The 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was published in October 2019. Some departments and instructors may still be using the 6th edition. Please consult your instructor if you are unsure which edition to use.
Text Citations
For most works, appropriate credit takes the form of an author-date citation (p. 255). In this system, each work used in a paper has two parts: an in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry (p. 261).
One author: In an in-text citation, provide the surname(s) of the author(s) or the name(s) of the group author(s) (p. 262). Ex: (Taylor, 2004)
No author: For works with an unknown author, include the title and year of publication in the in-text citation (p. 264) Ex: (“Quest for Redemption,” 2007)
Multiple authors:
2 authors: List both authors when you cite the work (p. 265). Ex: (Wagner & Clarke, 1999)
3 to or more authors: Include the name of only the first author plus 'et al.' in every citation, including the first citation (p. 265). Ex: (Kern et al., 2003)
As an alternative to parenthetical citations, you can cite the source in your narrative, which allows you to incorporate the authors more closely into your discussion:
Ex: Taylor (1999) had a new theory that is important because it . . .
Ex. The reason that Wagner & Clark introduced their research in 1999 was that . . .
References
APA requires that the reference list be on a new page after the text, double-spaced and that entries have a hanging indent (p. 303).
eBook (p. 320):
Author, A. A. (Year). Title: Subtitle. Publisher Name. DOI or URL
Ex:
Christian, B., & Griffiths, T. (2016). Algorithms to live by: The computer science of human decisions. Henry Holt and Co. http://bit.ly/2G0BpbI
Web page (p. 350):
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Site Name. https://xxxxxx
Ex:
Avramova, N. (2019). The secret to a long, happy, healthy life? Think age-positive. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/health/respect-toward-elderly-leads-to-long-life-intl/index.html
Journal article with a DOI (p. 316):
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume number(Issue number), Page numbers. https://doi.org/xxxx
Ex:
McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review, 126(1),1-51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
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