** Please visit our new 7th edition page for the most recent APA guide, https://library.gannon.edu/APA-7.
Welcome to the APA Resource Page. APA is a style of writing & formatting that was created by the American Psychological Association. The tabs on the left provide details for citing specific resource types.
Examples in this guide are based on:
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition. Washington D.C.: APA.
Available at the Library:
Web Resources:
Paper Divisions:
APA Papers typically contain four major sections:
Always check with your instructor for specific requirements.
General Formatting Guidelines:
Font - 12-point Times News Roman
Spacing - Double-space entire paper, including Reference list and block quotes.
Parenthetical References - used in text of paper for all sources of information/data, whether paraphrased or direct quote
Page Numbers - Added once paper complete to top right-hand corner, number pages consecutively, beginning with title page .
Page Header - Include running header on each page.
Running head is shortened version of paper's title (50 characters) aligned to left with paper title in all caps
Title page - Running head: TITLE OF PAPER
Remaining pages - TITLE OF PAPER
Book - Single author
Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.
Example:
Herr, J. (2013). Creative resources for the early childhood classroom. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth& Cengage Learning.
Title of book. (Year of publication). Location: Publisher.
Example:
Webster's ninth new collegiate dictionary. (1990). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Book - 2 to 7 authors
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year of Publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.
Example:
Law, M. C., Baum, C. M., & Dunn, W. (2017). Measuring occupational performance: Supporting best practice in occupational therapy. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Incorporated.
Book - more than 7 authors
Author, A. A., Author, A. A., Author, A. A., Author, A. A., Author, A. A., Author, A. A.,... Author, A. A., (Year).Title of Work: Capital letter also for subtitle.Location: Publisher.
eBook citations follow same rules as citations for print books with the exception that publication information is replaced by a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or the name of the database where book was retrieved from.
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of eBook: Capital letter also for subtitle. doi:xxxxxxxx
Example:
Gosling, J., Jones, S., Sutherland, I. & Jones, S. (2012). Key concepts in leadership. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473914759
If you do not have a DOI, include the publisher's URL instead.
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of eBook: Capital letter also for subtitle. Retrieved from http://xxxxxxxx.
Example:
Doenges, Marilynn E. (2010). Nursing Care Plans: Guidelines for Individualizing Client Care Across the LIfe Span. F.A. Davis Co., Retrieved from ">https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=cat05408a&AN=gan.196305&site=eds-live.
Chapter in eBook:
Author, A. A. (date). Title of chapter. In E. Editor (Ed.), Title of ebook: Capital letter also for subtitle. (pp. xxx-xxx) Retrieved from http://xxxxxxxx
Example:
Guillermo C. J. & Pulos, E. (n.d.). Animal Rights and CSR. In Good Corporation, Bad Corporation: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Global Economy Retrieved July 13, 2017, from https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/good-corporation-bad-corporation/
Entire Edited Book
Example:
Editor, A. A., Editor, B. B., & Editor, C. C. (Eds.). (Year of Publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle Location: Publisher.
Example:
Wagenfeld, A., Kaldenberg, J., & Honaker, D. (Eds.). (2017). Foundations of pediatric practice for occupational assistant. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Incorporated.
Book with Author and Editor
Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. B.B. Editor (Ed.) Location:Publisher.
Example:
Austen, J. (2012). The annotated Emma. D. M. Shapard, (Ed.). New York, NY: Anchor.
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.
Notes:
When listing page numbers of chapters/section of edited book in parentheses after title, use "pp." before the numbers.
Example:
O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: A metaphor for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York, NY: Springer.
Print Encyclopedia:
Author, A. A. (Year). Entry Title. In A. A. Editor (Ed.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. (Vol. ##, pp. xx-xx). Location:Publisher.
Example:
Sucher, J. (1996). Charge, electronic. In J. S. Rigden (Ed.), Macmillan Encyclopedia of Physics. (Vol. 1, pp. 191-193). New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.
No Author, Online Encyclopedia:
Title of encyclopedia entry. (Year). In A.B. Editor (Ed.), *if available Title of Encyclopedia. (Vol. number, pages). City, State: Publisher. Retrieved from http://xxxxxxxxxxx
Citations in APA are found at the end of your paper on a References page. The citations provide the information necessary for the reader to locate your sources used.
Article
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume #(issue #)., pages. doi:########
(DOI needed only when provided.)
Notes:
Example:
Yerxa, E. J. (2014). In search of good ideas for occupational therapy. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy 21, 11-19., doi: 10.3109/11038128.2014.952882
Article - two to seven authors (List each author by Last name followed by Initials.)
Author, A. A., Author2, B. B., Author3, C., Author4, D. D., & Author5, A. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume #(issue #). pages. doi:########
Article - more than 7 authors (Write out the first six authors followed by "...." and the last author.)
Author1, A. A., Author2, B. A., Author3, C. A., Author4, D. B., Author5, B. C., Author6, C. B., ......& AuthorX, X.Z (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume #(issue #). pages. doi:########
Example:
Raghuram, S., Gully, S., Liu, X., Phillips, J. M., Farndale, E., & Vidovic, M. (2017) A vision of international HRM research. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(12) 1625-1639. doi:10.1080/09585192.20171308416
Newspaper Article:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of article. Newspaper Title, volume #(issue #). page #. doi:########
Notes:
Example:
Barrett, D., & Paletta, D. (2015, June 25). Officials masked severity of Hack. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, A1-A4.
