This guide will help you to format a research paper and cite the resources you use in APA style. The sample citations are based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition, (Ref BF76.7.P83 2001). This is the most complete and up-to-date print guide to APA style in the Library. Resources for using the MLA, Chicago, and CBE format are listed on the Citation Styles Home page. For more examples and further explanation of APA citation style, please consult the following information.
LPC Library's Template for APA Citations - Need extra help? Fill-in guide to citation of the most common resources.
LPC Library's Template for APA Citations
- Fill-in guide to citation of the most common resources.
NoodleBib - Generate, edit, and publish an APA Reference list that complies with the rules of the current APA guide. It is a Web application that allows you to create and edit APA references online. Add and edit references on the fly. It will take care of punctuation and producing a polished source list that's correctly formatted and ready to print!
Best in-depth online guide:
Social Sciences: Documenting Sources - APA Style, links to finding sources, APA in-text citations, APA list of references, APA manuscript format, and sample paper.
Social Sciences: Overview - Researching in the Social Sciences, Research and Documentation Online, by Diane Hacker. How to do research in the discipline.
APA Format, Writers’ Workshop: Bibliography Styles Handbook, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Using American Psychological Association (APA)Format, OWL University Online Writing Lab, Purdue University.
The following examples of APA reference list citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your reference list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
The citations contain the following elements in the order given:
Confederate receipt book: A compilation of over one hundred receipts, adapted to the times.
(1863). Richmond, VA: West & Johnson.
Gladwell, M. (2000). The tipping point. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Hogue, K., Jensen, C., & Urban, K. M. (1988). The complete guide to health insurance: How
to beat the high cost of being sick. New York: Walker and Company.
Horton, H. R., Moran, L. A., Ochs, R. S., Rawn, D. J., Scrimgeour, K. G., Moser, R. L.,
et al. (2006). Principles of biochemistry (3rd ed.). New York: Prentice Hall.
American Medical Association. (1998). Essential guide to asthma. New York: Pocket
Books.
Mitchell, T. R., & Larson, J. R., Jr. (1987). People in organizations: An introduction
to organizational behavior (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Enright, D. J. (Ed.). (1983). The Oxford book of death. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Eagan, C. M. (2003). 'White,' if 'not quite': Irish whiteness in the
nineteenth-century. In K. Kenney (Ed.), New directions in Irish American
history (pp. 140-155). Madison, WI: Wisconsin University Press.
United States. Bureau of the Census. (1991). Census of population and housing (1990).
Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
The citations contain the following elements in the order given:
The citations contain the following elements in the order given.
Building codes. (2005). In Encyclopedia Americana (Vol. 4, p. 737).
Danbury, CT: Scholastic Library Publishing.
Gocek, F. M. (2005). Bosnia-Herzegovina. In The world book encyclopedia
(Vol. 2, pp. 491-494). Chicago: World Book, Inc.
Mageli, P. D. (1999). Amerasian children. In C. L. Bankston III (Ed.), Encyclopedia of family
life (Vol. 1, pp. 70-74). Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.
Ryan, B., & Nicolas, K. (Eds.). (1995). Cuban and other Hispanic immigration. In Hispanic
American almanac (pp. 79-92). New York: UXL.
The citations contain the following elements in the order given.
Alphin, A. B. (2006) Armored vehicle. In Grolier multimedia encyclopedia.
Retrieved July 6, 2006, from http://gme.grolier.com/
or
Alphin, A. B. (2006) Armored vehicle. In Grolier multimedia encyclopedia.
Retrieved July 6, 2006, from Grolier Online database.
Garrow, D. J. (2006). King, Martin Luther, Jr. In Encyclopedia Americana online. Scholastic
Library Publishing. Retrieved July 19, 2006, from Grolier Online database.
or
Garrow, D. J. (2006). King, Martin Luther, Jr. In Encyclopedia Americana online. Scholastic
Library Publishing. Retrieved July 19, 2006, from http://ea.grolier.com/
Katzman, D. M. (1991). Reader's companion to American history (p. 114). Boston: Houghton
Mifflin. Retrieved July 19, 2006, from History Reference Center database.
Richardson, R. D., Jr. (1987). Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882. In J. W. Rathburn & M. M. Grecu (Eds.),
Dictionary of literary biography: American literary critics and scholars, 1800-1850 (Vol. 59,
pp. 108-129). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved July 13, 2006, from Literature Resource Center database.
Nash, D. (1929). The dance. In Contemporary American poets. Retrieved July 19, 2006,
from LitFinder database.
Political and governmental corruption. (2000). In Encyclopedia of sociology (2nd ed.).
New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved July 13, 2006, from Opposing
Viewpoints Resource Center database.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
The citations for periodical materials in print contain the following elements in the order given.
Do not add the name of a database at the end of your citation if you read the text from the print magazine. Add the name of the database only if you use a full-text article from a database. Use the punctuation shown in the examples below.
Blevins, L. (2006, March 31). Livermore flourishes at turn of century. Tri-Valley Herald, pp. Valley 1, 2.
Fitzharris, T. (2006, May). Flower power. Popular Photography, 70(5), 28-32.
Stem cell research. (2001, February 9). Newsweek, 60(2), 1-3.
Ceglowski, D. (2006, Spring). Head Start-operated full-day services: Successes, challenges, and issues.
Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 20(3), 189-206.
The citations contain the following elements in the order given.
The information needed for a full-text article is exactly the same as an article in print. You just add the date of retrieval and database information. Use the punctuation shown in the examples below.
Halloran, L. (2006, May 8). Pulling back from the brink. U.S. News and World Report, 140(17), 36-38.
