APA Style: The Reference List
Association, 6th ed., available in the library (call number:
BF 76.7 P83 2010).
The following examples show how to document print
and electronic sources for a research paper using the
American Psychological Association (APA) citation style.
Using this style, a source is briefly cited within the text of
a research paper using the author’s family name and the
year of publication. This is known as an in-text citation or
a parenthetical citation. A detailed list of all in-text
citations is provided at the end of the research paper on
a separate page with the word References centered at
the top of the page. This is the reference list. All entries
in the reference list are double spaced. Details on how to
construct a reference list begin on page 180 of the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological
The following examples are intended as a guide only. For
further clarification, please consult the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th
ed., and/or the APA Style Guide to Electronic References,
6th ed. For help on how to format citations within the
text of your paper, consult the library's handout, "APA
Style: Citing References in Text." Some instructors may
have different requirements for citing. Always check with
your instructor for clarification.
Print Sources
Note: Numbers in brackets refer to page and section numbers in the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association, 6th ed., where you will find further explanation or examples.
Book by one author [p. 184, sec. 6.27]
Note: As a general rule, APA requires the name of the city spelled out, followed by the state abbreviation when referring
to publisher locations inside the United States. For locations outside the U.S., APA suggests including both the city and
country names spelled out. Check with your instructor for guidelines on how to format state, province, territory, and
country names in citations [pp. 186-187, sec. 6.30].
Burns, D. D. (1999). Feeling good: The new mood therapy. New York, NY: Avon Books.
Coady, L. (2013). Hellgoing: Stories. Toronto, Canada: House of Anansi Press.
Book by two to seven authors [p. 184, sec. 6.27]
Note: Use the ampersand (&) before the last author.
Hahn, M. E., & MacLean, M. S. (1955). Counseling psychology (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Book by eight (or more) authors (list the first six, followed by three ellipsis points, then the last author) [p. 184, sec.6.27]
Able, F., Baldwin, B., Calder, D., Dangerfield, R., Ernest, H., Fogwell, V., … Zacharius, J. (2005). The lifecycle of the
fruitfly. Boston, MA: Bartleby Books.
Book with no author [p. 184, sec. 6.27]
Oxford atlas of the world (17th ed.). (2010). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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Edited book [p. 184, sec. 6.27]
Moreman, C. M. (Ed.). (2008). Teaching death and dying. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Article or chapter in an edited book [p. 184, sec. 6.27]
Katz, J. J. (1973). The realm of meaning. In G. A. Miller (Ed.), Communication, language, and
Meaning: Psychological perspectives (pp. 36-48). New York, NY: Basic Books.
Untitled book review [pp. 208-209, sec. 7.06]
Ryan, M. (2013, November). [Review of the book Old books, new technologies: The representation, conservation,
and transformation of books since 1700, by D. McKitterick]. College & Research Libraries, 74, 621-622.
Titled book review [pp. 208-209, sec. 7.06]
Plunkett, A. (2013, October 21). Scribble, scribble: The literary critic as fan [Review of the book Belmont poems, by
S. Bart]. The New Republic, 244(17), 70-74.
Entry in an encyclopedia [pp. 202-203, sec. 7.02]
Alcock, J. E. (2001). Gambler’s fallacy. In W. E. Craighead & C. B. Nemeroff (Eds.), The Corsini encyclopedia
of psychology and behavioral science (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 617-618). New York, NY: Wiley.
Entry in an encyclopedia with no author [pp. 202-203, sec. 7.02]
Global warming. (2010). In The new encyclopaedia Britanica: Macropaedia (15th ed., Vol. 20, pp. 131-132N). Chicago:
Encyclopaedia Britanica.
Entry in a dictionary [pp. 202-203, sec. 7.02]
Enculturation. (2004). In C. Soanes & A. Stevenson (Eds.), Concise Oxford English dictionary (11th ed., p. 470). Oxford,
England: Oxford University Press.
Journal article with DOI [pp. 198-199, sec. 7.01] 1, 4
Dilworth, K. M., Mortensen, J. K., Ebert, S., Tosdal, R. M., Smith, M. T., & Roberts, P. (2007). Cretaceous
reduced granitoids in the Goodpaster Mining District, east central Alaska. Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences, 44, 1347-1373. doi:10.1139/E07-014
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Journal article without DOI (when DOI is not available) [pp. 198-199, sec. 7.01] 4
Bernstein, S. (1999). A time-saving technique for the treatment of simple phobias. American Journal of
Psychotherapy, 53, 501-512.
