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6. APA citation style
Table of Contents
Introduction
APA full citations
APA in text citations
APA list of references
Introduction
About APA style
How to use this chapter
About APA style
American Psychological Association (APA) style is based on the in text citation system and is
used as follows:
A brief reference (author and year of publication) is given in the text at the point where a
source is used. This is the in text citation.
Each in text citation has a corresponding full citation, which contains enough identifying
details (author's full name, title and publication information) to allow the reader to locate
the source.
All full citations are presented at the end of the piece of writing in an alphabetical list,
titled 'References'.
APA style is fully documented in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,
which is available through the Library.
How to use this chapter
This chapter gives advice on how to cite sources in APA style, consistent with the sixth edition
of the APA Publication Manual (2010).
The first section explains how to create and use full citations in APA style.
The second section explains how to create and use in text citations in APA style, using
information taken from the corresponding full citations.
The final section shows how to present the full citations in an APA list of references.
Note that although the following instructions and examples cover a range of issues and
situations, they are not comprehensive. For more detail and final authority, consult the most
current edition of the APA Publication Manual.APA full citations
What is a full citation?
How do I create a full citation?
Examples of APA full citations
What is a full citation?
Every recoverable source cited in the text must have a corresponding full citation, which should
contain enough identifying information to allow the reader to locate the source.
The full citation tells the reader who created the source, when it was published, what it is
called, who is responsible for its publication, plus other identifying information that may help to
locate it. Below is an example of a basic APA full citation for a book, giving author, year of
publication, title, place of publication and name of publisher.
Milne, L. G. (1996). Media and modernity. London, England: Fontana.
In APA style, all full citations are presented together at the end of the piece of writing in an
alphabetical list, titled 'References'. Instructions on how to present this list are given at the
end of this chapter.
Note: Although the full citations are presented at the end of your piece of writing, they should
be created first because they contain the information you will need when creating the in text
citations.
How do I create a full citation?
APA full citations are made up of the following parts of identifying information:
Author
Year
Title
Publication information
Page numbers (where relevant)
Retrieval information (for online sources)
This section outlines the basic treatment of these parts. To help with explanation, shading has
been applied to the particular part being discussed in each example.
Note that the examples are a random representation of different material. For examples
grouped according to material type, as well as examples of variations to the basic treatment
outlined below, see Examples of APA full citations.
Author (APA)
The author is the creator/originator/principal contributor of the source. Depending on the
material, the author may be a person (e.g., a writer, artist, director or composer) or a group
(e.g., a corporation, government or organisation). Some works may have more than one
author.
For a basic single personal author, give the surname followed by the initial/s of the given
names. Do not include name titles (e.g., 'Professor', 'Dr', 'Sir') or academic titles (e.g., 'PhD',
'MSc'). Separate surname and first initial by a comma and space. Separate any further initials
by a full stop and space.Milne, L. G. (1996). Media and modernity. London, England: Fontana.
Variations
More than one author
Group author (government/corporation/organisation)
Same author, same year
No author
Year (APA)
The year of publication is the year (or specific date; e.g., for newspapers and some online
material) that the material was made available in the form you have used.
Give the year (or 'Year, Month Day' for specific dates) enclosed in round brackets
(parentheses) after the author.
Seacombe, N. J. (2001). Judgement. Melbourne, Australia: Liberty.
Rousseau, N. (2008, June 3). Arrival of the spice setters. The Age, Epicure sec., p. 4.
See Examples of APA full citations for instructions for specific material.
Variations
Same author, same year
No year
Title (APA)
Give the title of the source in full, including any subtitle. Separate any subtitle from the main
title by a colon and a space. Italicise the title and subtitle and use sentence capitalisation.
Marks, L. (1998). Between silk and cyanide: The story of SOE's code war. London, England:
HarperCollins.
If the source is a part of a publication, such as a chapter/section of a book (top example
below) or an article from a journal or newspaper/magazine (bottom example below), give the
title of the part before the title of the whole work. Do not italicise. Use sentence capitalisation.
Introduce books and other one-off publications by ‘In’ (not italicised). (Note: Title capitalisation
is used for names of journals and newspapers/magazines.)
Milne, L. G. (1996). Press barons. In Media and modernity (pp. 25-39). London, England:
Fontana.
Shaw, M. (1996). Tissue biopsies. Laboratory Techniques, 22(3), 23-28.
Variations
No title
Publication information (APA)Basic APA publication information identifies the place of publication and the name of the
publisher. Online and multimedia material may require different information; see Examples of
APA full citations for instructions for specific material.
Give the place of publication as the city and the state (abbreviated); or for non-US
publications, the city and the country. If two or more cities are listed, give the first-named city.
Omit state if the publisher is an academic institution and its name includes the state name
(e.g., University of Alabama). Give publisher’s name, or if the publisher is also the author (e.g.,
some publications by governments or organisations), use ‘Author’ to stand for the publisher's
name.
Green, J. R. (Ed.). (2001). Racism. New York, NY: Harlow.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2004). Australia’s health 2004 (AIHW Cat. No. AUS
44). Canberra, Australia: Author.
Page numbers (APA)
Page numbers are only included in the full citation if the source is part of a work (e.g., a
chapter/section of a book or an article from a journal/newspaper) and the page numbers
would be needed to locate the part within the whole work.
If page numbers are required, give the inclusive page numbers of the part (joined by a short
dash) after the title of the whole work. Add the abbreviation ‘p.’ (or ‘pp.’ for a range of pages)
to the page number/s, except for articles in journals (see second example below). If the
source appears across non-consecutive pages, give all page numbers and separate by
commas (see third example below).
Milne, L. G. (1996). Press barons. In Media and modernity (pp. 25-39). London, England:
Fontana.
Shaw, M. (1996). Tissue biopsies. Laboratory Techniques, 22(3), 23-28.
Grattan, M. (2009, December 12). Revolt of the backbenchers. The Canberra Times, pp. 1, 8-9.
