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Tarrant County College Libraries

HOW TO DOCUMENT SOURCES IN APA STYLE

This guide provides information regarding frequently cited sources using the American

Psychological Association (APA) citation style. For those not included here, please consult the

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition. Refer to Chapters 6

and 7 Crediting Sources and Reference Examples in APA Style for examples. The instructor for

your class is the final authority on how to format your reference list.

PREPARING THE REFERENCE LIST

The reference list provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any

source you cite in the body of your paper. It should appear at the end of your paper and begin on a

new page separate from the text of the paper under the label References (with no quotation

marks, underlining, etc.), centered at the top of the page.

Double-space all reference entries. Indent all lines after the first line of each entry. Alphabetize

your reference list by the authors’ last names. If you have more than one work by the same

author, arrange them by publication date, oldest to newest. If no author is given for a particular

source, alphabetize by the “first significant word” of the title of the work.

BASIC RULES

Example (book citation)

Hacker, A. (2016). The math myth: And other STEM delusions. New York: The

New Press.

Author: Invert the author’s name. Begin with the last name, followed by comma, then first

and middle initials (if any). Examples: Hacker, A. (no middle name) or Clark, L.A. When listing multiple authors, separate the names of authors with commas and use “&”

instead of “and” before the last author. Example: Calfee, R.C., & Valencia, R. R. See

Chapter 6.27 of the Publication Manual for additional criteria and examples.

Date: Enclose the publication date in parentheses. Close with a period. Example: (2016).

Title: Italicize the title. For a book, capitalize only the first words of the title and subtitle (if

any) and proper nouns. Close with a period. Example: The math myth: And other STEM delusions. For a magazine, journal, or newspaper, capitalize all major words in

the title. Examples: U.S. News & World Report; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology; The Washington Post.

Publisher’s Location (for books): Always list the city. Include the U.S. Post Office

abbreviation for the state if the city is not well known for publishing. Omit state

abbreviations for these cities: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York,

Philadelphia, & San Francisco. Place a colon after the location. Example: St. Paul, MN:

Publisher (for books): Use the full name of the publisher, but omit Co., Inc., Publishers

and other words not required to identify the publisher. Retain Books and Press. Example:

The New Press.

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BOOKS

General Format

Author, A. A. (year of publication). Book title. Publisher’s Location: Publisher.

One Author

Gardner, J. (2016). Computer Science. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest.

One Editor or Compiler as only author

Constantakis, S. (Ed.). (2016). World of Forensic Science (2nd ed.). Farmington

Hills, MI: Gale Cengage Learning.

Two Authors

Faulkner, S. L., & Squillante, S. (2016). Writing the personal: Getting your stories

onto the page. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Three to Seven Authors

If a book has three, four, five, six, or seven authors, list all authors’ names.

Hewson, C., Vogel, C. M., & Laurent, D. (2016). Internet research methods (2nd

ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.

More than Seven Authors

If a book has eight or more authors, list the first six authors, then insert three ellipses and add the last

author’s name.

Browder, D., Spooner, F., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., Al Otaiba, S., Allor, J., Bethune,

K.S., …Wood, C.L. (2014). More language arts, math, and science for

students with severe disabilities. Newburyport, MA: Brookes Publishing.

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Edited Book

Butterfield, A., & Ngondi, G.E. (Eds.). (2016). A dictionary of computer science (7th

ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

No Author or Editor

If a book has no author or editor, place the title first and publication year after the title.

Webster’s Spanish-English dictionary for students. (2010). Springfield, MA:

Federal Street Press.

Book with an Author and an Editor

Twain, M. (2014). Mark Twain on potholes and politics: Letters to the editor. G.

Scharnhorst (Ed.). Columbia, MO: University of Missouri.

Edition Other Than the First

Place the edition information in parenthesis after the title of the book. For numbered editions, use the

abbreviation for the ordinal number that applies (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.), then add “ed.” For a revised edition,

use the abbreviations “Rev. ed.”

Hewson, C., Vogel, C. M., & Laurent, D. (2016). Internet research methods (2nd

ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.

Spangenburg, R., Moser, D., & Otfinoski, S. (2012). African Americans in

science, math, and invention (Rev. ed.). New York: Facts on File.

Chapter from a Book / Items in an Anthology

Include chapter author, date of publication, chapter title, book editor(s), book title, chapter page numbers,

place of publication, and the name of the publisher.

Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Radical Behaviorism. In J. Brockman (Ed.), This idea

must die (pp. 204-207). New York: Harper Perennial.

Encyclopedia Article

Edwards Aquifer. (2011). In A. E. Gates & R. P. Blauvelt (Eds.), Encyclopedia of

Pollution (Vol. 1, pp. 203-206). New York: Facts on File.