Magazine article [p. 200, sec. 7.01] 4
Gatehouse, J. (2002, May 27). The new solitudes. Maclean’s, 115(21), 20-25.
Daily newspaper article [p. 200, sec. 7.01]
Switzer, M. (2002, May 23). Savages, heretics and the search for truth. Ottawa Citizen, p. A17.
Paper presentation or Poster session [pp. 206-207, sec. 7.04]
Malthus, T. (2012, January). The invasive green crab. Poster session presented at the meeting of the Invasive
Species Institute, Chicago, IL.
Electronic Sources
Note: Numbers in brackets refer to page numbers in the APA Style Guide to Electronic References, 6th ed., where
you will find further explanation or examples.
Journal article with DOI [pp. 11-12] 1, 4
Note: The DOI in the first example is formatted as a URL. Use the format that appears in the source you are citing (p. 5).
Garner, B. R., & Hunter, B. D. (2013). Examining the temporal relationship between psychological climate, work
attitude, and staff turnover. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 44, 193-200. http://dx.doi.org
/10.1016/j.sat:2012.05.002
Wetherington, C. L. (2007). Sex-gender differences in drug abuse: A shift in the burden of proof? Experimental
and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 15, 411-417. doi:10.1037/1064-1297.15.5.411
Journal article without DOI (when DOI is not available) [pp. 11-12] 2, 4
Yusuff, K., & Awotunde, M. (2005). The frequency of drug history documentation in an institutionalized
tertiary care setting in Nigeria. Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 8, 141-146. Retrieved
from https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/JPPS/
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Magazine article [pp. 11-14]1,2,4
Graves, D. (2013, August/September). Women of valour. Canada’s History, 93(4), 20-25. Retrieved from
http://canadashistory.ca
Wilson, T. D., & Bar-Anan, Y. (2008, August 22). The unseen mind. Science, 321, 1046-1047. doi:
10.1126/science.1163029
Newspaper article [pp. 11-14]
Maki, A. (2012, December 25). Canada faces uphill battle to replicate 2010 medal count. The Globe and Mail.
Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com
Electronic book from an online library [p. 17]
Ford, J. (1999). Social class and the comprehensive school. Retrieved from http://lib.myilibrary.com
Electronic book with a DOI [p. 15]1
Nawrotzki, K., & Dougherty, J. (Eds.). (2013). Writing history in the digital age. http://dx.doi.org
/10.3998/dh.12230987.0001.001
Chapter in a book or entry in a reference book [p. 16]1
Jordon, J. V. (2013). Relational resilience in girls. In S. Goldstein & R. B. Brooks (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in
children (2nd ed., pp. 73-86). doi: 10.1007/978-1-4614-3661-4_5
Government reports [pp. 19-20]
Beckstead, D., Brown, W. M., & Newbold, K. B. (2008). Cities and growth: In situ versus migratory human
capital growth (Canadian Economy in Transition Research Paper Series Catalogue No. 11-622-M,
no. 019). Retrieved from Statistics Canada website: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-622-m
/11-622-m2008019-eng.pdf
Corporate report from a database [pp. 19- 20]
Canadian Tire. (2011). Annual report: Life in Canada for 90 years. Retrieved from SEDAR website:
http://www.sedar.com
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Corporate report from a company website [pp. 19-20]
Canadian Tire. (2011). Annual report: Life in Canada for 90 years. Retrieved from http://corp.canadiantire.ca
/EN/Investors/FinancialReports/Annual%20Reports%20Library/CTC_AR_2011.pdf
Thesis from an institutional database [pp. 22-23]
Nickerson, S. (2001). Patterns of use in an urban natural park setting (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from
http://library2.smu.ca/handle/01/22463#.UrSTw3_dDii
Webpage (no author) [pp. 31-32; p. 3, Table 1]
‘Men buy, women shop’: The sexes have different priorities when walking down the aisles [Podcast transcript].
