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APA Citation Style

GUIDE TO REFERENCES AND CITATIONS IN TEXT

Several departments and courses at Red Deer College, including Psychology, Nursing, and Social Work,
require the use of the American Psychological Association (APA) style for citing references in student
papers. It is important to remain consistent within the paper and to use the style recommended by your
instructor. This guide addresses citation style only. For information on manuscript formatting, including
title pages and appendices, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
The purpose of documentation is to:

Identify (cite) other peoples ideas and information used within your essay or term paper.
Indicate the authors or sources of these in a References list at the end of your paper.

Numbers in parentheses refer to pages in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed.), unless otherwise noted. The examples in this guide cover frequently used citation
forms only. For more detailed information refer to:

the RDC online APA guide at http://rdc.libguides.com/apa

the Publication Manual at the Information Desk.

General Guidelines for APA Citation Style

All sources of information and data, whether quoted directly or paraphrased, are cited with
parenthetical references in the text of your paper (p. 170). Example: (Walker, 2003).
To document your research throughout the text of your paper cite by author and date (p.174). If
quoting directly from a source, include the page number on which that quote appears.
Example: (Walker, 2003, p. 238)
Double-space your entire paper, including the References list and any block quotes (pp.171, 180).
List References entries with a hanging indent (p.180).
Arrange References entries in one alphabetical sequence by the surname of the first author or by title
or first word if there is no author (pp.181-183).
Use only the initial(s) of the authors given name, not the full name (p.184).
If the References list includes 2 or more entries by the same author(s), list them in chronological
order with the earliest first (p.182).
When a work has 2 authors, cite both names every time the reference occurs. When a work has 3-5
authors, cite all the names the first time the reference occurs; in subsequent citations, use the
surname of the first author followed by et al. When a work has 6+ authors, use the surname of the
first author followed by et al. every time the reference occurs in the text (p.175).
If the authors name is unavailable, use the title of the article, book or Web source, including the
appropriate capitalization and italics format (pp.176-177). Example: (Scientists say, 2000).
In titles and subtitles capitalize only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns, except in
parenthetical (in text) citations (p.185).
Italicize book titles, journal titles, and volume numbers. Do not italicize issue numbers.
References cited in text must appear in the References list and vice versa. The only exceptions to
this rule are personal communications and classical works; they are cited in text only and are not
included in the References list (p.174).
When the References entry includes a URL that must be divided between two lines, break it before a
slash or dash or at another logical division point (p.192).

See over for examples of Citations

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BOOKS
(p. 202-205)

Book
One author (p. 203)
Edited book
(p.202)
Article or chapter in an
edited book
Multiple authors/editors
(pp.202,204)
Article in a reference
book
(p.202)
E-book
(p.203)

Citations in Text
General format
(Author Surname, Year)
(Author Surname, Year,
p. #) [direct quote]
(Harris, 2001)
(Burley & Harris, 2002, p.
153)
(Lawrence & Dodds,
2003, p. 524)

(Lindgren, 1994, p. 468)

(Ochs, 2004)

JOURNAL/MAGAZINE General format

(Author Surname, Year)
ARTICLES
(pp.198-202)
For more information on
DOIs see pp.188-192
Journal article
3 authors, paginated by
issue, with DOI (p.198)

(Author Surname, Year,

p. #) [direct quote]

Journal article
From article database, with
DOI (p.198)

(Pettigrew, 2009)

Journal article
From online periodical
[Internet only], no DOI
(p.199)

(Sillick & Schutte, 2006)

Magazine article
Print (p.200)
Magazine article
From article database, no
DOI (p.200)
Newspaper article
Discontinuous pages
(p.200)

(Henry & Mehta, 1990, p.

30)
(Kuttner, 2003)

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(Westhues, Lafrance, &

Schmidt, 2001, p. 47)

(Wallace, 2007)

References
General format
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year).
Book title: Subtitle. Place of Publication: Publisher.
rd

Harris, L. A. (2001). Canadian copyright law (3 ed.).

Toronto, ON: McGraw Hill Ryerson.
Burley, J., & Harris, J. (Eds.). (2002). A companion to
genethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Lawrence, J. A., & Dodds, A. E. (2003). Goal-directed
activities and life-span development. In J. Valsiner,
& K. Connolly (Eds.), Handbook of developmental
psychology (pp. 517-533). London, England: Sage
Publications.
Lindgren, H. C. (1994). Stereotyping. In Encyclopedia of
psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 468-469). New York, NY:
Wiley.
Ochs, S. (2004). A history of nerve functions: From
animal spirits to molecular mechanisms [ebrary
Reader version]. Retrieved from
http://www.ebrary.com/corp/
General Format
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year).
Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume(issue),
page range. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxx OR Retrieved from
URL of periodical home page [if available].
Westhues, A., Lafrance, J., & Schmidt, G. (2001). A
SWOT analysis of social work education in
Canada. Social Work Education, 20(1), 35-56.
doi:10.1080/02615470020028364
Pettigrew, T. F. (2009). Secondary transfer effect of
contact: Do intergroup contact effects spread to
noncontacted outgroups? Social Psychology,
40(2), 55-65. doi:10.1027/1864-9335.40.2.55
Sillick, T. J., & Schutte, N. S. (2006). Emotional
intelligence and self-esteem mediate between
perceived early parental love and adult happiness.
E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38-48.
Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au
/index.php/ejap
Henry, W. A., & Mehta, N. S. (1990, April 9). Beyond the
melting pot. Time, 135, 28-31.
Kuttner, R. (2003, September 8). The great American
pension-fund robbery. Business Week, 24-26.
Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/
Wallace, K. (2007, December 4). Passport applicant
finds massive privacy breach. The Globe and Mail,
pp. A1, A8.

