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Social Work

This is a subject guide for library resources in social work.

APA Citation Style, 7th Edition

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 PeriodicalVolume 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 Review126(1),1-51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126

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APA Citations from Library Databases

Many library databases provide citations to items displayed on the screen formatted for an APA style References list. 

Note: These pre-formatted citations are not always 100% accurate.  Please check the OneSearch/EBSCO/ProQuest citations versus APA style guidelines  (especially the authors, date, and titles) for errors.

OneSearch

OneSearch Citation button The OneSearch Citation button (usually found at the top of each OneSearch record) will provide a citation for the book or article displayed on the screen. Be sure to choose APA style and you will be able to copy and paste the item into an APA References list.

EBSCOHost

EBSCO Citation button The EBSCO Cite button (usually found on the right side of a record in EBSCOHost) will provide a citation for the article or book displayed on the screen.  Be sure to choose APA 7th edition and you will be able to copy and paste the item into an APA References list.

ProQuest

ProQuest Cite button The ProQuest Cite button  (usually found on the top right side of a record in ProQuest) will provide a citation for the article or book displayed on the screen.  Be sure to choose APA 7th edition and you will be able to copy and paste the item into an APA References list. 

Technically, APA style citations should not include the URL at the end linking to ProQuest.  (The only links that should be included are those to DOI addresses, starting with https://doi.org.) Check with your instructor to see if ProQuest links are acceptable for course assignments. (They should not be included in thesis or project References.)

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