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Group or Corporate Author (author is same as publisher)

American Diabetes Association. (2015). The Diabetes dictionary: What every

person with Diabetes needs to know. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Government Agency as Author

U.S. Census Bureau. (2006). Statistical abstract of the United States (125th ed.).

U.S. Government Printing Office.

PERIODICALS

(Magazines, Journals, and newspapers)

General Format

Author, A. A. (date of publication). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume

number, pages.

Date of publication: Enclose the date of publication in parentheses. Include only the year

of publication for journals. Example: (2016). Give the year followed by the exact date of

publication (month OR month and date) for magazines, newsletters, and newspapers.

Examples: (2016, June); (2016, June 28).

Title of article: Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle (if any) and proper

nouns. Do not italicize or place quotation marks around it. Example: The lonesome death of Mikhail Lesin.

Title of periodical: Italicize the title of the periodical. Capitalize the major words in the

title. Example: Psychology Today; American Journal of Occupational Therapy.

Volume number: Give the volume number of journals, magazines, and newsletters.

Italicize the volume number. For journals only, include issue number (in parentheses) if the

journal begins on page 1 for each issue. Do not use “Vol.” before the number.

Pages: - Only use the abbreviation “p.” before page numbers for newspapers. Use “p.” for one

page and “pp.” for more than one page. Examples: p. A1 and pp. A1, A6.

- For journal and magazine articles, just include the page numbers with no abbreviation.

Example: 50-55.

- Give the page numbers for the entire article rather than just the first page. For articles on

consecutive pages, provide the range of pages at the end of the citation. Example: 204-232. When an article appears on discontinuous pages, give all page numbers. Example:

13-19, 22.

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Magazine Article

Grossman, L. (2016, March 28). Inside Apple’s code war: The world’s most

powerful tech company is fighting the FBI on terrorism. Time, 187, 42-49.

Magazine Article (no author listed)

If no author, begin with the title of the article. Put the date of publication after the title of the article.

More investment in NASA aeronautics is essential. (2016). Aviation Week &

Space Technology, 178, 82.

Journal Article

If each issue of the journal begins on page 1, include the issue number in parentheses after the volume

number. See examples below.

Snyder, P. J., Bhasin, S., Cunningham, G. R., Matsumoto, A. M., Stephens-

Shields, A. J., Cauley, J. A., Gill, T. M., …Ellenberg, S. (2016). Effects of

Testosterone treatment in older men. New England Journal of Medicine,

374, 611-624.

Struckmeyer, L. R., & Pickens, N. D. (2016). Home modifications for people with

Alzheimer’s Disease: A scoping review. American Journal of Occupational

Therapy, 70(1), 1-9.

Newspaper Article

If an article is not on consecutive pages, include all page numbers separated with a comma.

Hampson, R. (2016, May 23). Baby boomers reclaim the political stage. USA

Today, pp. 1A-2A.

Ortiz, J. L. (2016, May 23). Lester’s 2014 decision pays off twice: Cubs get star,

but Giants adjust well. USA Today, pp. 1C, 5C.

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ELECTRONIC SOURCES

General Formats

Article from a Library Database

Author, A. A. (date of publication). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume

number, pages. DOI or Retrieved from URL of original source.

Online Source (not from a TCC database)

Author, A. A. (date of publication). Title of source. Retrieved from http://URL

Because the Internet is constantly changing, it is important that you give the uniform resource

locator (URL) or web address of the Internet source and the date you accessed it. Provide as

much identifying information as possible. The APA Publication Manual recommends

including “the same elements, in the same order, as you would for a reference to a [print]

source, and add as much electronic retrieval information as needed for others to locate the

sources you cited” (p. 187). For some websites, you may only have a title and an address or

DOI* to cite.

Author(s): Begin with the last name and initials of the author(s) if available. If not

available, begin with the title.

Date of publication: If a date is available, enclose it in parentheses. Express the date as

a year, a year and a month, or a year, month, and date depending on the information

available from the website. Examples: (2016); (2016, May); (2016, May 13).

Title of work: Capitalize the first word of the title of the source. If the source is an

article from an online periodical, the title of the periodical (italicized) and the volume

number (if available) follow the title of the source. Capitalize each important word in the

title of the periodical. Example: School nurse improves the health of her students through dance. People.

Pages: Include page numbers if available. More often than not, this will NOT be

available for websites and online articles.

Retrieval Information: Include the URL of a website or the DOI* of the article. Avoid

dividing the URL at the end of a line. If absolutely necessary, divide it after a slash (/) or

before a period. See pp. 190-192 of the Publication Manual for exceptions. Example:

Retrieved from http://library.tccd.edu

DOI: Provide the DOI (digital object identifier) if one has been assigned by the

publisher. When the DOI is provided, no further retrieval information is needed to

identify or locate the article. Include the alphanumeric string for the DOI exactly as

published in the article. This is not a style issue, but a retrieval issue. If no DOI has been

assigned, include the homepage URL of the journal, book, or report publisher. Consult

pp. 187-192 of the Publication Manual for additional information regarding the DOI

system.

