APA 7th Edition - Citing Sources (Arnold Bernhard Library)

A guide to help users create citations using APA (American Psychological Association) style, 7th edition

Books

Generic:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of book: Title of subtitle. Publisher Name. https://doi.org/xxxxxxxxxxxx
Example:  Davis, D. E. (2021). The American chestnut: An environmental history. The University of Georgia Press.

 

Important points for authored books:
  • Ebooks and paper print books are cited the same! It is not necessary to note which you used. 
  • If there is no DOI, leave off that part of the reference. 
  • If the book was retrieved online, but NOT out of an academic database, include a retrieval URL. Do not use the words "retrieved from." If the book was found in an academic database (through the library), do not include the URL.
For additional examples and formatting tips:

Journal Article

Generic:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article: Title of subtitle if provided. Title of Journal, volume(issue), pp-pp. https://doi.org/xxxxxxxxxxxx
Example: Goldstein, O., Shaham, Y., Naftali, T., Konikoff, F. L., Lavy, A., & Shaoul, R. (2009). Toilet reading habits in Israeli adults.  Neurogastroenterology and Motility, 21(3), 291-295. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2982.2008.01204.x

If there is no DOI, leave that attribute out of the citation. Make a good faith effort to find the DOI. It can usually be found online in the article record, but it is also often printed on the first or last page of the article.

Detailed information on journal citations can be found in Chapter 10 of the 7th edition of the APA manual (pp. 316-319).

For additional examples and formatting tips:

Magazine Article

Generic:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year, Month). Title of article: Title of subtitle if provided. Title of Magazine, volume(issue), pp-pp.
Example: Ciralsky, A. (2024, June). Take no prisoners. Vanity Fair, 66(6), 86–105.

The above example is for a magazine article that appears in print. Detailed information on magazine citations, including how to cite magazine articles found online, can be found in Chapter 10 of the 7th edition of the APA manual (p. 320).

For additional examples and formatting tips:

Newspaper Article

Print Example:

Barnes, B. (2024, August 12). Disney details expansions for theme parks and cruises. The New York Times, B2.
Online Example: Selig, K., & Karlamangla, S. (2024, August 8). What to know about the Park fire, the 4th largest in California history. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/08/us/park-fire-california.html

 

Detailed information on newspaper citations can be found in Chapter 10 of the 7th edition of the APA manual (p. 320).

For additional examples and formatting tips:

Reference List Formatting

  • Begin the reference list on a new page. The word 'References' is bolded and centered on the first line.
  • Alphabetize references by the last name of the first author.
    • In the case of authors with multiple papers, use the publication date to order those papers. HOWEVER, if the order of the authors is different, use that to order papers first.
    • If there is no author, use the title of the work.​
  • Provide surnames and initials for up to and including 20 authors. 
    • When there are 21 or more authors, list the first 19, insert an ellipses (...) and then add the final author's name. 
  • A group author may be included as an author. This could include government agencies, associations, non-profit organizations, hospitals, task forces, etc. A group author may publish on its own or in conjunction with individuals or other groups.
    • Spell out the full name of the group author in the reference list followed by a period: American Music Association. 
    • When there are multiple layers of, for example, government agencies listed as the author, use the most specific agency as the author in the reference list entry. Only use the parent agency if it would cause confusion to use the most specific agency.
      • The names of the parent agencies can appear as the publisher if that is part of the reference list entry. ​
  • The entire reference list should be double-spaced.
  • The first line of a reference should have normal alignment. All subsequent lines of a single reference should have a hanging indentation (indented .5 inches from the margin).
  • Use a comma before the ampersand, even with only two authors (Lerner, R. C., & Lerner, C. G.)
  • Each work cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and each work in the reference list must be cited in text.

For an example of a reference list, please visit: 

DOIs and URLs

What Is a DOI?

Some electronic content like journal articles are assigned a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The DOI allows things to be uniquely identified and accessed reliably. With a DOI, you know what you have, where it is, and others can track it too.

Web Resources

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