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How to Do Research: A Step-By-Step Guide: 5f. APA Citation Examples

How to do research

APA Citation Examples

This page provides examples of works cited entries in APA Citation Style (6th edition) for a variety of common sources. These examples should not be considered exhaustive. NOTE: To conserve space, all citation examples have not been formatted in APA style with hanging indention and double spacing.

If you are unsure how to cite a particular source, visit the APA Style or Purdue OWL websites, talk to your instructor or a librarian, or consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association on reserve at the Library Services Desk.

  • Use initials only for an author or editor's first and middle names.
  • Use ampersands between multiple authors’ names.
  • List the publication city and state (or city and country) unless the state is included in the name of the publisher itself (e.g., Columbus: Ohio State University.)
  • The publication date immediately follows the author’s name in parentheses.
  • Only the first word of the title and subtitle are capitalized (along with any proper names).
  • Missing information can be omitted from the citation except dates, which should be recorded as n.d.
  • In-text citations referring to a print source include a page number.

Book by one author (Mazzaro, 1980, p. 45)

Mazzaro, J. (1980). Postmodern American poetry. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Book with two authors (Cohen & Regan, 2001, p. 288)

Cohen, C., & Regan, T. (2001). The animal rights debate. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Book with three to five authors
(Note: First in-text citation (Epstein, Brown, & Pope, 1982, p. 210); subsequent citations (Epstein et al., 1982, p. 215) )

Epstein, S. S., Brown, L. O., & Pope, C. (1982). Hazardous waste in America. San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books.

Multiple books, same author (Wilson, 2013, p. 45) (Wilson, 2002, p. 143)

Wilson, E. O. (2013). The social conquest of Earth. New York, NY: Liveright.

Wilson, E. O. (2002). The future of life. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Edited book (Barron, 2004, p. xii)

Barron, N. (Ed.). (2004). Anatomy of wonder: A critical guide to science fiction. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Chapter in an edited book (Montalvo, 1997, pp. 26-28)

Montalvo, J. (1997). Washington and Bolivar. In I. Stavans (Ed.), The Oxford book of Latin American essays (pp. 26-28). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Book with a corporate author 
(Note: First in-text citation (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010, p. 210); subsequent citations (APA, 2010, p. 215) )

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

(See also the "Electronic Resources" tab for articles found in databases and on the Internet.)

Journal article (Wilson, 2005, p. 346)

Wilson, E. O. (2005). The Linnaean enterprise: past, present, and future. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 149(3), 344-48.

Chart, Journal Article

This citation should directly follow the chart/table:

Note. Verb Tenses. Reprinted from "Verb Tenses and their uses" by J. H. Horton and T. U. Verlander, 2001, The OWL at Purdue Journal34, p. 36. Copyright 2001 by the Educational Publishing Foundation.

This citation should be included in your references:

Horton, J. H. & Verlander, T. U. (2001). Verb tenses and their uses. The OWL at Purdue Journal, 34.

Magazine article, monthly (Foster & Bradach, 2005, p. 98)

Foster, W., & Bradach, J. (2005, May 4). Should nonprofits seek profits? Harvard Business Review, 7(12), 92-100.

Magazine article, weekly (Lipper & Hirsh, 2003, p. 28)

Lipper, T., & Hirsh, M. (2003, June 4). Stepping into the fray. Newsweek, 16, 26-29.

Newspaper editorial, print, with no author (“Federal Deficit”, 2005, p. A1)

Federal deficit still looms large. [Editorial]. (2006, October 12). Denver Post, pp. A1, A9.

Additional electronic resource examples can be found on the APA Style Blog.

(Note: For all electronic articles, include the DOI (digital object identifier) in the reference if one is assigned. The DOI is typically listed on the first page of the article or in the detailed record of the citation.)

Journal article, one author, full-text online database, with DOI (Perry, 1973, p. 276)

Perry, A. (1973). The effect of heredity on attitudes toward alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee. Journal of Applied Psychology, 58(2), 275-277. doi: 10.1037/h0035527

Journal article, two authors, full-text online database, without a DOI (Yongick & Hai, 2014, p. 15)

Yongick, J., & Hai, T. (2014). Detecting pod position effects in the context of multi-segment sport programs: implications from four Super Bowl broadcasts. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 23(1), 5-16. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.elmira.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=bth&AN=95498907&site=eds-live

Journal article, three to seven authors, with DOI (Gavala, Makris, Korompeli, & Myrianthefs, 2016)

Gavala, A., Makris, K., Korompeli, A., & Myrianthefs, P. (2016). Evaluation of Bone Metabolism in Critically Ill Patients Using CTx and PINP. Biomed Research International, 2016, 1-9. doi:10.1155/2016/1951707

Journal article, more than seven authors, with DOI (Virecoulon Giudici, K., et al., 2017)
(Note: "After the sixth author's name, use an ellipsis in place of the author names.  Then provide the final author name.  There should be no more than seven names." [Purdue OWL website])

Virecoulon Giudici, K., Kindler, J. M., Martin, B. R., Laing, E. M., McCabe, G. P., McCabe, L. D., & ... Hill Gallant, K. M. (2017). Associations among osteocalcin, leptin and metabolic health in children ages 9-13 years in the United States. Nutrition & Metabolism, 14, 1-9. doi:10.1186/s12986-017-0171-9

Magazine article, full-text online database (“Call of the East”, 2005)
(Note: only use article title if an author cannot be found.)