Retrieval information (online sources) (APA)
Retrieval information should be given in full citations for online material. Basic retrieval
information includes the digital object identifier (DOI) or, if no DOI, the retrieval date and the
URL.
DOI: Some scholarly publishers assign a DOI to journal articles and other documents available
online. If a DOI is displayed (usually on the first page of the article with the copyright notice),
use this instead of the URL. The DOI acts as a persistent link to the material online (unlike
URLs, which may change or vanish).
If available, give the DOI as the last element in the citation, introduced by ‘doi:’ (no space after
the colon). Do not use 'Retrieved from' or give a retrieval date. (Note: Because the string can
be quite long, it is advisable to copy and paste the DOI.)
Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581-592.
doi:10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.581
URL: If no DOI can be found, give the URL. If the material is formally published (e.g., a
journal/newspaper article), it is sufficient to give the URL of the home page of the
site/database/archive (not the full URL of the specific item). If the URL needs to be brokenacross a line, break it after a slash or before a full stop or symbol. Introduce the URL by
'Retrieved from'. Do not use a full stop at the end of the URL.
Robinson, R. (2006). Farming and us. Retrieved from http://www.sharebooks.ca/
Date of retrieval: The date of retrieval is not necessary for source material where the content is
fixed and unlikely to change (such as journal articles or books), but it should be given for
material that is likely to change through editing/updating (e.g., content on Web pages, wikis);
material that is ‘in preparation’ or ‘in press’; or material where no publication date can be
determined. If a retrieval date is needed, insert date as 'Month Day, Year,' between 'Retrieved'
and 'from URL'.
Network Ten. (2009) TV guide. Retrieved September 14, 2009, from http://www.ten.com.au/
Database name: If citing a source accessed through an online database, give database name
only if the material is in very limited circulation. Give the DOI instead, or if no DOI has been
assigned give the URL of the database home page.
Examples of APA full citations
Presented in this section are formats and examples of full citations for a range of source
material set in APA style. (For instructions on how to treat the individual parts of a full citation
and how to present the full citations as a list of references, see How do I create a full citation?
and APA list of references.)
The examples are grouped under the categories of print, multimedia and online. (Note that
some material may be published in more than one form; e.g., in print and online. It is important
to cite a source in the form you have accessed.) A further group of examples, listed under
general variations, applies to all material regardless of category.
Note that examples of corresponding in text citations have been included only where special
treatments are required. (In most cases the in text format is not affected by the type of
material cited.) For detailed instructions on how to create and use in text citations, see APA in
text citations.
PRINT
Book (Basic book; Chapter/part; Edited collection; Multi-volume; Different edition)
Brochure/Pamphlet
Class handouts
Conference papers/proceedings
Encyclopaedia/Dictionary/Reference work
Journal article/item
Legal material/Legislation (adapted)
Newspaper/Magazine article/item
Parliamentary debate
Report
Thesis
MULTIMEDIA
Artwork
Audio recording (CD/Audiotape, etc.)
CD-ROM/DVD-ROMDigital file, offline
Film/Video recording (DVD/Video/Film, etc.)
Performance/Lecture, live
Personal communication (Email/Letter/Conversation)
Television/Radio broadcast
ONLINE
Basic online citation
Blog
Book/Conference proceedings/Report, online
Discussion (Post/Message/Comment), online
Email
Encyclopaedia/Dictionary/Reference work, online
Journal article/item, online
Lecture/Presentation, online
Legal material/Legislation, online
Newspaper/Magazine article/item, online
Thesis, from online repository
Video/Audio, online
Web page/site
GENERAL VARIATIONS
More than one author
Group author (government/corporation/organisation)
Same author, same year
No author
No year
No title
Indirect (secondary) source
Print material
Book (APA)
Basic book: Give author, year, title (italicised, using sentence capitalisation) and publication
information (city, state/country of publication and name of publisher).
Author, A. A. (Year). Title. City, State/Country: Publisher.
Seacombe, N. J. (2001). Judgement. Melbourne, Australia: Liberty.
Edited book (collection of pieces by multiple contributors): Follow basic book format, treating the
editor as author and adding the abbreviation '(Ed.).' or '(Eds.).' after the editor's name.
Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (Year). Title. City, State/Country: Publisher.
Green, J. R. (Ed.). (2001). Racism. New York, NY: Harlow.
Chapter/section of a book: If citing a specific chapter, follow basic book format but give thechapter/section title (not italicised) before the title of the book (italicised). Introduce the book
by ‘In’. Give the inclusive page numbers of the chapter/section.
Author, A. A. (Year). Chapter title. In Title of book (pp. #–#). City, State/Country: Publisher.
Milne, L. G. (1996). Press barons. In Media and modernity (pp. 25–39). London, England:
Fontana.
If the chapter/section is from an edited collection, give the author and title of the
chapter/section followed by ‘In' and the editor’s name as initials then surname followed by
'(Ed.),' or '(Eds.),' and the title of the edited collection followed by the inclusive page numbers
of the chapter/section.
Author, A. A. (Year). Chapter title. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. #–#). City,
State/Country: Publisher.
Berry, K. L. (2001). Hate. In J. R. Green (Ed.), Racism (pp. 31–50). New York, NY: Harlow.
Multi-volume book: Give total number of volumes after the title (or editor if it is an edited
collection). If published over a number of years, give the year range. (Note: Give the year
range in the in text citation as well.) If citing an individual volume (see second example below),
give volume number and year of publication of specific volume.
Author, A. A. (Year or Year range). Title (Vols. #–#). City, State/Country: Publisher.
Glenane, B. K. (2002–2005). Systematic mechanics (Vols. 1–3). Chicago, IL: Lake Press.
Glenane, B. K. (2003). Systematic mechanics (Vol. 2). Chicago, IL: Lake Press.
Different edition: Only include an edition statement if the source is not the first edition. Check
the title page or its reverse for the edition number (e.g., '2nd edition') or description (e.g.,
'Revised edition'). If an edition number or description is not displayed, assume it is the first
edition.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title (# ed.). City, State/Country: Publisher.
Grandel, K. R. (2001). Basic mathematics (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Wells Books.
