Developed by the American Psychological Association (APA), the APA style is widely used in the social science, management, humanities, and natural sciences.
Style and Grammar Guidelines - Reference Examples from the APA offers a handy introduction to citing in APA format. Scroll down to find examples of correct citations for different types of sources.
The APA Style Blog can help you with tough citation questions.
In-text Citation
The in-text component of APA citation includes two main elements: the author's last name and the year of the publication (Ross, 1997), and a third: the page number, whenever quoting directly or paraphrasing a specific section of the text (Ross, 1997, p. 2). For more than one author, list the names in the order they appear in the source (it may not be in alphabetical order).
Reference List
The list of references on your paper's last page is titled "References" and should be arranged in alphabetical order by first authors' last names.
| Type of Entry | Sample |
|---|---|
| Book (physical) | AuthorLastName, Initials. (YYYY). Title of book. Publisher. |
| Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person. Houghton Mifflin. | |
| Book (electronic) | AuthorLastName, initials. (YYYY). Title of book. Publisher. URL |
| Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000 | |
| Journal (physical) | AuthorLastName, A. B., AuthorLastName, C. D., & AuthorLastName, E. F. (YYYY). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume number, page numbers. |
| Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. | |
| Journal (electronic) | AuthorLastName, A. B., AuthorLastName, C. D., & AuthorLastName, E. F. (YYYY). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume number, page numbers. DOI or URL |
| David, M. E., & Roberts, J. A. (2023). Me, myself, and I: Self-centeredness, FOMO, and social media use. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue Canadienne Des Sciences Du Comportement. https://doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000382 | |
| Website | AuthorLastName, Initials. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL |
| Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist. Medium. https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01 |
If date is unknown use: (n.d.)