Cubed, by N. Saval]. Salon. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/

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39. Interview published online

Ladd, A. (2014, February 25). What ends: An interview with Andrew Ladd [Interview by J. Gallagher]. Retrieved from http://www.looksandbooks.com/

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40. Entry in an online reference work or wiki Begin with the title unless the author is named. (A wiki, which is collectively edited, will not include an author.)

Gunpowder plot. (2014). In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http://www.wikipedia.org/

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41. Report or document from a website List all of the following that are available: the author’s name; the publication date (or n.d. if no date is given); the title of the document, italicized; and URL. If the publisher is identified and is not the same as the author, list the publisher in the retrieval statement. The source map shows where to find this information for a report from a website.

Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. (2011, August 25). Adverse effects of vaccines: Evidence and causality. Retrieved from http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Adverse-Effects-of-Vaccines-Evidence-and-Causality.aspx

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42. Section of a web document Cite as you would a chapter in a book (see model 12).

Fox, S., & Rainie, L. (2014, February 27). Part 1: How the Internet has woven itself into American life. In The web at 25 in the U.S. Retrieved from Pew Research Center website: http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/02/27/part-1-how-the-internet-has-woven-itself-into-american-life/

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43. Entire website Do not cite an entire website in your list of references. Give the URL in parentheses when you mention the site in the body of your writing project.

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44. Government source online If the document is numbered, give the number in parentheses.

U.S. Census Bureau. 2013, September). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2012 (Report No. P60-245). Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p60-245.pdf

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45. Online report from a private organization If the publisher and author are the same, start with the publisher. If they are different, identify the publisher in the retrieval statement.

Southern Poverty Law Center. (2013, February). Easy money, impossible debt: How predatory lending traps Alabama’s poor. Retrieved from http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/publication/Payday_Lending_Report_web.pdf

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46. Blog post Give the author’s real name (if known) or screen name; the date of the post (or n.d. if no date is given); the title, followed by the label web log post in brackets; and the URL.

Black, D. (2014, April 22). Wealthy white people from good backgrounds are never involved in crime [web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.eschatonblog.com/2014/04/wealthy-white-people-from-good.html

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47. Blog comment Follow model 46 for a blog post, but put Re: before the title of the article commented on, and use the label web log comment in brackets.

JennOfArk. (2014, April 16). Re: Friends in high places [web log comment]. Retrieved from http://alicublog.blogspot.com/2014/04/friends-in-high-places.html

Visual, audio, multimedia, and live sources

Directory to APA-style references

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48. Film (theatrical, DVD, or other format) Begin with the director, the producer, and other relevant contributors.

Bigelow, K. (Director, Producer), Boal, M. (Producer), & Ellison, M. (Producer). (2012). Zero dark thirty [Motion picture]. United States: Annapurna.

If you watched the film in another medium, such as on a DVD or Blu-ray disc, indicate the medium in brackets. If the DVD or Blu-ray and the film were not released in the same year, put Original release and the year in parentheses at the end of the entry.

Hitchcock, A. (Director, Producer). (2010). Psycho [Blu-ray disc]. United States: Universal. (Original release 1960.)

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49. Video or audio on the web Use the label Audio file or Video file in brackets after the title. If the video or audio is a segment or episode of a show rather than a standalone file, identify the show, as in the first model below.

Buckner, T. (2013, May 7). Last laugh [Audio file]. In The moth. Retrieved from http://www.themoth.org/

Klusman, P. (2008, February 13). An engineer’s guide to cats [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v5=mHXBL6bzAR4

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50. Transcript of video or audio file

Glass, I. (2014, March 28). Bad baby [Transcript of audio file no. 521]. In This American life. Retrieved from http://www.thisamericanlife.org

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51. Television episode broadcast

Weiner, M. (Writer), & Hornbacher, S. (Director). (2014, April 13). Time zones [Television series episode]. In M. Weiner (Executive producer), Mad men. New York, NY: AMC.

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52. Television series

Gilligan, V. (Executive producer). (2008–2013). Breaking bad [Television series]. New York, NY: AMC.

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53. Television episode on the web

Weiner, M. (Writer), & Hornbacher, S. (Director). (2014, April 13). Time zones [Television series episode]. In M. Weiner (Executive producer), Mad men. Retrieved from http://www.amctv.com/

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54. Podcast (downloaded file) For an episode of a podcast series, follow model 53. For a standalone podcast, follow model 41 for a document from the web. Include an identifying label in brackets.

