C I T A T I O N G U I D E

APA Style

I N T R O D U C T I O N

American Psychological Association (APA) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social and behavioral sciences. When using APA format, briefly identify sources you used in the text of your paper, and then provide complete reference data to the sources in a list of “References” at the end of the paper.

For additional information and examples, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. (available at the Reference Desk on Level 3 of the Main Library), via the APA website <http://www.apastyle.org>, or Ask a Librarian.

I N - T E X T C I T A T I O N S

Generally, an in-text citation includes the author’s last name, date of publication, and page number of the information used.

Short QuotationsIf you are directly quoting from a work, include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference. For example:

According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199). OR

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199). OR

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," but she did not offer an explanation as to why (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Long QuotationsPlace long direct quotations in a block. Omit quotation marks. For example:

Jones's (1998) study found the following: Students often had difficulty using APA style,

especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

Summary or ParaphraseIf you are summarizing or paraphrasing an idea from another work, make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference. It is optional to include the page number. For example:

According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners. OR

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

R E F E R E N C E S

The list of “References” provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve each source you used in the research and preparation of your paper.

BOOKS (APA 7.02)

Last, F. M. (Year Published). Title of book. Location: Publisher.

[A Book by One Author]Shotton, M. A. (1989). Computer addiction? A study of

computer dependency. London, England: Taylor & Francis.

[A Book by Two Authors]Comley, N. R., & Scholes, R. (1994). Hemingway's

gender: Rereading the Hemingway text. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

[A Book by Three to Seven Authors]Gilman, S. L., King, H., Porter, R., Rousseau, G. S.,

& Showalter, E. (1993). Hysteria beyond Freud. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

[An Edited Book]Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997).

Consequences of growing up poor. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

[A Book Chapter]Bromwich, D. (1996). Literature and theory. In W.

V. Harris (Ed.), Beyond Poststructuralism: The speculations of theory and the experience of reading (pp. 203-233). University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.

[An eBook]Eckel, B. (n.d.). Thinking in java (3rd ed.). Retrieved

from http://www.bruceeckel.com

Note: Capitalize only the first letter of a book title, the first letter of a subtitle, and any proper nouns. Omit Publishers, Co., and Inc. in the name of the publisher, but retain the words Books and Press. Use “n.d.” if no publication date is given.

Hong Kong Baptist University Library1 2

AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA (APA 7.07)

[A Television Program]

Last, F. M. (Producer). (Date of broadcast). Title of broadcast [Television broadcast]. City of origin: Studio or distributor.

Important, I. M. (Producer). (1990, November 1). The nightly news hour [Television broadcast]. New York, NY: Central Broadcasting Service.

[A Motion Picture]

Last, F. M. (Producer), & Last, F. M. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio or distributor.

Smith, J. D. (Producer), & Smithee, A. F. (Director). (2001). Really big disaster movie [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.

[A Music Recording] If different from song writer

Songwriter (Copyright year). Title of song [Recorded by artist]. On Title of album [Medium of recording]. Location: Label.

Taupin, B. (1975). Someone saved my life tonight [Recorded by E. John]. On Captain fantastic and the brown dirt cowboy [CD]. London, England: Big Pig Music Limited.

ELECTRONIC SOURCES (APA 6.31 - 6.32)

Last, F. M. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved from URL

[Web Page]Sea Turtle Restoration Project. (2009). Sea turtles in

Copenhagen? Retrieved December 29, 2009, from http://www.seaturtles.org/article.php?id=1495

[Online Video]We s t , K . ( 2 0 0 9 ) . A m a z i n g [ O n l i n e V i d e o ] .

R o c - A - F e l l a R e c o r d s . R e t r i e v e d f r o m http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at4OQvNlxSw

[Online Lecture Notes]Hallam, A. Duality in consumer theory [PDF document].

Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site: http://www.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ501/Hallam/index.html

Roberts, K. F. (1998). Federal regulations of chemicals in the environment [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://siri.uvm.edu/ppt/40hrenv/index.html

PERIODICAL ARTICLES (APA 7.01 and 6.31-6.32)

The examples listed below include both print and online periodical articles. When citing an online article with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), include the DOI at the end of the citation. When DOI is used in the citation, it is not necessary to include URL. In cases when an article does not have a DOI, provide the home page URL of the journal/magazine publisher.

[A Magazine Article]

Last, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Magazine, Volume(Issue), Page(s). DOI

If any If any

Borowitz, A. (2004, November 15). Pavlov's brother. New Yorker, 80(35), 63-66.

Pinker, S. (2009, November/December). Extra credit. Psychology Today, 42(6), 39-40. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/

[A Scholarly Journal Article]

Last, F. M., & Last, F. M. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Pages(s). DOI

If any

Hughes, J. C., Brestan, E. V., & Valle, L. A. (2004). Problem-solving interactions between mothers and children. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 26(1), 1-16.

McGovern, T. V., & Miller, S. L. (2008). Integrating teacher behaviors with character strengths a n d v i r t u e s f o r f a c u l t y d e v e l o p m e n t . Teaching of Psychology, 35(4), 278-285. doi: 10.1080/00986280802374609

Note: Capitalize all major words in magazine or journal titles.

[A Newspaper Article]

Last, F. M. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, Page(s).

Broder, J. M. (2009, December 9). Climate deal likely to bear big price tag. New York Times, p. A1.

Brown, P. L. (1999, September 5). Tiffany glass and other tales from the crypt. New York Times, pp. 1, 5. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

Note: Precede page numbers for newspaper articles with “p.” or “pp.” If an article begins on page B1, continues on B3, and runs on to pages B5-B7, give all page numbers, e.g., pp. B1, B3, B5-B7.

3 4

For further assistance, please visit the Information Desk or call 3411-7363 (Main Library), 3411-2714 (CML) or 3411-3170 (SMCL).The HKBU Library’s homepage is <http://library.hkbu.edu.hk/>.

REF/LL129/02-13/5000 Last updated: Feb 2013