Brochure/Pamphlet (APA)
Treat as for a book, but add the description 'Brochure' (not italicised, in square brackets) to
the title.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of brochure/pamphlet [Brochure]. City, State/Country: Publisher.
Universities Australia. (2008). Supercharging HECS [Brochure]. Canberra, Australia: Author.
Class handouts (APA)
The use of informally produced lecture or class handouts as sources for written work may be
allowed, but seek advice from your lecturer, tutor or teacher before citing such material. If
permitted, the following basic format could be used or adapted.
Author, A. (Year, Month Day). Title of handout [Description]. Unit/Course ID.School/Department, Institution.
Briggs, J. (2009, May 26). Fall of communism [Lecture handout]. HPT322. School of Business,
University of Eureka.
Conference papers/proceedings (APA)
Paper published in conference proceedings: Treat as for a chapter in a book (edited collection).
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of paper. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Title of Proceedings (pp. #–#). City,
State/Country: Publisher.
Stillman, L. (1997). Evaluating electronic community networking. In T. Greene (Ed.),
Proceedings of the Australasian Evaluation Society International Conference, Adelaide,
1997 (pp. 456-478). Canberra, Australia: Australasian Evaluation Society.
Paper/poster, unpublished: Papers/posters that are presented at a conference/seminar but not
published as part of the proceedings should be treated as follows:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month). Title of paper. Paper presented at Name of
Conference/Seminar/Meeting, City, State/Country.
Wenzel, B. Q. (1998, June). Films of Fellini. Paper presented at the Society for Cinema Studies
Biennial Conference, Ballarat, Australia.
Encyclopaedia/Dictionary/Reference work (APA)
Whole work: Treat as for a book: authored/edited/multi-volume, as appropriate. (The example
below is for a multi-volume edited collection.)
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of reference book. City, State/Country: Publisher.
Sadie, S., & Tyrrell, J. (Eds.). (2002). The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians (2nd
ed., Vols. 1–29). New York, NY: Grove.
Article/item: Treat as for a chapter/section in a book. Give author if one is named, otherwise
begin entry with title. Give inclusive page number/s of the article. Give edition number and
volume number if relevant.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. In Title of reference book (# ed., Vol. #, pp. #–#). City,
State/Country: Publisher.
Reed, D. L. (2003). Black holes. In The encyclopaedia of science (15th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 501–508).
New York, NY: Academic Resources.
Journal article/item (APA)
Article: Give author, year, article title (using sentence capitalisation, not italicised); name of
journal (italicised, using title capitalisation); volume number (italicised), issue number (not
italicised, enclosed in round brackets, no space after volume number), and inclusive page
numbers (no ‘p.’ or ‘pp.’). Note: Issue numbers are not needed for journals that have a single
sequence of page numbering across a volume (i.e., pagination that continues from issue to
issue).
Author, A. A. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, volume(issue), #–#.Shaw, M. (1996). Tissue biopsies. Laboratory Techniques, 22(3), 23–28.
Item (Abstract/Book review/Editorial/Letter to the editor): Treat as for journal article, but give a
description of item in square brackets after title of item. (Note: For abstracts obtained from
abstracting journals, add ‘Abstract obtained from Abstracting Journal Name, volume(issue), #–
#.’ at the end of the citation after the issue details of the original publication. This replaces the
item description.)
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of item [Description]. Journal Name, volume(issue), #–#.
Sowey, E. R. (2001). Striking demonstrations in teaching statistics [Letter to the editor]. Journal
of Statistics Education, 9(1), 2.
Legal material/Legislation (adapted for APA)
Legal Case: Use the adapted format below if no alternative is given by your lecturer or tutor.
Italicise case name.
Case (Year of Decision) Volume number Name of report series (abbrev.) Beginning page #.
Cole v. Whitfield (1988) 103 CLR 177.
Legislative Act: Use the adapted format below if no alternative is given by your lecturer or
tutor. Italicise name of act and year. Jurisdiction is abbreviated state name or Commonwealth
(‘Cth’).
Name of Act Year (Jurisdiction).
University of Western Australia Act 1911 (WA).
Legislative Bill: Use the adapted format below if no alternative is given by your lecturer or tutor.
Do not italicise name of bill or year. Jurisdiction is abbreviated state name or Commonwealth
(‘Cth’).
Name of Bill Year (Jurisdiction).
Family Law Reform Bill 1994 (Cth).
Newspaper/Magazine article/item (APA)
Article: Give author, if one, or begin with title. Give date of issue after the author (or title if no
author) as 'Year, Month' if published monthly, or 'Year, Month Day' if published weekly or daily.
Give article title (using sentence capitalisation, not italicised) and newspaper/magazine name
(italicised, using title capitalisation). Give page number/s preceded by 'p.' or 'pp.'. If article
appears on non-consecutive pages, give all page numbers and separate by commas (see
bottom example below).
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Newspaper/Magazine, p. #.
Rutenberg, J., & Bosman, J. (2008, August 13). Book on Obama hopes to repeat anti-Kerry feat.
The New York Times, p. 1.
Grattan, M. (2009, December 12). Revolt of the backbenchers. The Canberra Times, pp. 1, 8-9.Article in supplement or section: Treat as for article (above), but add name of section after
name of newspaper/magazine.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Newspaper/Magazine, Section name, p. #.
Rousseau, N. (2008, June 3). Arrival of the spice setters. The Age, Epicure sec., p. 4.
Item (Book/film review/Cartoon/Editorial/Letter to the editor): Treat as for article (above), but add
description of item in square brackets after item title, or if item is unitled, add description after
author.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title (if one) [Description]. Newspaper/Magazine, p. #.
Harrison, P. (2006, June 12). Refugee scandal [Letter to the editor]. The Age, p. 12.
Petty, B. (2006, November 6). Global warming [Cartoon]. The Sydney Morning Herald, p. 14.
Schembri, J. (2008, November 10). [Review of the motion picture Australia]. The Age, p. 8.
Parliamentary debate (Hansard) (adapted for APA)
Use the adapted format below if no alternative is given by your lecturer or tutor.
Government. Name of Parliament. (Year). Title. Vol. #####, pp. #–#.
Australia. House of Representatives. (2002). Debates. Vol. HR103, pp. 2–6.
Report (APA)
Treat as for a book. If the author is also the publisher, use the word ‘Author’ to stand for the
publisher’s name. Add any series name and/or number (not italicised, in round brackets) to the
report title.
Author/Agency/Corporation/Government. (Year). Title of report (Series name and/or number).
City, State/Country: Publisher.
Australia. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (1988). Annual report. Canberra, Australia:
Australian Government Publishing Service.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2004). Australia’s health 2004 (AIHW Cat. No. AUS
44). Canberra, Australia: Author.
Standards Australia. (1999). Australian standard: Risk management (AS/NZS4360–1999).
Sydney, Australia: Author.
Thesis (APA)
Give type of thesis after title. If city or state is part of institution name, do not repeat this
when giving institution location.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title (Description). Institution, City, State/Country.
Shen, G. (2008). The determinants of capital structure in Chinese listed companies (PhD thesis).
University of Ballarat, Australia.Multimedia material
Artwork (APA)
If citing an original artwork, cite in the text but do not create a full citation.
The in text citation should identify the artist, the name of the work (italicised), and the date
the artwork was produced, if known. (Note: If any of these elements are already mentioned in
the surrounding sentence, you need include only the remaining elements in the in text
citation.)
(John Brack, Man in pub, 1953)
If citing a reproduction (e.g., from a book), mention the artwork in the sentence and give an in
text citation for the work in which the reproduction appears, including the page/plate number,
(first example below) as well as a full citation for the reference list (second example below).
John Brack's Man in pub (Millar, 1971, p. 23) is an example of ...
Millar, R. (1971). John Brack. Melbourne, Australia: Lansdowne.
Audio recording (CD/Audiotape, etc.) (APA)
Whole work: Give primary contributor and their role, year of issue, title and format (e.g.,
'Cassette', 'CD', 'Record'), and place and name of label/distributor.
Primary Contributor, A. A. (Role). (Year). Title [Format]. City, State/Country: Label/Distributor.
Jobim, A. C. (Writer/Performer). (1988). Wave [CD]. Hollywood, CA: A&M Records.
Single track: Treat as above, but give title of song/item before title of whole work (introduced
by 'On').
Primary Contributor, A. A. (Role). (Year). Title of track. On Title of work [Format]. City,
State/Country: Label/Production Company.
Jobim, A. C. (Writer/Performer). (1988). Dialogo. On Wave [CD]. Hollywood, CA: A&M Records.
CD-ROM/DVD-ROM (APA)
If citing a publication on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM that was originally published in print, follow the
relevant format for the printed source, and give 'CD-ROM' or 'DVD-ROM' as the format after the
title.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title [Format]. City, State/Country: Publisher.
Milne, L. G. (1996). Media and modernity [CD-ROM]. London, England: Fontana.
Digital file, offline (adapted for APA)
APA does not cover this type of material specifically; use the following adapted format if you
need to cite such material.Digital files (e.g., scanned images, PDFs, JPEGs, MP3s) can exist offline or outside of their
original published form. If you have accessed a source in this way, follow the format for the
kind of work (e.g., book, document, sound recording) and then give the digital file format in
square brackets after the title. (If you do not know what the file type is, use 'Digital file' as the
format.)
Author, A. A. (Year of publication/creation). Title of unpublished document OR Title of published
work [Format]. City, State/Country: Publisher/Sponsor.
Kezos, V., & Valentine, C. (2003). Workplace bullying [PDF file]. Melbourne, Australia: Royal
Children’s Hospital.
Martin, D. (1998). Making spirits bright [MP3 file]. Los Angeles, CA: Capitol.
Film/Video recording (DVD/Videocassette, Film, etc.) (APA)
Give primary contributor, role, year of production and title followed by format (e.g., 'Motion
picture', 'DVD', 'Video', etc.) in square brackets, and country and name of production company.
Primary Contributor, A. A. (Role). (Year). Title [Format]. Country of Origin: Studio/Production
Company.
Ray, B. (Director/Writer). (2003). Shattered glass [Motion picture]. USA: Lions Gate Films.
If distributed in a form other than the original, give year and production company of original
and add name of distributor and year of distribution.
Primary Contributor, A. A. (Role). (Year of production). Title [Format]. Country of Origin:
Studio/Production Company; Distributor, Year of distribution.
Hitchcock, A. (Producer/Director). (1958). Vertigo [DVD]. United States: Paramount; distributed
by Universal Home Entertainment, 2003.
Performance/Lecture, live (Concert/Play, etc.) (APA)
If citing a live event (performance, lecture, presentation, etc.), mention in the text but do not
create a full citation for the reference list (because the source is not recoverable by your
reader).
The in text citation should identify the performer/presenter, a description (e.g., 'performance',
'lecture'), the name of the venue, city and state/country, and the date (Month Day, Year).
(Note: If any of these elements are already included in the sentence, you need include only
the remaining elements in the in text citation.)
(J. Kurro, performance, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat, Australia, May 6, 2008)
Personal communication (Email/Letter/Conversation) (APA)
If citing a personal communication (e.g., letter, email, personal interview, conversation, etc.),
mention in the text but do not create a full citation for the reference list.
The in text citation should identify the communicator, and include the description 'personal
communication', and the date (Month Day, Year). (Note: If any of these elements are already
mentioned in the sentence, include only the missing elements in the in text citation.)(E. Jensen, personal communication, June 7, 2008)
Television/Radio broadcast (APA)
Television broadcast: Give primary contributor as author, or if this is unknown/unclear, treat as
for source with no author (i.e., begin with title).
Primary Contributor, A. A. (Role). (Year, Month Day of broadcast). Program title [Format]. City,
State/Country of broadcast: Broadcaster.
Doogue, G. (Presenter). (2009, December 27). Compass [Television broadcast]. Melbourne,
Australia: ABC Television.
Attard, M. (Presenter). (2009, August 18). Sunday profile [Radio broadcast]. Melbourne,
Australia: ABC Local Radio.
Television series episode broadcast: An episode in a series is treated in a similar way to a
chapter in a book. The remainder of the citation follows the broadcast format given above.
Episode Primary Contributor, A. A. (Role). (Year, Month Day of broadcast). Episode title
[Format]. In A. A. Series Primary Contributor (Role), Series title. City, State/Country of
broadcast: Broadcaster.
Innes, L. (Director). (2009, December 27). Nobody's baby [Television series episode]. In C.
Chulack (Executive producer), ER. Ballarat, Australia: WIN Television.
Online material
Citations for online sources are based on the same principles as citations for other sources,
with extra information added for retrieval details (sufficient to allow the reader to locate the
source).
The examples that follow cover a wide range of online material. However, the dynamic nature
of the online environment means that new and unforeseen types of material are constantly
arising. If you wish to cite an online source that does not fit any of the specific examples,
follow the basic online citation given below and adapt where necessary, remembering that the
guiding principle when citing sources (online or otherwise) is to lead the reader as directly as
possible to the source.
For general advice on using online sources in academic writing, see Using online sources.
Basic online citation (APA)
A basic citation for an online source in APA style is made up of the following parts of identifying
information.
Author (begin with title if author is not named)
Year OR Year, Month Day of publication/latest update
Title (of part of work and/or whole work, as relevant)
DOI, or if no DOI, URL introduced by 'Retrieved from'
Date of retrieval (only if content is likely to change through editing/updating)
Author, A. A. (Year). Title/Title. doi:10########## OR Retrieved from URLSome material may require different or additional information. See the individual examples that
follow for specific advice.
Blog (APA)
Entire blog: If citing a blog in its entirety and the blog exists as a separate site, treat as for a
Web site. If the blog is part of a site, treat as for Web page.
Blog post/comment: If citing a specific comment or post to a blog, treat as for Discussion
(Post/Message/Comment), online.
Book/Conference proceedings/Report, online (APA)
Treat books, conference proceedings and reports as for a print version (including original year
of publication) but omit place of publication and name of publisher. Give DOI, or if no DOI is
assigned, give the home page URL of the site/archive/database making the material available.
No retrieval date is necessary if the content is fixed. No database name is necessary unless
the material is in limited circulation.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title. doi:10############# OR Retrieved from URL
Crane, S. (1997). The red badge of courage. Retrieved from http://www.books.google.com/books
Robinson, R. (2006). Farming and us. Retrieved from http://www.sharebooks.ca/
Treat chapters/sections as for chapters/sections of print material, and add to relevant format
above. Give inclusive page numbers where available.
Discussion (Post/Message/Comment), online (APA)
If citing a post/message/comment to a blog/list/group/forum, give author, date of posting, title
of thread and description. If there is no formal name for the author, give the screen name.
Give the name of the blog/list/group/forum if this is not part of the URL. Give the full URL of the
item. If the post/message is archived, give the URL of the archived version.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day of posting). Title or subject line of thread [Description].
Retrieved from URL
Chad. (2008, October 8). Who’s messing with Twitter search? [Online forum post]. Retrieved
from http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/08
GeekBoy. (2008, October 9). Re: Who’s messing with Twitter search? [Online forum comment].
Retrieved from http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/09
Harris, Tom. (2009, September 15). Today's latest disaster [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://tomsblog.com/0001399/2009/09/15/
Email (APA)
Treat as for personal communication; i.e., mention in the text but do not create a full citation
for the reference list.
The in text citation should identify the communicator, and include the description 'personal
communication', and the date (Month Day, Year). (Note: If any of these elements are already
included in the sentence, you need include only the remaining elements in the in text citation.)
(E. Jensen, personal communication, June 7, 2008)Encyclopaedia/Dictionary/Reference work, online (APA)
To cite an online reference work as a whole, give the name of the work and the DOI/URL.
Author, A. A. (Year/Date last updated). Reference work. doi:10############ OR Retrieved from
URL.
Encyclopaedia Britannica online. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/
To cite an item, give author (if one) and title, and continue citation following the format above.
Give DOI if available, or give the URL of the site/archive/database homepage (preceded by the
words 'Retrieved from'). Give retrieval date if content is likely to change through
editing/updating.
Author, A. A. Article/item title. (Year/Date last updated). In Reference work. Retrieved Month
Day, Year, from URL
Watergate scandal. (2009). In Encyclopaedia Britannica online. Retrieved December 11, 2009,
from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/393409/Watergate
Note: Not all online reference works are authoritative. Check with your lecturer, tutor or
teacher to find out which online reference works are acceptable as academic sources. Do not
use collaborative reference projects such as Wikipedia as academic sources without approval.
Journal article/item, online (APA)
Treat exactly as for a print journal article (including page numbers, where given) and add DOI.
If no DOI is assigned, give the URL of the site/archive/database homepage (preceded by the
words 'Retrieved from'). No retrieval date is necessary. If the article/item has been retrieved
from an online database, the database name does not need to be included (as a separate
component, additional to the URL) unless the material is in limited circulation.
Author, A. A. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, volume(issue), #–#. doi:10############## OR
Retrieved from URL
Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581-592.
doi:10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.581
Misson, R. (2008). Connecting with the world of texts. Metaphor, 2, 8–16. Retrieved from
http://www.acer.edu.au/
Treat items (e.g., letter, review, abstracts, etc.) as for print journal items and format remaining
citation as above.
Author, A. A. (Year). Item title [Description]. Journal Name, volume(issue), #–#.
doi:10############# OR Retrieved from URL
Huntington, J. A. (2008). Serpent myth [Letter to the editor]. Nature, 455. Retrieved from
http://www.nature.com/
Lecture/Presentation, online (APA)
Course lectures and presentations may be made available online for student access (e.g., as
webcasts, slide presentations, etc.). Confirm with your lecturer/tutor/teacher if it is appropriate
to cite such material and how this should be done. A basic format that could be adapted is
given below.Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day of posting). Title [Format]. Unit/Course ID. Retrieved Month
Day, Year, from URL
Ellis, J. (2009, September 12). Business principles [Video file]. HRT123. Retrieved September 18,
2009, from http://www.eureka.edu.au/
Legal material/Legislation, online (APA)
Treat as for print legal material/legislation and add retrieval information as appropriate.
