APA Referencing Style
Citation of sources in APA style
This resource provides guidance in citation according to the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Some subject-areas prefer a 'house style' variation on APA style, which will be specified by the relevant section of your course handbook and should be adhered to within your work. For information on other sources, check the APA Style Guide Online.
Overview
The APA referencing system uses author-date to refer to citations listed in a reference list. Citations included in the main body of your writing can be either parenthetical – where both the author(s)’s surname(s) and the year of publication are enclosed in brackets – or narrative – where the author(s)’s surname(s) is a grammatical part of your sentence and only the year of publication is enclosed in brackets. Any information about the specific part of the text being cited (e.g. page number, chapter title, etc.) should also be included in parentheses immediately following quoted or paraphrased material. These citations link to a fully detailed reference, included in your bibliography.
Narrative (direct) citations:
If the author’s name forms a natural part of your sentence, then the surname should be followed by the year of publication in brackets immediately following the surname.
Example: Misra (2019) notes that “the concept of the mind admits different connotations” (p. 2).
Parenthetical (indirect) citations:
If the author’s name does not form a natural part of your sentence, then the surname, publication year, and specific part-of-text information should all be included (in parentheses) at the end of the sentence.
Example: Clearly, “the concept of the mind admits different connotations” (Misra, 2019, p. 2).
Multiple authors:
If you want to reference multiple sources in the same sentence, then do so parenthetically, placing the citations in alphabetical order and separating them with semicolons.
Example: There is a positive correlation between meditation and stress reduction (Adams et al., 2019; Shumway & Shulman, 2015; Westinghouse, 2017).
Your reference list links with your in-text citations, enabling readers to easily trace the sources cited within your work. The reference list is a list of the documents from which any information has been taken and used in your work. Your reference list should be arranged alphabetically by authors' surnames. Sources without authors are arranged alphabetically by title within the same list.
NOTE: unlike in other referencing systems, the place of publication should not be included in the reference.
Books (one author)
Citation format:
Required information: (Author’s surname, Year of publication, page number(s))
Example: (Jackson, 2019, p. 2)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Authors' surnames, Initials (Year of Publication). Italicised title of Book. Edition. Publisher.
Example: Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association.
Note: Since the bibliography comes in alphabetical order, begin with the author’s last name instead of first name.
Books (multiple authors)
Citation format:
Required information: (Author 1 surname & Author 2 surname, Year of publication, page number) or (Author 1 surname “et al.”, Year of publication, page number).
Example: (Torino et al., 2019, p. 2)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Authors' surnames, Initials (Year of Publication). Italicised title of Book. Edition. Publisher.
Example: Torino, G. C., Rivera, D. P., Capodilupo, C. M., Nadal, K. L., & Sue, D. W. (Eds.). (2019). Microaggression theory: Influence and implications. John Wiley & Sons.
Note: Since the bibliography comes in alphabetical order, begin with the first author’s last name instead of their first name.
Essay/Chapter in a collection
Citation format:
Required information: (Chapter author’s surname, Year of publication, page number)
Example: (Dillard, 2020, p. 2)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Chapter author’s surname, Initials (Year of Publication). Chapter title. Editor(s) Initials and surname, Italicised title of Book (Edition, and/or page range). Publisher.
Example: Dillard, J. P. (2020). Currents in the study of persuasion. In M. B. Oliver, A. A. Raney, & J. Bryant (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (4th ed., pp. 115-129). Routledge.
Note: Since the bibliography comes in alphabetical order, begin with the chapter author’s last name instead of their first name.
Articles (print journal)
Citation format:
Required information: (Author’s surname, Year of publication, page number)
Example: (Grady et al., 2020, p. 2)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Author(s) surname, Initial(s) (Year of Publication). Title of Article. Italicised Title of Journal, Volume number (issue number), Page numbers.
Example: Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217.
Note: Since the bibliography comes in alphabetical order, begin with the chapter author’s last name instead of their first name.
Articles (online journals)
Citation format:
Required information: (Author’s surname, Year of publication, page number)
Example: (Grady et al., 2020, p. 2)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Author(s) surname, Initial(s) (Year of Publication). Title of Article. Italicised Title of Journal, Volume number (issue number), Page numbers. DOI/URL.
Example: Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
Note: Since the bibliography comes in alphabetical order, begin with the chapter author’s last name instead of their first name.
Articles (print newspaper)
Citation format:
Required information: (Author’s surname, Year of publication, page number)
Example: (Carey, 2019, pg.22)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Author(s) surname, Initial(s). (Year, month day of publication). Title of Article. Italicised Title of Newspaper. Page Numbers.
Example: Carey, B. (2019, March 22). Can we get better at forgetting? The New York Times. 22-24.
Note: Since the bibliography comes in alphabetical order, begin with the chapter author’s last name instead of their first name.
Articles (online newspapers)
Citation format:
Required information: (Author’s surname, Year of publication)
Example: (Carey, 2019)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Author(s) surname, Initial(s). (Year, month day of publication). Title of Article. Italicised Title of Newspaper. URL
Example: Carey, B. (2019, March 22). Can we get better at forgetting? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/health/memory-forgetting-psychology.html
Note: Since the bibliography comes in alphabetical order, begin with the chapter author’s last name instead of their first name.
