The APA Manual provides sample references to 95 different sources. Many of these are minor variations that have been covered by the rules presented in lesson 1. For example, the rule for listing one author to a work to six or more. The APA Manual devotes four examples to this rule while covering a couple of other details in the process. Some of the sources are extremely rare in research publications, such as tracks on a music CD or messages posting to electronic mailing lists. It is useful to know that the Manual has examples for such a varied array of sources, should you need them. There are some things to note:
 APA style uses standard punctuation in references. Each element---author, date, title, publisher---ends with a period (not URLs). Commas follow standard usage in references and citations. Space once after most punctuation.
APA references have a passion for parentheses!
 The goal is to provide enough information to enable the reader to locate the source. Follow the basic rules and satisfy this goal to apply APA style effectively.
- 3.1. APA Sources: Journals, Magazines, & Newspapers
Titles in periodicals follow the rule presented in lesson 2. The titles of parts of works, articles or chapters, are lowercased in references (sentence capitalization) in plain text; the titles of the works they're in are set in italics. This works for all titles, both books and periodicals, as long as you remember to treat the names of periodicals as proper nouns. Sometime in the evolution of references it was deemed unnecessary to note the place and name of the publisher of a periodical, unlike references to books. However, other bits of information are required.
Journal Articles
- Aggleton, J. P., Bland, J. M., Kentridge, R. W., & Neave, N. J. (2004). Handedness and longevity: Archival study of
- cricketers. British Medical Journal, 309, 1681-1684.
- Conway, L. G., III. (2001). Number and age of citations in social-personality psychology over the lifespan of the field:
- Older and wiser? Dialogue, 16(2), 14-15.
- Citations: First, (Aggleton, Bland, Kentridge, & Neave, 2004); next, (Aggleton et al., 2004); (Conway, 2001).
- A standard journal article follows the format of the first example. The basic rules presented in lesson 2 are applied in formatting the list of authors, the date, the title of the article (lowercase, plain text), and the name-title of the journal (italics). Journal names are formatted as proper nouns, uppercased in heading caps. The volume number is set in italics, an APA affectation. The page numbers follow after a comma.
The second example again applies the basic rules. This time the author is a "III" which is formatted like "Jr." However, this journal starts over at page one with each issue. This article is found in volume 16, issue 2, on pages 14-15 of a journal named Dialogue. Journals like this, paged by issue, are not too common. The issue number is placed in parentheses (a practice common to nearly all reference styles), but is not set in italics. There is no space between the volume number and the (issue number).
- Variations on a theme. Journals are available in a variety of formats: as printed hard copies, electronic facsimiles of the print version; and as Web pages. Some journals charge for access to articles which are protected behind firewalls. Others use database engines to retrieve documents, which may have changing URLs. APA style makes provision for all these possibilities.
- Fauci, A. S. (2006a). Pandemic influenza threat and preparedness. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 12, 73-77.
- Fauci, A. S. (2006b). Pandemic influenza threat and preparedness [Electronic version]. Emerging Infectious
- Diseases, 12,
73-77.
- Fauci, A. S. (2006c). Pandemic influenza threat and preparedness. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 12, 73-77.
- Available from the Centers for Disease Control Web site, www.cdc.gov/eid
- Fauci, A. S. (2006d). Pandemic influenza threat and preparedness. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 12, 73-77.
- Retrieved April 30, 2006 from www.cdc.gov/eid/05-0983.htm
- Citations: (Fauci, 2006a); (Fauci, 2006b); (Fauci, 2006c); (Fauci, 2006d).
The first example is to the print version, the second to the electronic facsimile, a PDF file. The designation [Electronic version] is added in brackets after the title to indicate this. In the third example the article is available on this Website, accessible through an index, perhaps after paying a fee. The URL does not lead to the specific document, so no retrieval date is noted. Finally, the article may also be available as a Web page which may differ from the print or PDF versions. This calls for a full retrieval statement. These variations are all common sense. The print version carries the most authority and credibility in research; the PDF facsimile is nearly equivalent. Web pages are less reliable since they are more subject to hacking, manipulation, and change.
Multiple works by the same author published in the same year are designated by placing a lowercase letter after the date.
Magazines
- Wilson, E. O. (1998, March). Back from chaos. Atlantic Monthly, 281, 41–62.
- Pricing terror: America's government still has role to play in insuring against a big terrorist attack.
- (2005, November 19-25). The Economist, 377, 45.
- Citations: (Wilson, 1998); ("Pricing Terror," 2005).
- Magazines are like journals paged by issue, however, the month or full date is a more useful designation of the issue than an issue number, even when it is available. The second example is to a news magazine published weekly. The author of the article is not given so the title is placed in the author position. The citation to this article uses just the first few word of the title to avoid cluttering up the text. Titles in the text, whether article or book titles, whether in a citation or in the text, are capitalized in standard English usage (heading caps), and in APA style.