Retrieved July 6, 2006, from Academic Search Premier database.
Matier, P., & Ross, A. (2006, July 19). Awe-inspiring price tag to drain Hetch Hetchy. San Francisco
Chronicle,, pp. B1, B5. Retrieved July 21, 2006, from America's Newspapers database.
Sudan. (2005). Country Review. Retrieved July 19, 2006, from CountryWatch database.
Ecuadorans stage protest: Demand US oil company expulsion. (2006, May 9). Country Wire. Retrieved
July 19, 2006, from CountryWatch database.
Greenblatt, A. (2003, January 31). Obesity epidemic. CQ Researcher, 13(4), pp. 73-104. Retrieved
June 23, 2006, from CQ Researcher Online database.
Valenti, P. C. (2005, August). Condaleeza Rice's visit to the middle east: The new face of U.S. foreign
policy? The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 24(6), 36-37. Retrieved September 13,
2005, from Ethnic NewsWatch database.
Forde, C. (2005, Spring). Must we really make the case for abortion rights all over again? Conscience,
26(1), 22. Retrieved July 13, 2006, from GenderWatch database.
Egerton, D. R. (2005, May). Thomas Jefferson: The revolution of ideas. History Teacher, p. 401.
Retrieved June 18, 2006, from History Reference Center database.
Cincotta, R., & Engleman, R. (2002). Stabilizing human population growth would help preserve biodiversity.
In W. Dudley (Ed.), Biodiversity. Current Controversies. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press. Retrieved
July 13, 2006, from Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center database.
Rigotti, N. (2005, October 3). Staying safe: How to quit smoking. Newsweek, p. 56. Retrieved
May 16, 2006, from Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center database.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
Citations for reviews of books found in periodicals, books and electronic print resources contain the following elements in the order given:
Schatz, B.R. (2000). Learning by text or context? [Review of the book The social
life of information]. Science, 290, 1304.
Keymer, D. (1995). John Grisham 1955(?) -. [Review of the book A time to kill].
In J.P. Draper (Ed.), Contemporary literary criticism: Vol.84 (pp. 189-201).
New York: Gale.
Wu, F. (2001, Winter). [Review of the book Soul mountain]. World Literature Today,
75(1), 101. Retrieved October 28, 2003, from Academic Search Premier database.
Hynes, J. (1999, April 4). Bourgeois blues. [Review of the book Werewolves in their
youth]. Washington Post Book World, X7. Retrieved May 5, 2002, from
Literature Resource Center database.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
These citations are from general Internet sources, not from LPC electronic print resources (databases). Citations for Web site information should contain as much data that you can find to identify the material, as follows in the order given:
Note: When citing references from an online database or Internet source you may turn off the auto-formatting of the URL (in Microsoft Word) so it is not underlined and highlighted in blue. This will make your works cited page appear more consistent. Go to the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect, select the AutoFormat As You Type tab and midway down under Replace as you type deselect (uncheck) Internet and network paths with hyperlinks.
You may have to go to the homepage of an institution to find publication data. To cite subscription databases, such as Academic Search Premier, CountryWatch, Encyclopedia Americana, Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch, LitFinder Literature Resource Center, use the links to examples in the Reference, Periodicals and Electronic Print Resources, or Book Review sections.
VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role of reference elements in the
selection of resources by psychology undergraduates. Journal of Bibliographic Research,
5, 117-123. Retrieved October 13, 2001, from http://jbr.org/articles.html
Fredrickson, B.L. (2000, March 7). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize
health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment, 3, Article 0001a. Retrieved
November 20, 2000, from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html
Glueckauf, R.L., Whitton, J., Baxter, J., Kain, J., Vogelgesang, S., Hudson, M.,
et al. (1998, July). Videocounseling for families of rural teens with epilepsy –
Project update. Telehealth News, 2(2). Retrieved June 6, 2000, from
http://www.telehealth.net/subscribe/newsletter_4a.html#1
United States Sentencing Commission. (n.d.) 1997 sourcebook of federal sentencing
statistics. Retrieved December 8, 1999, from http://www.ussc.gov.annrpt/1997/sbtoc97.htm
Promoting corporate interests over patients and the public. Arnold Schwarzenegger: A
look at the record. (n.d.). California Nurses Association. Retrieved June 15, 2005,
from http://files.calnurse.org/assets/ Arnold_and_healthcare.pdf
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
Shocked, M. (1992). Over the waterfall. On Arkansas traveler [CD]. New York:
PolyGram Music.
Lloyd Webber, A. (1987). The Phantom of the opera: The original London cast.
[CD]. London: Polydor.
Lewis & Clark: The journey of the Corps of Discovery [Motion picture]. (2001).
United States: PBS, Warner Home Video.
Zaentz, S. (Producer), & Forman, M. (Director). (2002). Amadeus [Motion picture].
United States: Warner Home Video.
Cooper, J. (Producer/Director). (1996). From a different shore: An American identity
[Motion Picture]. Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities.
Harrison, J. (Producer), & Schmiechen, R. (Director). (1992). Changing our minds:
The story of Evelyn Hooker [Motion picture]. (Available from Changing Our Minds, Inc.,
170 West End Avenue, New York, NY).
Crystal, L. (Producer). (1993). The MacNeil/Lehrer news hour. New York:
Public Broadcasting Service.
Dement, W. C. (2006, May 17). Dreams and sleep disorders. Lecture
presented at Las Positas College , Building 600.
Many of these links were found through Librarians' Internet Index and the annotations were adapted from the LII list (Copyright 2005 by Librarians' Internet Index, lii.org.)
Use the following links to access the LPC Library short guides to citations styles and NoodleBib..
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