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Citations in Text

References

Motion picture
(Video Recording)
(p.209)

(Davidson & Davidson,

1999)

Davidson, F. (Producer), & Davidson, J. (Director).

(1999). B. F. Skinner: A fresh appraisal [Motion
picture]. United States: Davidson Films.

YouTube Video
(p.215)

(Wesch, 2007)

Audio Podcast
(p.210)

(Van Nuys, 2007)

Electronic Image*
(adapted from APA
Publication Manual)

(Di Carpi, 1540)

WEB SITES

General Format
(Author Surname OR
Title, Year)
(Author Surname OR
Title, Year, page or para.
#) [direct quote]
(Browning, 1993, 12)

Wesch, M. (2007, October 12). Information r/evolution

[Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CV05HyAbM
Van Nuys, D. (Producer). (2007, December 19). Shrink
rap radio [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.shrinkrapradio.com/
Di Carpi, G. (1540). The holy family [image]. Retrieved
from http://www.getty.edu/art/collections
/objects/o707.html
General Format (include available elements)
Personal or Corporate Author (if known). (Last update or
copyright date; if not known, put n.d.). Title of
specific document. Retrieved from URL of specific
document [include a retrieval date only if the
information is likely to change over time]
Browning, T. (1993). A brief historical survey of women
writers of science fiction. Retrieved from
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~tonya/Tonya/sf
/history.html
Neurology. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 8,
2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurology

AUDIOVISUAL
MEDIA (pp.209-210)

General info (pp.187-192)

Web page
General

Web page from a Wiki

No author, retrieval date
included
Web page
University site, no date
(p.206)

(Neurology, n.d.)

Government Document
(p.205)

(Environment Canada,
2004)

Lecture Notes

(Mokry, 2007)

(Johnson & Becker, n.d.)

Johnson, K. A., & Becker, J. A. (n.d.). The whole brain

atlas. Retrieved from Harvard University Medical
School website: http://www.med.harvard.edu
/AANLIB/
Environment Canada. Canadian Wildlife Service.
(2004). The 1995 peregrine falcon survey in
Canada. U. Banasch & G. Holroyd (Eds).
(Occasional Paper no. 110). Retrieved from
http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications
/AbstractTemplate.cfm?lang=e&id=1067
Mokry, J. (2007). Lecture 3: The wonders of APA
[PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from Red Deer
College ZOO 342 Blackboard site.

*Please note: Images in text are also generally accompanied by a caption that includes copyright information and a
statement of permission for use. Please check with your instructor to see if this is necessary.

See over for

Tips on Citations In Text

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Citations In Text
How to Cite Quotations (pp.170-171)
When you incorporate a direct quotation into a sentence, you must cite the source.
Fit quotations within your sentences, enclosed in quotation marks, making sure the sentences are
grammatically correct.
Gibaldi (2003, p. 109) indicates that, Quotations are effective in research papers when used selectively.
Remember that [q]uotations are effective in research papers when used selectively (Gibaldi, 2003, p. 109).
In 2003, Gibaldi wrote that, Quotations are effective in research papers when used selectively (p. 109).

If a quotation is 40 words or more, omit quotation marks and use a block format in which the
quotation is indented about inch (or 5 spaces) from the left margin.
How to Cite Summaries or Paraphrases
Even if you put information in your own words by summarizing or paraphrasing, you must cite the original
author or researcher. For example, a paraphrase of Gibaldis earlier quotation might be identified as
follows:
When writing the research paper, students should use quotations judiciously (Gibaldi, 2003, p. 109).

How to Cite Lecture Notes / Personal Communications (p.179)

Letters, memos, e-mails, personal interviews, and the like are not included in the reference list because
they do not provide recoverable data. Cite them in text only. Give the initials as well as the surname of
the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible:
(Y. Martel, personal communication, April 15, 2005)

How to Cite Information When You Have Not Seen the Original Source (p.178)
Sometimes an author writes about research that someone else has done, but you are unable to track
down the original research report. In this case, because you did not read the original report, you will
include only the source you did consult in your References. The words as cited in in the parenthetical
reference indicate you have not read the original research.
Fongs 1987 study (as cited in Bertram, 1996) found that older students memory can be as good as that of
young people, but this depends on how memory is tested. [Do not include Fong (1987) in your References;
do include Bertram (1996).]

How to Cite Information If No Page Numbers Are Available (pp.171-172)

If a resource contains no page numbers, as can be the case with electronic sources, then you cannot
include a page number in the parentheses. However, if the source indicates paragraph numbers, use the
abbreviation para and the relevant number in the parentheses. If the paragraph number is not visible,
cite the heading and the paragraph number following it.
As Myers (2000, para. 5) aptly phrased it
(Beutler, 2000, Conclusion, para. 1)

More Tips for APA Citation

When you need to leave out part of a quotation to make it fit grammatically or because it contains
irrelevant/unnecessary information, insert ellipses (pp.172-173).
If you must add or slightly change words within a quotation for reasons of grammar or clarity, indicate
the change with square brackets (p.173).
For more information access the APA website at www.apastyle.org/manual/index.aspx and click on
Learning APA Style.

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