“Call of the East”. (2005, Feb 19). The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/articles/3497343

Magazine article, web (Gleadle, 2002)

Gleadle, F. (2002). Playing with food. Wine International, 3(12). Retrieved from http://www.wineinternational.com/articles/34323

OR

Gleadle, F. (2002). Playing with food. Wine International, 3(12). doi: 0000000/000000000000

Newspaper article, full-text online database (Hudson, 2004)

Hudson, K. (2004, Dec 6). Center’s lessons added up. Denver PostRetrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/articles/593573 

Newspaper article, newspaper web site (Franklin, 2007)

Franklin, D.T. (2007, Nov 20). The scientists speak. New York TimesRetrieved from http://www.thenewyorktimes/articles/78241

Company Web site (Youth, 2010); ("How to cut a cake", 2010); (Youth, n.d.)

Youth, J. (2010, May 5). How to cut a cake the right way. Retrieved from http://www.cakeartists.com/how-to

OR (if no author)

"How to cut a cake". (2010, May 5). How to cut a cake the right way. Retrieved from http://www.cakeartists.com/how-to

OR (if no date)

Youth, J. (n.d.). How to cut a cake the right way. Retrieved from http://www.cakeartists.com/how-to

Blog Post (Sarvas, 2014)
Generic format: Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of the Blog Post Entry. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from http://thewebsite.com

Sarvas, M. (2014, February 19). My Top 10 Banned Literary Essay List. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from http://marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar/2014/02/my-top-10-banned-literary-essay-list.html

Email (personal communication, May 16, 2013)

Personal communications (emails, etc) are not included in your reference list but an in-text citation should be included in the manuscript.

Facebook Post (ECGTL, 2014)
Generic format: Username. (Year, Month Day). Enter Facebook post here. [Facebook update]. Retrieved from http://thewebsite.com

ECGTL. (2014, December 5). Benson and Friends visit the GTL— at Elmira College - Gannett-Tripp Library.(7 photos). [Facebook update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/ECGTL

Instagram Photo (National Geographic, 2017)
Generic format: Account holder’s Last Name, First Initial or Username* (Year, Date Published). Photo title** [Photo description].  Retrieved from URL

*If the person’s full name and their username are both available, place the full name first and then their [username] inside brackets directly following it.

**If the item does not have an official title, place a description of it in brackets.

National Geographic [@NatGeo]. (2017, April 2). [Photograph of the Bering Sea by Corey Arnold]. Retrieved from http://www.instagram.com/p/BSaisVuDk7S/?taken-by=natgeo

Instagram Video (itsdougthepug, 2017)
Generic format: Poster’s Last Name, First Initial. [Username].* (Year, Date). Title of video [Video File] (or short description if there’s no title. Place this information in brackets). Retrieved from URL

*If the author’s full name is not available, place their username first.

@itsdougthepug. (2017, April 2). I climb all the time…into bed [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BSWo9-0j940/?taken-by=itsdougthepug&hl=en

Tweet (WhiteHouse, 2014)
Generic format: Twitter Handle. (Year, Month Day). Enter the tweet message here. [Twitter post]. Retrieved from http://thewebsite.com

@WhiteHouse. (2014, June 18). RT to share how President Obama is charting a new course in U.S.-Cuba relations: http://go.wh.gov/uyLvUE #CubaPolicy [Twitter post]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/545308787720986624

YouTube Video (jwdenver, 2013)
Generic format: Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from http://thewebsite.com

jwdenver. (2013, August 28). Finding Keywords [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/7x7ANen-2hU?list=PLTverb9dWv3A_HSU1s6AubTl1dYP3Y5jd

Borrowed from TeachBytes. c 2013.

For sources not listed here, see APA: Other Print Sources and APA: Other Non-Print Sources at the Purdue OWL website.

Company Profile (Business and Company Resource Center, 2010)

Business and Company Resource Center. (2010, May 14) Darden restaurants. [Company profile]. Retrieved from Business and Company Resource Center Database: http://ebscohost.com/search=login/articles/33957

Film or Video Recording (Schofield, 2001)

Schofield, J. D. (Producer), & Annaud, J. J. (Director). (2001). Enemy at the Gates. [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.

Personal Interview format: (E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2014)

Personal interviews or communications (emails, etc) are not included in your reference list but an in-text citation should be included in the manuscript.

Class Handout Quoting Another Source (Aldiss, 2006)

Aldiss, B. (2006) Icarus Poems: A Selective Arachniography [Handout]. English Composition: English 1020, Johnson & Wales University. Denver, Colorado.

Professor's Video Lecture posted in Ulearn (Smith, 2013)

Smith, J. (2013). Foodservice management: An introduction [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.blackboard.com/FSM3020/videos

Purdue OWL -- APA Formatting and Style Guide
(Additional examples of works cited in APA format.)

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