Apa Citation: the Rules and Conventions Established by American Psychological Association
APA Citation Style
APA citation style refers to the rules and conventions established by the American Psychological Association for documenting sources used in a research paper. APA style requires both in-text citations and a reference list. For every in-text citation there should be a full citation in the reference list and vice versa.
The examples of APA styles and formats listed on this page include many of the most common types of sources used in academic research. For additional examples and more detailed information about APA citation style, refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and the APA Style Guide to Electronic References.
Also, for automatic generation of citations in appropriate citation style, use a bibliographic citation management program such as Refworks or EndNote. You can find more information on this in our Citation Management page.
Reference Citations in Text
In APA style, in-text citations are placed within sentences and paragraphs so that it is clear what information is being quoted or paraphrased and whose information is being cited.
Examples:
Works by a single author
The last name of the author and the year of publication are inserted in the text at the appropriate point. from theory on bounded rationality (Simon, 1945)
If the name of the author or the date appear as part of the narrative, cite only missing information in parentheses.
Simon (1945) posited that Works by multiple authors
When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text. In parenthetical material join the names with an ampersand (&). as has been shown (Leiter & Maslach, 1998)
In the narrative text, join the names with the word "and." as Leiter and Maslach (1998) demonstrated
When a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs.
Kahneman, Knetsch, and Thaler (1991) found
In all subsequent citations per paragraph,
APA citation style refers to the rules and conventions established by the American Psychological Association for documenting sources used in a research paper. APA style requires both in-text citations and a reference list. For every in-text citation there should be a full citation in the reference list and vice versa.
The examples of APA styles and formats listed on this page include many of the most common types of sources used in academic research. For additional examples and more detailed information about APA citation style, refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and the APA Style Guide to Electronic References.
Also, for automatic generation of citations in appropriate citation style, use a bibliographic citation management program such as Refworks or EndNote. You can find more information on this in our Citation Management page.
Reference Citations in Text
In APA style, in-text citations are placed within sentences and paragraphs so that it is clear what information is being quoted or paraphrased and whose information is being cited.
Examples:
Works by a single author
The last name of the author and the year of publication are inserted in the text at the appropriate point. from theory on bounded rationality (Simon, 1945)
If the name of the author or the date appear as part of the narrative, cite only missing information in parentheses.
Simon (1945) posited that Works by multiple authors
When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text. In parenthetical material join the names with an ampersand (&). as has been shown (Leiter & Maslach, 1998)
In the narrative text, join the names with the word "and." as Leiter and Maslach (1998) demonstrated
When a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs.
Kahneman, Knetsch, and Thaler (1991) found
In all subsequent citations per paragraph,
Citations: from theory on bounded rationality (Simon, 1945) If the name of the author or the date appear as part of the narrative, cite only missing information in parentheses. Simon (1945) posited that as has been shown (Leiter & Maslach, 1998) In the narrative text, join the names with the word "and." as Leiter and Maslach (1998) demonstrated When a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs. Kahneman, Knetsch, and Thaler (1991) found In all subsequent citations per paragraph, include only the surname of the first author followed by "et al." (Latin for "and others") and the year of publication. Kahneman et al. (1991) found (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2007) When appropriate, the names of some corporate authors are spelled out in the first reference and abbreviated in all subsequent citations (NIMH, 2007) on climate change ("Climate and Weather," 1997) Guide to Agricultural Meteorological Practices (1981) on climate change (Anonymous, 2008) (Stigter & Das, 1981, p. 96) De Waal (1996) overstated the case when he asserted that "we seem to be reaching .. (Mönnich & Spiering, 2008, para. 9) Sanchez, D., & King-Toler, E. (2007). Addressing disparities consultation and outreach strategies for university settings. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 59(4), 286-295. doi:10.1037/1065- 9293.59.4.286 Hirtle, P. B. (2008, July-August). Copyright renewal, copyright restoration, and the difficulty of determining copyright status. D-Lib Magazine, 14(7/8). doi:10.1045/july2008-hirtle Kluger, J. (2008, January 28). Why we love. Time, 171(4), 54-60. As prices surge, Thailand pitches OPEC-style rice cartel. (2008, May 5). The Wall Street Journal, p. A9. Delaney, K. J., Karnitschnig, M., & Guth, R. A. (2008, May 5). Microsoft ends pursuit of Yahoo, reassesses its online options. The Wall Street Journal, pp. A1, A12. Kidder, T. (1981). The soul of a new machine. Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Company. Frank, R. H., & Bernanke, B. (2007). Principles of macro-economics (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2000). Tasmanian year book 2000 (No. 1301.6). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Author. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/CA2568710006989...$File/13016_2000.pdf