Newspapers
- Goleman, D. (1991, October 24). Battle of insurers vs. therapists: Cost control pitted against proper care.
- New York Times, pp. D1, D9.
- Citation: (Goleman, 1991).
Newspapers sometimes have strange page numbers. As a result, APA style insist in putting the abbreviation "pp." before all page numbers in references to newspaper articles, whether strange or not (the abbreviation "p." is used for citing single pages). Otherwise, references to these sources follow the same general form as for other periodicals, including those reproduced on Web pages.
- 3.2. APA Sources: Books
- A passion for parentheses. The following examples all present variations on the common format for referencing books, the basic format describe by the rules presented in lesson 2. A discerning eye note that all the variation make use of parentheses. Texts found on the Internet follow the basic form.
- Books (Other Than Parts of Compilations)
- Allport, G. W. (1979). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley. (Original work published 1954)
- Beers, M. H., & Berkow, R. (Eds.). (1999). The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy (17th ed.). Retrieved
- January 17, 2003, from http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/
- Friedman, H. S. (Ed.). (1990). Personality and disease. New York: Wiley.
- Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Schuman, H., Steeh, C., Bobo, L., & Krysan, M. (1997). Racial attitudes in America: Trends and interpretations
- (Rev. ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Citations: (Allport, 1954/1979); (Beers & Berkow, 1999); Friedman, 1990); (Kuhn, 1970);
- first, (Schuman, Steeh, Bobo, & Krysan, 1997), next, (Schuman et al., 1997).
- References to reprints require a note added to the reference. This is set in parentheses in the form shown and tacked to the end of the reference. There is no period after the closing parenthesis (no one know why?).
Editions other than the first note that fact by placing the edition number in (who would guess?) parentheses, trailing the title. In addition to editions in succeeding numbers, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on, revised editions (Rev. ed.) and abridged editions (Abr. ed.) are common.
Compilations of articles by various authors are common. Usually a reference is to a specific article in the book. This reference format is covered below. The entire compilation can also be referenced. In this case, the compiler or editor for the volume is placed in the author position with a note in parentheses (who would ever guess?) trailing. Notes in parentheses almost always start with a capital letter, the noteworthy exception is the abbreviation pp.
Parts of Edited Books or Compilations
These are among the more complex references found in any style. Both the author of the article or chapter must be noted as well as the editor of the compilation. The title of the article, and of the volume, must be given, along with the page numbers in the volume.
- Alderson, A. S., & Corsaro, W. A. (2000). Cross-cultural analysis. In E. F. Borgatta (Editor-in-Chief) &
- R. J. V. Montomery (Managing Editor),
Encyclopedia of sociology (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 546-553). - New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
- Beers, M. H., & Berkow, R. (1999). Mood disorders. In M. H. Beers & R. Berkow (Eds.), The Merck manual
- of diagnosis and therapy
(17th ed., sec. 15, chap. 18). Retrieved January 17, 2003, from - http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section15/chapter189/189a.htm
- Bourdieu, P. (1993). The market of symbolic goods. In R. Johnson (Ed.), The field of cultural production:
- Essays in art and literature
(pp. 112-141). New York: Columbia University Press. (Original work - published 1983)
- Stephan, W. G. (1985). Intergroup relations. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of social
- psychology
(3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 599-658). New York: Random House.
- Citations: (Alderson & Corsaro, 2000); (Beers & Berkow, 1999); (Bourdieu, 1983/1993); (Stephan, 1985).
- Reversed? All names in the author position in references go last name first. Names of editors (and translators) not in the author position go in their normal order. The Chicago Manual of Style follows the same practice so it has legitimacy, but it is one more detail that simply must be remembered. The names go in the order they are presented in the source, not necessarily in alphabetical order. Again, the APA passion for parentheses is fully evidenced. The abbreviation (Eds.) follows the name of the editors, the edition, volume, and page numbers are placed in parentheses after the title. The reference to Bourdieu is a reprint, a fact noted in parentheses at the end of the reference.
Most references to works in edited books will cite just page numbers. The need to cite editions and volumes is not too common except with reference works such as a encyclopedias. It is rare to see the title of an editor, as in Alderson and Corsaro (2000), cited in a reference, although the practice is covered in the APA Manual (2001, sec. 4.16, ex. 36).
- 3.3. APA Sources: Papers, Reports, & Web Pages
- Most papers and reports are referenced like books. APA style formats the titles of most works that stand alone (i.e., nonperiodicals) in italics. This includes dissertations (whether published or not), reports, and even Web pages. The only exception is for software, computer programming languages, and software manuals (who knows why?). Otherwise, references to these sources follow the basic rules, adding information as needed.