(2007, November 28). Retrieved from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/men-buy-women
-shop-the-sexes-have-different-priorities-when-walking-down-the-aisles/
Note: When citing an entire website and not a specific document on the website, there is no need to cite the website in
the reference list. Include the address to the website in the text instead, for example:
Many organizations are using Facebook to connect with their members (http://www.facebook.com).
Webpage (no date) [pp. 31-32; p.3, Table 1]
McBride, G. (n.d.). Sailing ship rigs. Retrieved from http://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/research/sailing-ship
-rigs
Webpage (no author, no date) [pp. 31-32; p.3, Table 1]
Titanic in Nova Scotia [Brochure]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://titanic.gov.ns.ca/Halifax-Titanic-Locations
-Brochure.pdf
Wikipedia entry [p. 19] 3
Psychiatry. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 30, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatry
Blog post [p. 33]
Lee, C. (2013, April 18). Punctuation junction: Question marks and quotation marks [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2013/04/punctuation-junction-question-marks-and-quotation-marks.html
Note: If citing a blog comment use [Blog comment] to describe the format.
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Twitter update or Tweet [p. 33]
Hawking, S. [StephenHawking]. (2008, April 5). Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change [Tweet]. Retrieved
from https://twitter.com/StephenHawking/status/783558251
Note: Include the user’s real name, if known, in the author position, followed by the screen name in brackets. If only the
screen name is known, provide it without brackets.
Audio podcast [p. 27]
Hicks, C., & Kelly, A. (Producers). (2013, January 30). Planetary boundaries: The limits of the earth [Audio podcast].
Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com
Streaming Video (e.g., YouTube video) [pp. 26 & 28]
Kinchlow, C. [magick724]. (2011, October 25). The real history behind the Salem witch trials [Video file]. Retrieved
from http://youtu.be/fB1OWwFTZ8U
Note: The person who posts the video is credited as the author. Include the author’s real name and user name if both are
known, placing the real name first followed by the user name in brackets. If the author’s real name is not available, include
only the username, without brackets.
Recorded interview [pp. 25-26]
Hill, J. M. (2013, February 26). Growing up in the Church of Scientology: Jenna Miscavige Hill (A. M. Tremonti,
Interviewer) [Audio file]. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2013/02/26/growing
-up-in-the-church-of-scientology-jenna-miscavige-hill/
Note: The name of the person being interviewed goes in the author position.
Photograph [p. 27]
Mills, C. (1999). Sambro lighthouse in 1999 [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.nslps.com
Map [p. 27]
Halifax Regional Municipality Geographic Information Systems and Services (Cartographer). (2012). Downtown
Halifax [Map]. Retrieved from http://www.halifax.ca/giss/documents/downtown_halifax.pdf
PowerPoint slides [p. 31]
Liebmann, M. (2013). Restorative justice: A practice whose time has come [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
Quakers in Criminal Justice website: http://www.qicj.org/Pages/Conference2013.aspx
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Note: When PowerPoint slides are available only from the instructor or via course management software such as
Blackboard, cite the PowerPoint as a personal communication in the text only. See Personal Communications below.
Personal Communications (including personal interviews, email messages, and class handouts) [pp.30-31]
As a general rule, personal communications such as email messages or notes taken during a class lecture are not
retrievable by other researchers and therefore, are not included in the reference list. Cite personal communications in the
text of the paper only. Include the name of the communicator and the date. For example:
During a lecture, Professor D. Forrest discussed … (personal communication, March 11, 2014).
In a telephone interview with the association’s president … (H. Klein, personal communication, November 15,
2012).
Statistics Canada Products
APA does not provide examples on how to cite Canadian statistical data. Please refer to Statistics Canada’s guide How to
Cite Statistics Canada Products available on the Statistics Canada website: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/12-591-x/12
-591-x2009001-eng.htm
Additional Notes:
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A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is an alphanumeric code that provides a persistent link to documents
available on the Internet and in print. Include the DOI when available.
When no DOI is available, include the URL of the journal’s homepage (not a library’s or database’s
homepage). If necessary, break the URL before punctuation marks; do not add a period at the end of the
URL.
Only include the retrieval date if the material is likely to change over time, e.g., Wikis.
Citations for material with continuous pagination do not require issue numbers. Include both volume and
issue numbers only when the journal is paginated separately by issue.
Patrick Power Library, March 2014
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