Letter to the Editor:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of letter. [Letter to the editor]. Newspaper Title, p. #
Electronic Newspaper:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of letter. [Letter to the editor]. Newspaper Title, Retrieved from http://xxxx
For when you find an online article on the internet (not via a library database)
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Publication, volume #(issue #). Retrieved from http://xxxxx
Example:
Courtney, C. A., O'Hearn, M. A., & Franck, C. C. (2016). Frida Kahlo: Portrait of chronic pain. Physical Therapy. 97(1), https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/97/1/90/2896952/Frida-Kahlo-Portrait-of-Chronic-Pain
When referencing an article obtained from one of the library's databases, provide the appropriate print citation information. The database information/url are not necessary unless required by instructor or article was difficult to locate.
Articles taken from journal or publisher website should include the URL in the citation.
Retrieval dates are only needed for sources that may change, such as Wikis or blogs.
Website/Internet sources can be difficult to cite because not all the information may be available to the user.
Format:
Author, A. A. (Date of Publication/Creation). Title of webpage. Retrieved from: http://xxxxx
Example:
Gleeson, J., & Alcedo, M. (2017, June 14). The 20 best places to camp in national parks. Retrieved July 14, 2017, from: http://www.countryliving.com/life/travel/g4452/best-places-to-camp-nationalparks/
Example:
ACL Injury: Does it require surgery. (2009). Retrieved from: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00297
You Tube:
Author, A. A. (Date of Publication/Creation). Title of video. Retrieved from: http://xxxxx
Example:
EBSCO Information Services. (2015, August 19). Creating an advanced search - EBSCOhost Tutorial. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT1kzWfWxiE
Online Documentary/Video:
Example:
As noted on the APA Style website, specific examples of social media are not included in the Publication Manual as they are not generally considered scholarly research. See the APA blog post on Social Media for more information. For more details visit the article by Timothy McAdoo on APA Style website - http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2016/04/how-to-cite-a-blog-post-in-apa-style.html
Blog Post Example:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day).* Date item posted to website Title of blog post. [blog comment] Retrieved from: http://xxxxxx
TED Talk - TED Talks Website:
Speaker, A. A. (Year, Month). Title of TED Talk. [Video file] *Include speaker's name as it is included in TED Talk title. Retrieved from: http://ted.com/talks/....
In-text citation:
Speaker (Year) or (Speaker, Year)
TED Talk - TED Talks - YouTube:
TED. (Year, Month Day). Title of TED Talk. [video file] Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch...
In-text citation:
TED (Year) or (TED, Year)
Author, A. A. or Government Name. Name of Government Agency. (Year of publication). Title of document: Subtitle (Report No xxx [if available] ) Retrieved from: http://xxxxxx
Example::
Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Department of Labor. (2016). Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 edition, Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/occupational-therapists.htm
Users can find more information on citing electronic material by visiting the following sites:
| Author-date method should be used for in-text citation |
| All reference citations for in-text citations should appear in reference list at end of paper. |
| Always capitalize proper nouns |
| Quotations always require the page number of the source. |
| Paraphrasing/summarizing content of a resource, page numbers are not required but can be included |
Quotations always require the page number for the source.
| Resources without page numbers - include the paragraph number when possible or the abbreviation "n.p." |
|
Example: (Gleeson & Alcedo, 2017, n.p.) Example: (Courtney, 2016, para 8) |
| Short Quotes (under 40 words) - placed in text of paper with quotation marks |
|
Example: "White-crime refers to fraudulent or financially-oriented criminal activities by high-status professionals or businesspeople." (Jimenez & Pulos, 2012) |
| Long Quotes (over 40 words) - set in block text using a five-space margin for every line |
Standard format: (Author, Year, page number)
| More than one author inside parenthetical reference |
|
Example: "White-crime refers to fraudulent or financially-oriented criminal activities by high-status professionals or businesspeople." (Jimenez & Pulos, 2012) |
| More than one author in text of paper |
|
Example: Jimenez and Pulos define White-Crime as "fraudulent or financially-oriented criminal activities by high-status professionals or businesspeople." (2012) |
| 3-7 authors: Cite every name in first in-text citation, additional citations can use "et al." |
|
Example: 1st citation - (Smith, Roberts, Adams, & Johnson, 2015) Later citations - (Smith, et al., 2015) |
| 7 or more authors |
|
Example: (Sutherland, et al., 2017) |
| More than one source, in single citation |
|
Example: (Esch, 1985; Jackson, 2009) |
| Multiple works by same author |
|
Example: (Wagenfeld, 2008a) (Wagenfeld, 2008b) |
| Unknown Author |
|
|
Examples: ("APA Style," 2017) (Webster's 9th new collegiate, 1990) |
| Organization as author |
Example: According to the American Library Association (2017), .... |
|
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Example: 1st citation - (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010, p. 154) Additional citations - (APA, 2010, p.172) |