Using APA Citation

Proper citation of research sources is an integral part of all academic and scientific writing. The APA citation style is one of the top reference citation styles used in the United States. As such, it is important for students, writers, and other professionals to understand the requirements of APA citation guidelines. APA style specifically focuses on the bibliographic citation formats, leaving referencing style up to the writer. The APA style guide does cite Harvard parenthetical referencing as the preferred referencing style over the use of footnote or endnote referencing.

General Rules for APA Citations

The APA style guide identifies several rules in the preparation of reference lists or bibliographies:

• Arrange bibliographic entries in alphabetical order based on the author’s last name or, if the name is unavailable, alphabetically by title with the same list.
• Author names are written with full last names and initials for each author.
• Capitalize only the first word and any proper names that are in the title or subtitle of the work.
• Writers should use the ampersand when listing multiple authors instead of the word “and.”
• Abbreviated page designations should be used for periodicals with no volume numbers (such as newspapers), encyclopedia location of articles, and for specific chapters or sections from edited books.
• Bibliographic entries are presented in “hanging indent” format, meaning the first line is flush with the left margin, but subsequent lines in each entry are indented (1/4 to ½ inch is acceptable normally, representing 4 to 7 characters).
• Instead of using underlining for titles of books, journals and magazines, it is appropriate to use italics. Unlike other citation methods, quotation marks are not used around article or chapter names, nor are they italicized.

Citation of Books, Book Essays, or Book Chapters

The citation of entire books under APA citation follows the general pattern of author-date-title-location-publisher and would appear as follows:
Wyldstar, T. (2009). The Future of Man. Thornton, Colorado: Wyldstar Activist Publishing.

For two authors, the entry would appear as:
Wyldstar, T. & Van Winkle, B. (2009). Disabilities and you. Thornton, Colorado: Wyldstar Activist Publishing
Additional information on edition number would go in parentheses after the book name, if applicable. There are two particularly notable exceptions to this. In the case of an edited or composite book with multiple or unknown authors, the names of the editor(s) are listed in place of the author and the notation “(Ed.)” or “(Eds.)” is placed between the names and the publication date. The second exception is the case of a publishing organization claiming authorship (as in governmental publications or think tank reports), the organization name is entered in place of the author and the word “Author” is put where the name of the publisher is normally listed.

Also, when referencing specific articles or passages in an edited book, additional information is required and a different layout is used. In these cases the pattern is author-date-article-editor(s)-title (pages)-location-publisher and appears like this:
Author, J. (2009). The importance of light rail in public transportation. In T. Wyldstar (Ed.), Perspectives on Social Policies (pp. 117-188). Thornton, Colorado: Wyldstar Activist Publishing.
Notice that the name of the article is not italicized and no quotation marks are used, as per the previously stated APA rule. These rules also apply to encyclopedia sources and governmental or technical/research reports, though the governmental publication number or working paper ID will take the place of volume information.

Internet Accessed Resources

When governmental or technical/research reports are accessed over the Internet, the only real difference in citation is the addition of the retrieval date and source URL after the publisher’s information. The format for this additional information is simple:
Retrieved Jan 1, 2009, from http://www.nosuchdomain.org/articles/ID007.html.
This URL information is also added when the resource is a website, web page, or journal/news article accessed via the Internet, otherwise all Internet resources except databases are treated like any other document.

With the increasing prevalence of Internet-based databases, it is important to mention references to them as well. These references come in one of two styles:

• A DOI address – Typically used for articles based on a print source or as an Internet-only article will typically have a DOI number in place of the HTML URL. A typical format might be “doi:12.9983/x.jama.2010.09.027” and replaces the “retrieved” entry in its entirety.
• A database source reference in place of the HTML URL such as “Academic Resources database.”

An interesting note is made regarding the citing of blog entries. When citing blogs, the exact date of the blog entry is noted in the date, followed by the entry title and then the “Retrieved from” URL. No further information is needed for these resources.

Referencing Periodicals

Referencing periodicals of almost every type follows the sequence of author(s)-date-title-periodical-volume(number)-page(s). Exception is made when there is no author listed. In such case, the title is placed first, followed by the date and then the other information. An important note is, in the case of publications stating an exact publication day, season, or time period, the additional date information is included in the date notation.

Multimedia Productions

Citing multimedia productions is, with little doubt, the most difficult and confusing of all citations, unless you understand the basic rules. When dealing with motion pictures, videos and television productions, credit should be noted for the key producer(s), the director, and the writer(s). Additionally, the media involved is noted in brackets after the name of the production. The name of the production is italicized, just as with books or the name of publications. The location of the production can be more vague in the case of documentaries or movies, citing the country of production instead of the city. In the case of a multi-episode series the episode identification goes after the date without italicization and the series name is added after the media type notation. Audio and speech materials are done in a similar manner, but the artist alone is listed.

Final Comments

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