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ARTICLES AND BOOKS FROM LIBRARY ELECTRONIC DATABASES

Magazine Article

Gumbs, A. (2016, March). Better with age. Black Enterprise, 46, 62-63. Retrieved

from http://blackenterprise.com/magazine/

Journal Article

Nienstadt, A. (2016). The insufficiency of the law surrounding food allergies. Pace

Law Review, 36, 595-623. Retrieved from http://www.law.pace.edu/

OR

Jones, C. J., Llewellyn, C. D., Frew, A. J., Du Toit, G., Mukhopadhyay, S., & Smith,

H. (2015). Factors associated with good adherence to self-care behaviours

amongst adolescents with food allergy. Pediatric Allergy & Immunology,

26(2), 111-118. doi: 10.1111/pai.12333

Newspaper Article

Levey, N. N. (2016, March 31). Unhealthy state’s quiet healthcare revolution:

Arkansas undertakes one of the nation’s boldest efforts to cut costs and

boost care. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com

Reference Book Chapter

Cohen, M. (2016). Virtual reality. In M. R. Bonk (Ed.), Mathematics (2nd ed., Vol.

4, pp. 148-153). Retrieved from http://www.cengage.com

Electronic Book

Rawal, P. H. (2016). The Affordable Care Act: Examining the facts. Retrieved from

http://www.abc-clio.com

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ARTICLES FROM ONLINE PERIODICALS (NOT FROM TCC DATABASES)

Online Newspaper Article

Schwartz, J. (2016, March 19). Environmental activists take to local protests for

global results. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

Online Magazine Article

Graham, D. A. (2015, October 8). Political polling’s unfavorables are on the rise.

The Atlantic. Retrieved from

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/

10/gallup-poll-2016-presidential-primary-fivethirtyeight/409531/

Online Journal Article with DOI

Torres, B. Y., Oliveira, J. H. M., Tate, A. T., Rath, R. Cumnock, K., & Schneider,

D.S. (2016). Tracking resilience to infections by mapping disease space.

PLOS Biology, 14(4), 1-19. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002436

Online Journal Article without DOI

Abhari, L. G., Esmaeili, M. H., & Benanaj, M. (2015). Effects of Metformin intra-

ventricular injection on learning and spatial memory in streptozotocin rat

model of Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Shahid Sadoughi University of

Medical Sciences, 23(1), 1764-1775. Retrieved from http://jssu.ssu.ac.ir/

U. S. Government Agency Publication

U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2016, April). Library services for those

with disabilities: Additional steps needed to ease access to services and

modernize technology (Publication No. GAO-16-355). Retrieved from

http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/676309.pdf

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OTHER ONLINE DOCUMENTS

Document Available on University Program or Department Site

Garanin, D. A. (2015). Classical mechanics: Problems with solutions. Retrieved

from http://www.lehman.edu/faculty/dgaranin/Mechanics/Mechanics-

problems_with_solutions.pdf

Document from a Website (with author and date)

Ratcliff, C. (2016, February 25). Say goodbye to Google: 14 alternative search

engines. Retrieved from https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/02/25/say-

goodbye-to-google-14-alternative-search-engines/

Document from a Website (with no author or date)

Begin with the title of the document if there is no author. Include the format of the document in brackets

only when the source is not an ordinary article or book chapter. Use (n.d.) when the date is missing.

Psychology of stress and health [Lecture notes]. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.alleydog.com/101notes/stress&health.html#.V0Szf_krKUk

Visual Images, Artwork, and Photographs

As with any other source cited in APA style, the optimal citation provides just enough information to help

the reader locate the source. This includes the creator’s name, creation year, title, and URL.

General Format

Creator, A. A. (date). Title of work [Format]. Retrieved from http://web address

Bosworth, B. (2003). Common yellowthroat [Photograph]. Retrieved from

http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/birds/artists/bosworth/bosworth_y

ellowthroat.cfm

Email

In APA style, email messages are not included in the reference list because they are personal

communications and cannot be retrieved by a third party. They should, however, be cited in the

text of the paper. See Personal Communications in the References in Text section of this

document.

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AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA

Formats vary for citing audiovisual media. Consult pp. 209-210 of the Publication Manual, 6th

edition, for additional examples.

Motion Picture, Videotape, CD, or DVD

Berlinck, B (Producer), & Daldry, S. (Director). (2014). Trash [Motion Picture].

London, United Kingdom: Working Title Films.

