References
What is the difference between "References" and "Bibliography"?
👉References are a specific list of sources cited within the text of a research paper.
👉Bibliography is a broader list of all sources consulted during the research process, regardless of whether they were cited directly or not.
When writing references in APA style 7th edition, follow the guidelines below:
Formatting:
Start the reference list on a new page after the main body of the paper.
Use the heading "References" centered at the top of the page.
Use a hanging indent for each reference. The first line of each reference should start flush left, and subsequent lines should be indented by 0.5 inches (or one tab space).
Order of References:
Arrange references alphabetically by the last name of the first author.
If a source has no author, use the title (in the reference list and in-text citations) and alphabetize it accordingly.
If multiple works by the same author are cited, arrange them by publication year, with the earliest first.
Reference Entry Format:
The format for each type of source may vary slightly, but the basic elements of an APA reference include:
Author(s): Provide the last name followed by initials.
Publication Date: Include the year of publication in parentheses.
Title of the Work: Italicize the title of books, reports, and journals. Use sentence case (capitalize the first word and any proper nouns). Only capitalize the first word of article titles, book chapters, and web pages.
Source Information: Provide the details of where the source was published, including the publisher, journal title, or URL. Use proper capitalization and italics as appropriate.
Common Examples:
Here are examples of APA reference entries for common source types:
Journal Article:
Author's Last Name, Author's Initials. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Page range. DOI or URL (if available).
Book:
Author Last Name, Author Initials. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.
Website:
Author Last Name, Author Initials. (Year). Title of the web page/document. Site Name. URL
Chapter in an Edited Book:
Author Last Name, Author Initials. (Year). Title of chapter. In Editor Initials. Editor Last Name (Ed.), Title of book (pp. Page range). Publisher.
Report:
AuthorLastName, AuthorInitials. (Year). Title of the report (Report No. xxx). Publisher or Institution.
In-text citations in APA Style
In-text citations in APA style are used to acknowledge the source of information within the body of your research paper. They provide brief references to the full citations listed in the References section. There are different ways to format in-text citations based on the specific circumstances. Here are the main types of in-text citations:
Parenthetical Citation:
This is the most common type of in-text citation. It includes the author's last name and the year of publication, enclosed in parentheses. Place the citation at the end of a sentence before the punctuation mark. For example:
(Smith, 2020)
(Smith & Johnson, 2019)
(Smith et al., 2018)
Narrative Citation:
Narrative citations:
Narrative citations incorporate the author's name into the sentence itself, followed by the year of publication in parentheses. This method is used when the author's name is mentioned in the sentence and does not need to be enclosed in parentheses. For example:
According to Smith (2020),...
Smith and Johnson (2019) found that...
Smith et al. (2018) conducted a study that...
Multiple Authors:
When citing a work with two authors, include both authors' last names and the year, separated by an ampersand (&) in parentheses or use the word "and" in narrative citations. For works with three or more authors, use the first author's last name followed by "et al." and the year. For example:
(Smith & Johnson, 2021)
Smith and Johnson (2021)
(Smith et al., 2021)
Direct Quotations:
For direct quotations, include the author's name, year, and page number(s) in parentheses. Use the abbreviation "p." for a single page or "pp." for multiple pages. For example:
(Smith, 2020, p. 25)
According to Smith (2020), "quote" (p. 25).
Group or Corporate Authors:
If the author is a group or organization, use the full name of the group or a recognizable abbreviation as the author in the in-text citation. For example:
(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2020)
NIMH (2020) stated that...
No Author:
When a source does not have an author, use the title of the work in the in-text citation. Italicize the title if it is a standalone work (e.g., a book or report), or use quotation marks for titles of articles, chapters, or web pages. For example:
("Title of Article," 2020)
("Title of Book," 2020)
Free citation generator online:
[Back]