- American Psychological Association. (2001). Electronic references: Reference examples for electronic
- source materials. Retrieved November 21, 2001, from http://www.apastyle.org/elecsource.html
- Downey, D. B. (1992). Family structure, parental resources, and educational outcomes. Unpublished
- doctoral dissertation, Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
- Dr. Abel Scribe PhD. (2006a). AScribe! APA reference manager (Version 6.0) [Computer software]. Retrieved
- June 30, 2006, from http://www.docstyles.com/archive/apasetup.zip
- Dr. Abel Scribe PhD. (2006b). The writer's guide to APA psychology (Version 2.0). Boulder, CO:
- Author. Available from Doc Scribe's Web site, http://www.docstyles.com
- Taylor, B. N. (1995a). Guide for the use of the International System of Units (SI) (NIST Special Publication
- 811). Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology.
- Taylor, B. N. (1995b). Guide for the use of the International System of Units (SI) (NIST Special Publication
- 811). Retrieved June 25, 2003, from http://physics.nist.gov/Document/sp811.pdf
- Citations: First, (American Psychological Association [APA]. 2001), next (APA, 2001); (Downey, 1992);
- (Dr. Abel Scribe PhD, 2006a); (Dr. Abel Scribe PhD, 2006b); (Taylor, 1995a); (Taylor, 1995b).
- The first reference above is to a page on an APA Web site. The title is formatted as if it were the title of a book. The same is true for the second reference to a dissertation. The work is unpublished, so information is added about the department and university, but not in the format that would be used for a published work (i.e., Bloomington: University of Indiana). "Dr. Abel Scribe PhD" is the name of a group, not a person. The first reference is to a computer program so the title is in plain text; the second is to an electronic text so the title is set in italics. The logic behind the difference is bewildering, but it is what the APA Manual calls for (2001, p. 280).
The reference to Taylor is to a report. The title is set in italics, followed by the report number in parentheses. Many agencies, organizations, and think tanks issue a plethora of reports. The report number is an aid to locating a specific report and should be referenced when available. Both a print version and PDF facsimile are available, but the shortcut used with journal articles, [Electronic version], is not used for other documents.
3.4. APA Text Citations: Variations
Citations are the same, whatever the source. A goal in research writing is to adequately cite sources without intruding unduly in the text. For example, when an author's name is noted in the text, it is not necessary to to repeat it in a citation, "The paradox was first noted by Bailey (2002)." Alternatively, "The paradox was first noted a few years ago (Bailey, 2002)." Or perhaps, "Bailey was first to note the paradox (2002)." As always, clarity and consistency guide practice.
Give both last names for joint authors (Able & Baker, 1998). Always use an ampersand, &, in citations, but and when authors are mentioned in text, "Able and Baker (1998) concluded . . ."
Cite works with three to five authors by listing all authors in the first citation (Andrews, Baca, & Cole, 1999); in subsequent citations use "et al." (Andrews et al., 1999), or in running text, "Alt et al. (1999) demonstrated the favorable outcome."
With six or more authors, give the lead author et al. in all citations. There is no comma between the name and abbreviation.
The only Latin abbreviation used in text outside parentheses is et al., followed by the date. Other common abbreviations must be written out in their English equivalents: for example (e.g.), that is (i.e.), and so forth (etc.) (APA, 2001, sec. 3.24).
Citations to works by different authors are combined in a single set of parentheses, listed alphabetically, and separated by semicolons (Alt, 1999; Baca, 1998; Cole, 2001).
Cite the full name of a corporate author in the first citation, giving the abbreviation in brackets (American Psychological Association [APA], 2001). Thereafter, give just the abbreviation (APA, 2001). Do this sparingly, only with citations that are used frequently throughout the text, or within the next couple of paragraphs.
Cited pages follow the year after a comma and the abbreviation p. for "page" or pp. for "pages" (Smith, 2000, pp. 123-126). A quotation by an author introduced in the text ends with a page citation. For example, Smith (2000) concluded "direct quotation" (p. 23) or (pp. 23-26). Do not drop digits in inclusive page numbers.
Cite works by two different authors with the same last name by adding initials (J. B. Smith, 1998) and (K. C. Smith, 2000).
If a work has no author, the title usually goes in the author position in the reference. Cite the first few words, uppercased (heading caps) in the citation. Use "in press" as the date for works awaiting publication. When there is no date use "n.d." for the date.
Titles are uppercased (heading caps) when noted in the text, and in citations, but are lowercased (sentence caps) in references.
3.5. APA Sources: Reference Lists
Alphabetize references by name. Also:
List several works by the same author chronologically, the oldest first, the most recent last.
When there are several works by the same author published in the same year, add lowercase letters to the date in chronological order, oldest first, as best you can ascertain it (list July before December).
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