Our APA examples and recommended links follow the APA Manual, 7th edition, published in 2020, which is the most recent version. You can find a print copy of the manual in the library building.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
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A citation is a phrase that refers to another book or article, saying where your information came from. In many research papers that you write in college, you are required to cite the sources where you got your information.
A citation is made up of 2 parts: an in-text citation and a full citation.
An in-text citation, also called a parenthetical citation, appears in the body of your research paper.
It is very short, including only the author's last name, then a comma, and the year.
Example:
A recent study (Campbell, 2018) found that exercise can improve mood in people with mild depression.
But when you refer to the author in the body of your paper, then you only need the year in parentheses. Example:
Campbell found in a recent study (2018) that exercise can improve mood in people with mild depression.
For more detailed information:
This is only a quick guide. How you cite your source depends on many factors, such as the number of authors, whether it is a translation of another work, or whether you found it in print or online. Please see the more information links that follow the example!
Basic format:
AuthorLastName, A. A. (Year). Title. Publisher Name.
Example:
Johnson, A. M. (2019). Young Entrepreneurs. Penguin.
More information:
(You cite a book chapter when each chapter has its own author, while the overall book has an editor.)
Basic format:
AuthorLastName, A. A.(Year). Chapter title. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Book title (pp. pages of chapter). Publisher.
Example:
Jones, C. A. (2020). Improving Reach of Facebook Posts. In E. L. Draper (Ed.), Social Media Marketing (pp. 25-41). Yale University Press.
More information:
Basic format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Article title. Journal Title, volume number(issue number), pages. DOI.
Example:
Smith, J. M. (2014). Effectiveness of Different Studying Schedules. The Journal of College Achievement, 23(5), 317-325. https://doi.org/12.345/2014
More information:
Basic format:
AuthorLastName, A. (Year, Month Date). Title of Webpage. Title of Entire Site. URL
Example:
Myers, J. (2019, January 5). Top 10 Studying Techniques. College Study Tips. https://www.collegestudytips.com/topten.html
More information:
Visit the APA Style Blog to learn about citing many other types of sources, and what to do in specific use cases.
Examples: