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A Guide to Referencing Using

APA Style

Based on the 6th

Edition of the Publication Manual of

the American Psychological Association

Updated September 2012

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Contents

Section 1: Aspects of referencing

What is referencing? 3

Why do we reference? 3

What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography? 3

How do I present referred material in my essay? 4

How do I cite authors in my essay? 4

How do I use quotations? 4

What rules apply if there is more than one author? 5

What information is needed to create a reference list? 5

How do I reference books and journal articles? 6

Is an editor cited in the same way as an author? 6

What if I want to reference an author that someone else has cited? 7

How do I distinguish between two items by the same author in the same year? 7

What do I do if publication details are not given? 8

Where can I find further information on referencing? 8

Section 2: Formats for referencing printed material

Details of how to reference various printed materials including government

publications, acts of parliament, newspaper articles and conference proceedings

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Section 3: Formats for referencing electronic information

Details of how to reference electronic information such as internet sites, DVDs,

television programmes and electronic journals.

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What is referencing?

Academic writing involves using the literature and information that you read to justify

and support the answers you give in your essays and assignments. Referencing is a

method of acknowledging those ideas, theories and research which have directly

contributed to your work. The APA Style, which is detailed in this handout, is a

standardised way of presenting references for published and academic work.

Using the APA Style any sources of information need to be referenced both within

the body of your work, which is known as citing, and also within a reference list at

the end of your assignment.

Further details on APA Style can be found within the Publication Manual of the

American Psychological Association (6th ed).

Why do we reference?

Referencing is an important academic practice and is, therefore, vital for any

academic/published work. The main reasons why you need to reference are:

To support an argument, make a claim or provide „evidence‟.

To acknowledge other people‟s contribution to your work.

To avoid plagiarism – If you don‟t acknowledge the original author, it may look as

though you are presenting their work as your own.

To show evidence of the breadth and depth of your reading.

To allow the reader of your work to locate the cited references easily, and so evaluate your interpretation of those ideas.

To avoid losing marks!!

What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?

A reference list is an alphabetical list of each of the books, journals, websites and

other sources which you have made direct reference to within the body of your work.

A bibliography contains any material you have used for background reading around

your subject which you have not made direct reference to in your assignment.

Most assessed work does not require a bibliography, although this may differ

depending on the assignment in question. In psychology, you will normally have to

use a reference list.

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How do I present referred material in my essay?

There are two ways of presenting material you have read in your essay. These are

Paraphrasing – summarising the material you have read, putting the ideas into

your own words and then stating where the information has come from. This is the

most common way to present your sources.

Quoting – taking samples of the work of others as it appears in the original source

(word for word). Quotes should be used sparingly as your work should not look like

you have simply „copied and pasted‟ other peoples research.

How do I cite authors in my essay?

The author-date method of citation requires that the surname of the author and the

year of publication be inserted into the text at an appropriate place. This can be

done in one of two ways, which are shown in the box below

In example 1, the name of the author appears as part of the narrative so it is only

necessary to cite the year of publication in brackets. The alternative to this is to cite

both the authors name and publication year in brackets, as in example 2.

If two or more authors are cited at the same point in the text then they are included

alphabetically in the same in-text citation, separated by a semicolon e.g. (Brown,

1991; Smith, 2003)

How do I use quotations?

When directly quoting from another source the page number must be given and

double quotation marks placed around the quote as in the example below.

Example 1: Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological samples...

Example 2: Early onset social anxiety disorder results in a more severe

course (Kessler, 2003)

Example 2: Early onset social anxiety disorder results in a more severe course

(Kessler, 2003)

Early onset social anxiety disorder results in a more severe course (Kessler, 2003)

Robbins et al. (2003) suggested that “therapists in dropout cases may have

inadvertently validated parental negativity about the adolescent” (p. 541)

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What rules apply if there is more than one author?

For articles with two authors, the names of both authors should be given in the text

and the reference list as in the example below

If three, four or five authors are named then you should cite all the authors‟ names

the first time the reference occurs in the text. However, in subsequent citations you

should list only the first author followed by et al and the year. For example:

If there are six or more authors, cite only the surname of the first author followed by

et al. and the year for the first and subsequent citations.

What information is needed to create a reference list?

The table below shows what information is necessary to create a reference list.

Please note that not all details will necessarily be applicable to your sources

Type of Information

Book Journal Electronic Information

Name of author

Publication year

Title

Edition number

Volume number

Place of publication

Name of publisher

Name of author

Publication year

Title

Journal name

Volume/issue number

Page numbers

For any information taken from the internet you will need to note the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) if one exists. If not you will need to quote the URL (web address)

Brown and Ryan (2003) found that...

or

Mindfullness also appears to promote wellbeing (Brown & Ryan, 2003).

First citation: Wasserstein, Zapulla, Rosen and Rock (1999) found that …

Subsequent citations: Wasserstein et al. (1999) also found that....

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How do I reference books and journal articles?

The most common sources which you will need to reference are books and journal

articles. Below are some examples of how these references are formatted in the

APA style. Formats for other sources can be found in section 2 and 3 of this

handout.

Books:

Journals

Is an editor cited in the same way as an author?

Yes, but make sure that it is an editor that you are citing not the writer of one of the

chapters. In the reference list use the abbreviation (Ed) or (Eds) to indicate

editorship e.g.

Some edited books will have a number of authors, each writing different chapters on

different topics. To refer to a specific author‟s ideas from a particular chapter you

should cite or quote the name of the chapter author in your work, then in your

reference list reference the book that the information was taken from, as in the

example below.

Smith, L. (Ed.). (1987). Statistics for psychologists. London: Helman.

Piaget, J. (1970). The stages of the intellectual development of the child. In P.H.

Mussen, J.J. Congor & J. Kagan (Eds.), Readings in child development and

personality (pp. 291-302). New York: Harper & Row.

Author (s) Year Title (in italics)

Mack, C. (2005). Looking at the Renaissance: Essays toward a conceptual appreciation. London, UK: Taylor & Francis.

Place of Publication Publisher

Authors Year Title

Petermann, J., Trus, P., Niess, C., & Gotzen, L. (1999). A modified Pivot-Shift test for diagnosis confirmation in anterior cruciate ligament rupture. The Knee, 6(2), 131-136.

Page numbers Journal name (in italics) Journal no. Issue no.

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What if I want to reference an author who someone else has cited?

A journal article or book someone else cites that you have not seen yourself is called

a ‘primary source’. If you wish to use a primary source within your work you

should...

1. Attempt to find the original article yourself and cite it in the normal way.

Remember it is vital that you are evaluating sources for yourself rather than

simply borrowing the arguments of others. Taking details about a study

„second hand‟ could also lead to inaccuracies in your work.

2. If the information is vital to your work and you cannot gain an original copy

then you can still cite the article although you should make reference to the

fact that you have taken the information from a secondary source (Example1).

In the reference list only give details of the source you have read (Example 2)

How do I distinguish between two items by the same author in the

same year?

Occasionally authors publish two or more books or journal articles in any given year.

This would make the text citation identical for both. To distinguish between different

articles, letters (a, b, c etc.) are used with the date in the text e.g.

In the reference list the articles should be ordered alphabetically, unless they are

part of a series in which case they should appear in series order.

Example 1: ... a change in family circumstances can affect a child‟s emotional

stability (Pollock, 1995, as cited in Jones, 1996, p.10.)

Example 2: Jones, P. (1996). A family affair. London: Butterworth.

Johnson (1991a) has progressed both experimental and practical aspects of

software technology to the point where they provide a serious challenge to Pacific

Belt dominance (Johnson, 1991b)…

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What do I do if publication details are not given?

Occasionally sources will lack basic publication information. In these cases you must

let the reader know that this information is missing by using one of the abbreviations

below.

Author not given Use [Anonymous]

No date Use [n.d.]

No place (sine loco) Use [s.l.]

No publisher (sine nomine) Use [s.n.]

Not known Use [n.k.]

Where can I find further information on referencing?

Further details on referencing and academic style can be found in the Publication

Manual of the APA and on the APA Style website at www.apastyle.org

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

The following guide also provides useful information regarding referencing:

Curtin University of Technology, Library and Information Service. (2010) APA

referencing. Retrieved June 8, 2010, from http://library.curtin.edu.au/study-and-

research-tools/referencing.cfm

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Section 2: Formats for referencing printed material

Source In text example Reference list example

Corporate

author

According to guidance from the Royal College of

Nursing (1993)....

Royal College of Nursing. (1983). Guidance on the handling of patients in

the hospital and community. London: Author.

No author (Employment the Professional Way, 2000) Employment the professional way: A guide to understanding the Australian job search process for professionally qualified migrants. (2000). Carlton, Vic: Australian Multicultural Foundation.

Government

Publications

(Department of Health and Social Services, 1980) Department of Health and Social Services. (1980). Inequalities in health:

report of a research working group. London: Author.

Conference

proceedings

Published: (Webb 1993)

Unpublished: (Lanktree & Briere, 1991)

Webb, N. L. (1993). Mathematics education reform in California. In R. Clark

(Ed.), Science and Mathematics Education in the United States: Eight

innovations: Proceedings of a conference, (pp. 29-40). Paris: OECD.

Lanktree, C. & Briere, J. (1991, January). Early data on the Trauma

Symptom Checklist for Children (TSC-C). Paper presented at the

meeting of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of

Children, San Diego, CA.

Newspapers Known author: Peters (2003)

No author: („Ingenuity and Hardwork‟, 2009)

Peters, R. (1992, June 23). Picking up Maxwell‟s bills. Independent, p. 28.

Ingenuity and hard work - 20 years of internet in Australia. (2009, November 26). Sydney Morning Herald, p. 35.

Legislation

Law report/Case: Holgate v Duke (1984)

Holgate v. Duke, 2 All ER 660 (1984).

Give the abbreviated name of the law report and the page number on

which it starts

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Legislation Act of Parliament: The Mental Health Systems

Act (1988)

Mental Health Systems Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9401 (1988)

Legislation would usually only be required in a reference list if it is

important to the understanding of the work. If required you would

normally put the name of the act, the source and section number of the

statute and the publication date of the statutory compilation.

Patents European Patent No. GB2322334 (1998) Bryant, S. J. (1998). European Patent No. GB2322334. Munich, Germany: European Patent Office.

Unpublished

Material

Lawler (1987) Lawler, C. (1987). Childhood vaccinations. Unpublished manuscript, Brunel

University, London.

If the unpublished work is not associated with a particular university

then this information can be omitted.

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Section 3: Formats for referencing electronic material

Source In text example Reference list example

Document

taken from

the internet

Beckleheimer (1994) Beckleheimer, J. (1994). How to cite URLs in a bibliography? Retrieved

December 13, 1995, from

http://www.nrlssc.navy.mil/meta/bibliography.html

It is important that you give the date on which you accessed the material as websites are subject to change

Image from

the internet

(Autumn Ivy, 2007) Autumn ivy [Image]. (2007). Retrieved July 8, 2010 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtinuniversitylibrary/1440410713/

TV Program Miller (1989) Miller, R. (Producer). (1989). The mind [Television series]. New York: WNET.

The name of the director can also be used in place of the producer. A single programme is called a television broadcast. The broadcast date should be specified for a single programme

DVD and

video

recordings

American Psychological Association (2000) American Psychological Association. (Producer). (2000). Responding therapeutically to patient expressions of sexual attraction [DVD]. Washington, DC: Author.

Online

Journal

Article

VandenBos, Knapp and Doe (2001) 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

If available you should include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) instead of

the URL. The DOI is a unique number which distinguishes a document on

the internet from all others published electronically.

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