Theses or dissertations
Citation format:
Required information: (Author's surname, Year, page number)
Example: (Kabir, 2016, p. 22)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Author(s) surname, Initial(s) Year. Italicised title (publication number, if included) [Level of Degree, Educational establishment]. Database/Archive/Repository.
Example: Kabir, J. M. (2016). Factors influencing customer satisfaction at a fast food hamburger chain: The relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Publication No. 10169573) [Doctoral dissertation, Wilmington University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
Note: Since the bibliography comes in alphabetical order, begin with the chapter author’s last name instead of their first name.
Website
Citation format:
Required information: (Author's surnames/Organisation, Year)
Note: It can sometimes be difficult to identify the author of a webpage. If this is the case use the organisation (e.g. BBC) in place of the author. If a website has no discernible author or organisation you may want to strongly consider whether it is suitable for inclusion in a piece of academic writing. It is probably best to check with the person who will be assessing your work, if you find yourself in this situation.
Example: (Giovanetti, 2019)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Author(s) surname, Initial(s)/ Organisation. (Year, Month day). Italicised title of page. Title of website. The date you accessed the page Month day, Year, “from” URL
Example: Kabir, J. M. (2016). Factors influencing customer satisfaction at a fast food hamburger chain: The relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Publication No. 10169573) [Doctoral dissertation, Wilmington University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
Blogs
Citation format:
Required information: (Author’s surname/Organisation, Year of publication)
Example: (Ouellette, 2019)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Author(s) surname, Initial(s)/Organisation (Year of Publication). Title of Article. Italicised Title of Blog, URL.
Example: Ouellette, J. (2019, November 15). Physicists capture first footage of quantum knots unraveling in superfluid. Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/11/study-you-can-tie-a-quantum-knot-in-a-superfluid-but-it-will-soon-untie-itself/
Note: Use the name provided by the author of the blog post (even if this is informal or an alias.)
Organisation Reports
Citation format:
Required information: (Author’s surname/Organisation, Year of publication, page number)
Example: (Baral & Archer, 2019, p. 2)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Name of organisation/surname of author followed by initials. (Year of publication). Italicised title of report. Parent agency/publisher. URL
Example: Baral, P., Larsen, M., & Archer, M. (2019). Does money grow on trees? Restoration financing in Southeast Asia. Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/does-money-grow-on-trees-restoring-financing-in-southeast-asia/
Note: Use the name provided by the author of the blog post (even if this is informal or an alias.)
Acts of Parliament
Citation format:
Required information: (Title of act and year of act in italics, chapter/section number)
Example: (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, c. 3)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Not required – the APA manual states that you are not required to include Acts of Parliament in the bibliography/reference list. All that is required is an in-text citation.
Conference Presentations
Citation format:
Required information: (Author's surnames, Year)
Example: (Evans et al., 2019)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Author(s) surname, Initial(s) (Year, Month, Day range). Italicised title of paper [Conference presentation]. Full title of conference, location of conference. URL (if available)
Example: Evans, A. C., Jr., Garbarino, J., Bocanegra, E., Kinscherff, R. T., & Márquez-Greene, N. (2019, August 8–11). Gun violence: An event on the power of community [Conference presentation]. APA 2019 Convention, Chicago, IL, United States. https://convention.apa.org/2019-video
Note: If conference paper is published in a journal, follow format of journal article.
DVD/Videos
Citation format:
Required information: (Director surname, Year of publication)
Example: (Fleming, 1939)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Director Surname, Initial (Director). (Year of publication). Italicised title of film/show [Film/TV] Distribution Company; Production company.
Example: Fleming, V. (Director). (1939). Gone with the wind [Film]. Selznick International Pictures; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Streaming Video
Citation format:
Required information: (Account name, Year of upload)
Example: (Harvard University, 2019)
Bibliography format:
Required information: Account name, (Year, Month Day of upload). Title of Video [Video]. Website name. URL
Example: Harvard University. (2019, August 28). Soft robotic gripper for jellyfish [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRoWTYfxMs
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
General guidance
When referencing generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, the current consensus is to reference the use of any AI software/tool as private correspondence. The reasons for this are as follows:
- Like private correspondence, the prompts and responses you enter into and receive from AI are unique to you.
- Like private correspondence, AI is a problematic source as it cannot be easily replicated and verified.
- Like private correspondence, each prompt and response session with AI is time-bound, specific and unique to that moment in time.
Note: When using generative AI it is also good academic practice to keep a record of the input prompt(s) and output response(s), even if you do not include these in the submission itself.
For more guidance regarding the use of generative AI, see Student Learning Development (SLD)'s AI guidance.
In the APA referencing style, AI tools are currently treated as ‘software’ rather than ‘personal communications’.
Citation format:
Required information: (AI company and software/tool name, Year used)
Example: (OpenAI ChatGPT, 2023)
Example: (Google Bard, 2023)
Bibliography/Referencing list format:
Required information: AI company name. (Year used). Italicised software/tool name (Date Version) [Large language model (or other appropriate software/tool description)]. URL.
Example: OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (September 14 Version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/
Example: Google. (2023). Bard (September 14 Version) [Large language model]. https://bard.google.com/