Britt, M. A. (Writer & Producer). (2013, December 13). Ep. 211: Is a little deception okay? Paid crowds and native advertising [Audio podcast]. In M. A. Britt (Producer), The psych files. Retrieved from http://www.thepsychfiles.com/

Spack, N. (2014, April 16). How I help transgender teens become who they want to be [Video podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/

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55. Sound recording

The Avalanches. (2001). Frontier psychiatrist. On Since I left you [CD]. Los Angeles, CA: Elektra/Asylum Records.

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56. Video game Begin with the game’s creator, if possible. Follow with the label [Video game]. If you accessed the game on the web, give the URL; if you played on a game console, identify the type.

Harmonix. (2012). Rock band blitz [Video game]. New York, NY: MTV Games. Xbox 360.

King. (2014). Candy crush saga [Video game]. Retrieved from http://www.candycrushsaga.com/

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57. Computer software or app If an individual can be identified as the developer, use that person’s name. Otherwise, start with the name of the product and give the version. Use the label Computer software or Mobile application software in brackets.

MediaWiki (Version 1.22.0) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/web/gallery

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58. Lecture or speech (live)

Khan, S. (2014, April 16). Education reimagined. Address at the Stanford University Ventures Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

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59. Lecture or speech viewed on the web Cite as you would a work from a website (model 41).

Burden, A. (2014, March). How public spaces make cities work [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/

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60. Data set or graphic representation of data If the graphic appears as part of a larger document, do not italicize the title. Give information about the type of source in brackets.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2012, December 20). State-to-state migration for states of 8 million or more [Graph]. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/028/

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61. Presentation slides

Mader, S. L. (2007, March 27). The Zen aesthetic [Presentation slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/slmader/the-zen-aesthetic

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62. Work of art or photograph

Bronzino, A. (1550–1555). Lodovico Capponi [Painting]. Frick Collection, New York, NY.

Theotolopoulos, D. (ca. 1570). Christ driving the money changers from the temple [Painting]. Retrieved from http://www.artsmia.org/

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63. Map

Australia [Map]. (1999). Retrieved from the University of Texas at Austin Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection website: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/australia/australia_pol99.jpg

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64. Advertisement

Ameritrade [Advertisement]. (2014, January). Wired, 22(1), 47.

Academic sources (including online versions)

Directory to APA-style references

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65. Published proceedings of a conference

Robertson, S. P., Vatrapu, R. K., & Medina, R. (2009). YouTube and Facebook: Online video “friends” social networking. In Conference proceedings: YouTube and the 2008 election cycle (pp. 159–176). Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.umass.edu/jitpc2009

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66. Paper presented at a meeting or symposium, unpublished Cite the month of the meeting if it is available.

Jones, J. G. (1999, February). Mental health intervention in mass casualty disasters. Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference, Laramie, WY.

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67. Poster session

Barnes Young, L. L. (2003, August). Cognition, aging, and dementia. Poster session presented at the 2003 Division 40 APA Convention, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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68. Dissertation If you retrieved the dissertation from a database, give the database name and the accession number, if one is assigned.

Lengel, L. L. (1968). The righteous cause: Some religious aspects of Kansas populism. Retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (AAT 6900033)

If you retrieve a dissertation from a website, give the type of dissertation and the institution after the title, and provide a retrieval statement. If you retrieve the dissertation from an institution’s own site, omit the institution after the title.

Meeks, M. G. (2006). Between abolition and reform: First-year writing programs, e-literacies, and institutional change (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://dc.lib.unc.edu/etd/

Personal communications and social media

Directory to APA-style references

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69. Tweet Include the writer’s real name, if known, with the user name (if different) in brackets. If you don’t know the real name, give just the user name. Include the entire tweet as the title, followed by the label Tweet in brackets.

Waldman, K. [xwaldie]. (2014, April 24). The psychology of unfriending someone on Facebook: slate.com/blogs/future_t . . . [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/xwaldie/status/459336732232912896

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70. Posting on a public Facebook page When citing a posting on a public Facebook page or another social networking site that is visible to anyone, include the writer’s name as it appears in the post. Give a few words from the post, and add an identifying label. Include the date you retrieved the post and the URL for the public page. Do not include a page on the list of references if your readers will not be able to access the source; instead, cite it as a personal communication in the text (see model 12).

American Psychological Association. (2014, April 24). Why do many people do their best thinking while walking? [Facebook post]. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://www.facebook.com/AmericanPsychologicalAssociation

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71. Email, private message, or post on a social networking site Email messages, letters, and any personal messages or privacy-protected postings on Facebook and other social media sites are not included in the list of references because the APA stresses that all sources in your list of references should be retrievable by your readers. (See model 12 for information on citing personal communication in your text.)

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