This page will explain how to cite sources on an APA Style References page. This list will focus on the most common kinds of sources.  Use the examples below to learn how to format the citation for each kind of source.  Remember that reference page citations should be double spaced, with a hanging indent, and each citation in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.

Scholarly Journal Articles (also called Academic or Peer Reviewed Journal Articles)

Journal article citations begin with author last name, followed by first initial, then the year of publication, article title, journal title, volume and issue number, pages and DOI URL number if there is one.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Name of the Journal, volume(issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxx

Ingelsrud, L. H., Terluin, B., Gromov, K., Price, A., Beard, D., & Troelsen, A. (2021). Which Oxford knee score represents a satisfactory symptom state.  Acta Orthopaedica, 92(1), 85–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/17453674.2020.1832304

 

Books/eBooks

Books are simple to cite.  Citations begins with author last name and first initial, book title in italics, and lastly the name of the publisher.  This format is the same for books or eBooks.

Author, B. B. (Copyright Year). Title of the book. Publisher

Dorsey, B & Newman, G. (2018). Lost, Texas : Photographs of forgotten buildings.

Texas A&M University Press.

 

Website article with an author and a date of publication

It’s always best to find websites with the author name and date of publication if you can.  Here is an example of one.

Neuman, S. (2021, April 27). Oil spill reported off China coast after tanker, bulk carrier collide. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2021/04/27/991144729/oil-spill-reported-off-china-coast-after-tanker-bulk- carrier-collide
 

Government & Organization Websites

Government & Organization Websites will not usually list an author for their webpages.  In this case, you will cite the organization itself as the author.  This is known as group authorship.  The idea is the group who created the article is considered the author, not any one person.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). CDC recommendations for the amount of time persons with influenza-like illness should be away from others.  http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/exclusion.htm
 

Website article with no date

Many websites will not include important information like the date of publication.  The citation for these will say (n.d.) to signify no date.

Smith, A. (n.d.) Human trafficking. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/humantrafficking
 

Website article with no author and no date

It’s always best to find web sources that include and author and date but sometimes this information will be missing, in this case use this format.

The Great Recession and it’s aftermath. (n.d.). Federal Reserve History. https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/great-recession-and-its-aftermath. 

 

Textbooks

How you cite a textbook will be vary depending on if it has an author or an editor.

Here is how to cite a textbook with an author.  This also shows how to cite a textbook with more than one edition.

Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association.

Here is an example of citing a textbook that has an editor instead of an author.

Kesharwani, P. (Ed.). (2020). Nanotechnology based approaches for tuberculosis treatment. Academic Press.
 
Encyclopedia  with no author or editor
 
Most online encyclopedias will not include an author or editor so this example covers this.
 
Title of entry. (Year of Publication). Name of encyclopedia or dictionary. Retrieved from website address

Sasquatch. (2015). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from

https://academic-eb-com.databases.pennhighlands.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Sasquatch/65832

 

YouTube

Citing YouTube videos begins with the name of the person or group who uploaded the video, then the date it was uploaded, followed by the title in italics, [Video] in brackets, the label YouTube, and finally the URL.

Harvard University. (2019, August 28). Soft robotic gripper for jellyfish [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRoWTYfxMs

 

Citing Images

Here is how to cite some common types of images on a References page.  The rules vary depending on the kind of image.

Works of Art – Works of art require a few extra details.  You must include the art form in brackets, [sculpture], for example, along with the name of the museum that houses the work and its location.

Vermeer, J. (1665).  Girl with a pearl earring [Painting]. Mauritshuis Museum, Netherlands.

          https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-collection/artworks/670-girl- with-a-pearl-earring/

Images with no known author, date, or title – if the title isn’t known you create a short description instead.  Then use (n.d.) to signify no date followed by the link.

Wind turbines [photograph]. (n.d.) https://www.cnn.com/alternativeenergyuses

Citing Dictionary or Encyclopedia Entries

These citations will begin with the name of the publisher or organization that creates the dictionary.  Use (n.d.) if no date is present on the article.  Next is the title, name of the dictionary or encyclopedia, followed by the url.  You can include a retrieval date if there is no publication date.

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Just-world hypothesis. In APA dictionary of psychology. Retrieved January 4, 2020, from

            https://dictionary.apa.org/just-world-hypothesis 

Citing AI Generated Information

Only use AI for coursework if your professor has given permission.  Because AI does not have an author, we will start the citation with the company that makes the AI tool followed by the year.  Next, you’ll include the name of the AI tool, the version, the type of AI tool (most will be large language model), and then a link to the IA homepage.  Here is an example,

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Citing AI tools is a new and complicated area, so contact the Library with questions.  The APA website has more details on citing AI here.

For more details on how to cite sources for an APA Style References page consult the APA Style website, the APA Manual book in the Library collection, or contact [email protected]