Newspaper/Magazine item/article, online (APA)
Treat as for print newspaper/magazine article/item (including page numbers if shown; e.g., if
scanned image). Give DOI of item or, if no DOI, the URL of the site/archive/database home
page preceded by 'Retrieved from'.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Article title/item [Description, for items only].
Newspaper/Magazine. doi:10########## OR Retrieved from URL
Ferrari, J. (2009, December 18). Julia Gillard calls for school honesty. The Australian. Retrieved
from http://theaustralian.com.au/
Harrison, P. (2006, June 12). Refugee scandal [Letter to the editor]. The Age. Retrieved from
http://www.theage.com.au/
Zeleny, J. (2008, June 4). Obama claims nomination. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/
Thesis, from online repository (APA)
Author, A. A. (Year). Title (Description, Institution, Place). Retrieved from URL. (Serial number,
if relevant).
Shen, G. (2008). The determinants of capital structure in Chinese listed companies (PhD thesis,
University of Ballarat, Australia). Retrieved from http://adt.caul.edu.au/
Video/Audio, online (APA)
If the video/audio is formally published, treat as for multimedia. Give primary contributor, role,
year (or specific date) of production and title. Add format and URL of home page of
site/archive/database making the material available.
Primary Contributor, A. A. (Role). (Year OR Year, Month Day). Title [Format]. Retrieved from
URL
Correy, S. (Producer/Presenter). (2008, March 22). Background briefing [Audio podcast].
Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/rn/
If the work is informally published (e.g., a YouTube post), treat as for online post. Give name of
audio/video poster as primary contributor.
Primary Contributor, A. A. (Year, Month Day of post). Title [Format]. Retrieved from URL.
MarinaHD2001. (2009, February 10). Bizkit the sleep walking dog [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2BgjH_CtIAWeb page/site (APA)
Difference between a Web page and a Web site:
A Web page is a document that can be read on the Internet that contains text, graphics,
and/or hyperlinks to other Web pages and files within and across Web sites.
A Web site is a collection of one or more Web pages (including, usually, a home page)
that exist under the same domain name. The content of a Web site is generally controlled
and maintained by the sponsor/owner of the domain name, who may be a person,
business, government or organisation.
Web site: When making a general reference to an entire Web site (i.e., not to a specific
document or page on the site), cite the URL in the text; no full citation is required in the
reference list.
The video-sharing Web site YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) is an online phenomenon.
Web page: If citing a Web page, give the author and year of publication (or Year, Month Day of
latest revision/update if shown). If no author, begin with title. If no title, give a descriptive
phrase in square brackets. Give retrieval date (because content is likely to be updated) and
URL.
Author, A. A. (Year of publication OR Year, Month Day of posting/revision). Title OR
[Description]. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL
Australia. Department of Health and Ageing. (2009). Aged care. Retrieved December 27, 2009,
from http://www.yourhealth.gov.au/internet/yourhealth
Mullis, K. (2009, June 12). [Home page]. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from
http://www.karymullis.com/
Network Ten. (2009). TV guide. Retrieved September 14, 2009, from http://www.ten.com.au/
General variations
The examples that follow apply to all material regardless of category unless otherwise stated.
Shading has been applied to the parts being discussed to help with explanation.
More than one author (APA)
1-7 authors: List all authors (surname followed by initial/s) in the order they appear in the
source. Separate each author by a comma and join last author by ‘&’.
Smith, E., Brown, B. B., Jones, C., & Lennox, P. D. (2002). Business principles and ethical
approaches. Sydney, Australia: Newnham.
8 or more authors: Name the first six authors, followed by ellipsis points (three dots) and the
name of the last author. Separate authors by commas.
Kennett, J., Harrison, L. D., Henderson, C., Greene, K. O., Smythe, D., Anderson, M., ...
Delaney, J. (2004). Legume production after flooding events. Journal of Agricultural
Studies, 4(2), 22–31.
Group author (government/corporation/organisation) (APA)Give the full name of the group author.
Amnesty International. (1986). Haiti. London, England: Author.
If citing a source by a government author, give the name of the government followed by the
name of the agency or department.
Australia. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (1988). Annual report. Canberra, Australia:
Australian Government Publishing Service.
Victoria. Department of Treasury and Finance. (1997). Output specification and performance
measurement. Melbourne, Australia: Author.
Same author, same year (APA)
Distinguish between sources by the same author with the same year of publication by adding
a lower case letter (‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, etc.) to the year according to the order (alphabetically by title) in
which the source appears in the list of references; i.e., add ‘a’ to the entry listed first under
the author in that year, ‘b’ to the second, etc.
The example below is for a source listed fourth in the reference list under the same author
with the same year of publication.
Garland, E. G. (2004d). Mathematics in action. Ballarat, Australia: Paperworks.
No author (APA)
Construct the entry in the same way as a work with an author, but begin with the title. The
first example, below, is for a whole work (online reference work); the second example is for a
part of a work (article from a newspaper)
Encyclopaedia Britannica online. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/
Life as we know it. (2008, June 13). The Courier, p. 7.
No year (APA)
If the year (or other date) of publication cannot be determined, use ‘n.d.’ (‘no date’) in place of
the year/date in both the full citation and the in text citation.
Green, A. A. (n.d.). My garden. Ballarat, Australia: Eureka Press.
If the work has been accepted for publication but is not yet published, use ‘in press’ in place of
the year in both the full citation and the in text citation.
Glasson, M. (in press). Obama's triumph. Boston, MA: Minter.
