Bakersfield College

APA Style Guidelines

American Psychological Assn.

(Revised April 2006)

For more examples, see this website:
APA -- Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
APA -- University of Wisconsin

Format Guidelines for Reference List:

Double-space the Reference List.

One space follows a period.

Use a hanging indent format (first line is flush left, all other lines are indented .5 inch).

Arrange the list alphabetically by authors' last names (or by title if no author).

Authors' names are inverted (last name first). Use initials instead of first names.

If no author is listed, list the source by title.

Capitalize only the first word of a title and subtitle of a work.

Italicize titles of books, journals, magazines, etc.

Use quotation marks around the titles of articles in journals, magazines, parts of web pages.

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition) provides extensive examples covering a wide variety of sources. Some of the most commonly cited kinds of sources are included on this page. If your particular source is not listed, check the Publication Manual [Ref BF 76.7 .P83 2001] or consult the APA style website <http://www.apastyle.org>.

Basic Forms for Sources in Print

A periodical article (e.g., a journal, newspaper, or magazine)

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year, add month and

     day of publication for daily, weekly, or monthly publications).

     Title of article. Title of periodical, volume number, pages.

NOTE: List only the volume number if the periodical uses continuous pagination throughout a volume. If each issue begins with page 1, then list the issue number as well. For magazines and newspapers, the issue number is not required.

Examples:

Journal article, one author

Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing

     psychology journal articles. Journal of

     Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55,

     893-896.

Journal article, three to six authors

Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry,

     A., & Harlow, T. (1993). There's more to

     self-esteem than whether it is high or low:

     The importance of stability of self-esteem.

    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,

    65, 1190-1204.

Journal article, more than six authors

Harris, M., Karper, E., Stacks, G., Hoffman, D.,

     DeNiro, R., Cruz, P., et al. (2001) Writing

     labs and the Hollywood connection. Journal of

     Film and Writing, 44(3), 213-245.

Magazine or Newspaper article, one author

Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade

     in today's schools. Time, 135, 28-31.

A periodical article from an online database, such as Thomson Gale, EBSCOhost, or LexisNexis

Note: To cite an article from Thomson Gale, EBSCOhost or LexisNexis, follow the format appropriate to the work retrieved and add a retrieval statement that gives the date of retrieval and the complete name of the database and vendor (see example). No URL is necessary.

Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing

     psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative and

     Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.

     Retrieved October 21, 2001, from Academic

     Search Elite via EBSCOhost.

A book, report, brochure, or audiovisual media

Author, A. A.(Year of publication). Title of work: Capital

     letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.

NOTE: For "Location," you should always use the first city listed, but you should also include the state if the city is unfamiliar or if the city could be confused with one in another state.

Examples:

Book

Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide

     to preparing manuscripts for journal publication.

     Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

A book or article with no author or editor named

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).(1993).

      Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

New drug appears to sharply cut risk of death from heart

      failure. (1993, July 15). The Washington Post, p.

      A12.

NOTE: For parenthetical citations of sources with no author named, use a shortened version of the title instead of an author's name. Use quotation marks and italics as appropriate. For example, parenthetical citations of the two sources above would appear as follows: (Merriam-Webster's, 1993) and ("New Drug," 1993).

An entry in an encyclopedia

Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new

     encyclopedia britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508).

     Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.

Part of a book or an article in a collection

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication).

     Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.),

     Title of book (pages of chapter). Location:

     Publisher.

NOTE: When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references.

Example:

O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender

     role journeys: Metaphor for healing, transition, and

     transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues

     across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York:

     Springer.

Basic Forms for Electronic Sources

A Web Page or Internet Document

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication).

     Title of article. Retrieved month date, year, from

     http://Web address.

NOTE: When an Internet document is more than one Web page, provide a URL that links to the home page or entry page for the document. Also, if there isn't a date available for the document use (n.d.) for no date.

Example:

American Psychological Association (2001). Elder care more

     than 'parenting a parent'. Retrieved November 28,

     2001,from http://helping.apa.org/family/elderly.html

Part of a Web Page

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication).

     Title of article. In Title of book or larger document

    (chapter or section number). Retrieved from

      http://Web address

Example:

The Foundation for a Better World. (2000). Pollution and

      banana cream pie. In Great chefs cook with

      chlorofluorocarbons and carbon monoxide (Chap. 3).

      Retrieved July 13, 2001, from:

      http://www.bamm.com/cream/pollution/bananas.htm

NOTE: Use a section identifier and provide a URL that links directly to the section, not the home page of the Web site.

Article in an Internet-Only Periodical

Author, A. A. & Author, B. B.(Date of publication). Title

     of article. Title of journal, volume number (issue if

     available). Retrieved month day, year, from

     http://Web address.

Example:

Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature

     of human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics,

     8(4).Retrieved February 20, 2001, from:

     http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html

Reformated and modified with permission from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab

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