Duplass, M., & Duplass, J. (Executive producers), & Baker, S. (Writer & Director).

(2015). Tangerine [DVD]. New York, NY: Magnolia Home Entertainment.

Radio or Television Program (single episode)

Lund, A. (Writer & Director). (2015). Are we here for a reason? [Television series

episode]. In R. Collins (Executive producer), Through the Wormhole with

Morgan Freeman. Santa Monica, CA: Revelations Entertainment.

Podcast

Chung, A. (Senior Supervising Producer). (2016, May 20). Mike Rowe and NASA

scientists: Dirty jobs in Spaaace! [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from

http://www.npr.org/programs/ask-me-another/

Wheaton, W. (Creator & Host). (2015, June 18). Tabletop: Kingdom Builder with

Paul Scheer, Tara Platt, and Yuri Lowenthal [Video podcast]. Retrieved from

http://geekandsundry.com/tabletop-kingdom-builder/

Online Video File

Dunning, B. (Producer). (2015, August 29). inFact: Did Jewish slaves build the

pyramids? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/1LNScgneyWo

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REFERENCES IN TEXT

References in the text of your paper briefly identify sources and enable readers to locate the

complete entry in the reference list. Always provide the author’s last name and the date of

publication, enclosed in parentheses. Example: (Smith, 2016)

Direct Quotation

Place the author’s name, year, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation or introduce the

quotation with the author’s last name and year of publication in parentheses. Always give page numbers

for direct quotations at the end of the quotation and use the “p.” or “pp.” abbreviations.

Karen Carson’s Innocence drawings are “based on a narrative trope that we may best imagine in Disney animation” (Hickey, 2016, p. 109).

OR

Hickey (2016) contends that Karen Carson’s Innocence drawings are “based on a narrative trope that we may best imagine in Disney animation” (p. 109).

Summary or Paraphrase

Include the author’s last name and the year either at the beginning of a summary (or a paraphrase) or in

parentheses following it. Page numbers are not required when summarizing or paraphrasing, but may be

included to help readers locate the passage in a long work.

When looking at applicant experience, Rivera (2015) concluded that resume screeners placed higher value on previous work experience came from a corporate or office-based environment (pp. 107-109).

OR

Resume screeners are more likely to advance applicants with previous corporate work experience above those with other types of job experience (Rivera, 2015, pp. 107-109).

Two or More Authors

Name both authors each time you cite a work with two authors. Use “and” between authors’ names in the

text. Use “&” in the parentheses. See pp. 175-177 of the Publication Manual for instructions and

exceptions for in-text citation when the work has three or more authors.

Lewis and Leitch (2015) state that research in dopamine response levels has led to the idea that overeating may be as potentially addictive as drug use and gambling (pp. 114-115).

OR

Research in dopamine response levels indicates that overeating may be as potentially addictive as drug use and gambling (Lewis & Leitch, 2015, pp. 114-115).

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Personal communication (e-mail, interviews, letters, and telephone conversations, etc.)

Do not include personal communication in the reference list. In the text only, provide initials and surname

of the communicator and an exact date of the communication if possible. Some forms of personal

communication are recoverable by others, and these should be referenced as archival materials. See pp.

212-214 of the Publication Manual for specific instructions regarding archived documents.

One of Atkinson’s colleagues has contended that advertisers for snack foods will need to design ads responsibly for their younger viewers (F. Johnson, personal communication, October 20, 2004).

An Online Document

When possible, cite an online document as you would any other document using the author-date style.

Lee (2013) clearly states that Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ messages may be cited as personal communications.

Online Document (no author listed)

When there is no author listed, inlcude the title of the document in a signal phrase or give the first word or

two of the title in parentheses.

The body’s basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is a measure of the energy needed to maintain respiration, temperature, and digestion (“BMR,” 2016).

Online Document (no date listed)

When the date is unknown, use the abbreviation “n. d.” meaning “no date.”

Attempts to establish a definitive link between television programming and children’s eating habits have been problematic (Magnus, n. d.).

Online Document (no page numbers)

Include the information that will help readers locate the particular passage cited. If the document has

numbered paragraphs, use the paragraph numbers with the abbreviation “para.” Example: (Hall, 2015, para. 5). If neither a page nor a paragraph number is given and the document contains

headings, provide the appropriate heading and paragraph to help the reader locate the cited

information.

Battler (2015) points out that Adderall and Ritalin are often misused by high-school students “to intentionally spur one of the most common side effects: weight loss” (ADHD Medication section, para. 3).

Online PDF Documents

Electronic files using portable document format (PDF) often have stable page numbers. For such sources,

provide the page number in the parenthetical citation.

Adapted (2009) from Honolulu Community College Library APA Handout

Updated June 2016 by the Tarrant County College T&L Committee