No title (APA)
If the source has no title displayed (such as with some online or informally published material),
use a short descriptive phrase. Enclose the phrase in square brackets to indicate that it is not
the actual title but your insertion.Rebus, S. T. (2005). [Life story of Stanley Rebus]. Retrieved from http://www.rebus.com.au/
Indirect (Secondary source) (APA)
If citing material taken from another source, refer to the original work in the sentence and give
an in text citation (first two examples below) and a full citation (last example below) for the
secondary source only. The original source is not cited as a source because it was not
consulted directly. In the in text citation, introduce the secondary source by 'as cited in', or for
direct quotations, 'as quoted in'.
Ritter's study (as cited in Seacombe, 2001) supports this notion.
When Higgins admitted that he made a "mistake of considerable proportion" (as quoted in
Seacombe, 2001, p. 57), few people were surprised.
Seacombe, N. J. (2001). Judgement. Melbourne, Australia: Liberty.
APA in text citations
What is an in text citation?
How do I create an in text citation?
Examples of APA in text citations
What is an in text citation?
Whenever you quote, paraphrase, summarise or otherwise use a source in your writing, you
must indicate this by inserting a brief reference to the source at that point.
In the in text system, the brief reference is inserted directly into the text. This in text citation
directs the reader to the full citation in the list of references, where full identifying information
for the source is displayed.
In APA style, the in text citation is made up of the author’s surname and the year of publication
enclosed in round brackets (parentheses). If the author/s name is already part of the
sentence, only the year is enclosed in parentheses.
The information in the in text citation is taken from (and should match) the corresponding parts
of the full citation to ensure the reader is directed to the correct entry.
The early settlers were given very little support (Milne, 1996). [IN TEXT CITATION]
Milne (1996) presents compelling evidence to refute this claim. [IN TEXT CITATION]
Milne, L. G. (1996). Media and modernity. London, England: Fontana. [FULL CITATION]
How do I create an in text citation?
A basic APA in text citation is made up of author and year, taken from the corresponding full
citation. A page number (or other specific reference) is added when quoting from the source or
when referring to a specific page or part of the source.This section gives instructions on how to treat the parts of an APA in text citation (some
examples are accompanied by their corresponding full citation where helpful). To help with
explanation, shading has been applied to the particular part being discussed in each example.
For more examples, including variations to the basic treatment outlined below, see Examples
of APA in text citations.
Author (APA)
Give the author's surname as taken from the full citation (shown under in text example).
(Milne, 1996) OR Milne (1996) reported …
Milne, L. G. (1996). Media and modernity. London, England: Fontana.
Variations
More than one author
Group author (e.g., government/organisation)
Same author, same year
Different authors, same surname
No author
Year (APA)
Give the year of publication as taken from the full citation (shown below in text example).
(Seacombe, 2001) OR Seacombe (2001) reported …
Seacombe, N. J. (2001). Judgement. Melbourne, Australia: Liberty.
Do not include day or month even if these are given in the full citation.
(Rousseau, 2008) OR Rousseau (2008) reported …
Rousseau, N. (2008, June 3). Arrival of the spice setters. The Age, Epicure sec., p. 4.
Variations
Same author, same year
No year of publication
Page numbers (APA)
Page number/s (or other specific references) are included in the in text citation when quoting
from a source or when referring to a specific page or part of a source.
If a page or other specific reference is needed, give this after the year (following a comma and
a space). Use the abbreviations ‘p.’ for a single page and ‘pp.’ for a range of pages, and thewhole words 'Chapter', Figure', 'Table' for those specific parts. If no page numbers are
available (such as for some online material), use the relevant chapter or heading title or
number.
(Jones, 2002, p. 22) OR Jones (2002, p. 22) reported …
(Smith, 2005, pp. 32-49) OR Smith (2005, pp. 32-49) reported …
(Bristol, 2004, Chapter 4) OR Bristol (2004, Chapter 4) reported …
Variations
No page numbers
Quotations
Examples of APA in text citations
Presented in this section are examples of in text citations set in APA style. To help with
explanation, shading has been applied to the parts under discussion.
These examples apply to all categories of material (print, multimedia and online) unless
otherwise stated.
BASIC FORM
Basic in text citation
GENERAL VARIATIONS
Multiple sources, same citation
More than one author
Group author (e.g., government/organisation)
Same author, same year
Different authors, same surname
No author
No page numbers
No year of publication
Quotations
Indirect (secondary) source
Basic form
Basic in text citation (APA)
Insert the author and year of publication into the text in round brackets (parentheses)
immediately before the punctuation mark (e.g., full stop, comma) that ends the sentence (or
part of the sentence) containing the quotation or information used. Separate the author and
the year by a comma and a space.
The early settlers were given very little support (Milne, 1996).
If the author/s name is already part of the sentence, enclose only the year (and page
reference if needed) in parentheses.Milne (1996) presents compelling evidence to refute this claim.
General variations
Multiple sources, same citation (APA)
If citing multiple sources at the same point, list sources alphabetically by author, and separate
by a semicolon and a space. List more than one source from the same author by year of
publication (earliest first), and separate years by a comma and a space.
This interpretation is common (Jones, 2002; Ling, 1998; Pratt, 2001, 2005).
More than one author (APA)
2 authors: Give the surname of both authors in the same order as in the full citation (shown
below in text example) in every mention. Join authors by ‘&’ in parentheses, or 'and' if part of
the sentence.
(Rutenberg & Bosman, 2008) OR Rutenberg and Bosman (2008) …
Rutenberg, J., & Bosman, J. (2008, August 13). Book on Obama hopes to repeat anti-Kerry feat.
The New York Times, p. 1.
3, 4 or 5 authors: Give the surname of all authors in the first mention (top example below) in
the same order as in the full citation (last example below), separated by commas, and join the
last author by '&' or 'and'. In all later mentions (second example below), give the first author
followed by ‘et al.’*.
(Smith, Brown, Jones, & Lennox, 2002) OR Smith, Brown, Jones, and Lennox (2002)
(Smith et al., 2002) OR Smith et al. (2002)
Smith, E., Brown, B. B., Jones, C., & Lennox, P. D. (2002). Business principles and ethical
approaches. Sydney, Australia: Newnham.
6 or more authors: Give the surname of the first author named in the full citation (shown below
in text example) followed by ‘et al.’ in every mention.
(Kennett et al., 2004) OR Kennett et al. (2004)
Kennett, J., Harrison, L. D., Henderson, C., Greene, K. O., Smythe, D., Anderson, M., ...
Delaney, J. (2004). Legume production after flooding events. Journal of Agricultural
Studies, 4(2), 22–31.
Note: If an 'et al.' source shares a same-named first author with another 'et al.' source, add
the second author (or more as necessary) in every mention to distinguish between the
sources.Greene, Smith, et al. DISTINGUISHES FROM Greene, Ling, et al.
Group author (APA)
Give the full name of the group author as taken from the full citation.
(Amnesty International, 2005) OR Amnesty International (2005) …
If the group author has a long name or if it is readily identifiable by its initials, give the full
name plus the initials for the first appearance (see top example, below). In later appearances,
use the initials alone (see bottom example, below).
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA], 2006)
(NASA, 2006)
Same author, same year (APA)
If citing sources by the same author with the same year of publication, distinguish between
them by adding the lower case letter (‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, etc.) to the year (as per the full citation). The
example below is for the fourth entry by the same author with the same year of publication
appearing in the reference list.
(Garland, 2004d) OR Garland (2004d) …
Garland, E. G. (2004d). Mathematics in action. Ballarat, Australia: Paperworks.
Different authors, same surname (APA)
If citing sources by different authors who share the same surname, add one or more initials
(as necessary for clarity) taken from the author's name in the corresponding full citation
(shown under in text example) to each surname to distinguish between the authors. Do this in
all appearances.
(D. Crowe, 1978) DISTINGUISHES FROM (P. Crowe, 1999)
Crowe, D. L. (1978). Rudd and the Canberra elite. Sydney, Australia: Penguin.
Crowe, P. R. (1999). Biomedicine atlas. New York, NY: Rand.
No author (APA)
If citing a source with no author, give the first two to three words of the title (to correspond
with the full citation, which will begin with title) in every mention.
Italicise titles of whole works. Enclose titles of parts of works (e.g., articles, chapters, etc.) in
double quotation marks but do not italicise.
(Getting sorted, 1998) NO AUTHOR, WHOLE WORK("Turnbull tirade," 2004) NO AUTHOR, ARTICLE/PART OF WORK
No year of publication (APA)
If the year of publication cannot be determined, use ‘n.d.’ (‘no date’) in place of the year (as
per the full citation, shown below the in text example).
(Green, n.d.) OR Green (n.d.) reported …
Green, A. A. (n.d.). My garden. Ballarat, Australia: Eureka Press.
If a work has been accepted for publication but is not yet published, use ‘in press’ in place of
year (as per the full citation, shown below the in text example).
(Glasson, in press) OR Glasson (in press) reported …
Glasson, M. (in press). Obama's triumph. Boston, MA: Minter.
No page numbers (APA)
If citing a source with no page numbers (such as some online material), give the paragraph
numbers if these are visible (preceded by ‘para.’), or if no paragraph numbers are visible, give
the heading and the number of the paragraph number following (as counted by you).
(Jones, 2004, para. 4) OR Jones (2004, para. 4) …
(Smith, 1997, Conclusion, para. 3) OR Smith (1997, Conclusion, para. 3) …
Quotations (APA)
If using a direct quotation, enclose the quotation in double quotation marks and add the page
reference after the closing quotation mark (with or without author as relevant).
The description of Rice as "a marketer's dream" (Ling, 2008, p. 324) caused controversy.
Ling (2008) described Rice as "a marketer's dream" (p. 324), which caused controversy.
For block quotations (quotations set off from the rest of the text as a separate paragraph),
add the page reference in parentheses after the concluding punctuation mark of the block
quotation. If the author and year are not included in the paragraph that introduces the block
quotation (unlike the example below), give these with the page reference. Note: Do not
enclose block quotations in quotation marks.
The tension between the different concepts of models and their implications in discourse and
action is similar to one suggested by Kuhn (1970):
The proponents of competing paradigms are always at least slightly at crosspurposes. Neither side will grant all the non-empirical assumptions that the
other needs in order to make its case. They are bound partly to talk through each
other. The theoretical models and suggestions, and particularly pictorial modelsin this thesis are, thus, simplifying approximations put up for further
consideration and refinement. (p. 148)
Indirect (secondary) source (APA)
If citing material taken from another (secondary) source, mention the original work but give an
in text citation (and full citation, shown below the in text example) for the secondary source
only. The original source is not cited as a source because it was not consulted directly.
Introduce the secondary source by 'as cited in' or 'as quoted in' (for a quotation), as relevant.
When Higgins admitted that he made a "mistake of considerable proportion" (as quoted in
Seacombe, 2001, p. 47), few people were surprised.
Seacombe, N. J. (2001). Judgement. Melbourne, Australia: Liberty.
APA list of references
How to present an APA reference list
Example of an APA reference list
How to present an APA reference list
The APA list of references should contain a full citation for each recoverable source cited in the
text. Do not add entries for sources that you think are relevant but have not used. The list of
references should be formatted and arranged as follows:
Start the list on a new page at the end of your work, under the centred heading
'References'.
Use double line spacing and a hanging indent (0.75 cm or 4–5 spaces).
Arrange entries alphabetically by surname of author, or by title if source has no author
(ignoring any 'A', 'An', 'The', etc. that begins the title).
List multiple works from the same author by year of publication, earliest first (see second
and third entries).
List multiple works from the same author with the same year of publication alphabetically
by title and add a lower case letter (‘a’, ’b’, ‘c’, etc.) to the year to differentiate (see last
two entries).
If a DOI or URL needs to be broken across a line, break after a slash. Do not add a full
stop to the end of a citation that ends with a DOI or URL.
Example of an APA reference listPrev Other sections in this chapter Next
Chapter 5. Citing sources Chapter 7. MLA citation style
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