Basic format for a book or eBook*

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of book: Capital letter for the first word of the subtitle. Publisher Name. DOI or URL

*Use the same formats for both print books and ebooks. For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g., Kindle) is not included in the reference (APA Style Book/EBook References).

Authored book with a DOI

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 

Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd edition). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000

Authored book without a DOI

Everly, G.S., Jr., & Lating, J. M. (2017). The Johns Hopkins guide to psychological first aid. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Basic format for a book chapter

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of chapter: Capital letter for the first word of the subtitle. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book: Capital letter for the first word of the subtitle (Edition, Vol. #, pp. x-xx). Publisher Name. DOI or URL

Book chapter

Barreto, A. R., Campos, M. M., Dias, M. C. M., Friedmann, A., Haddad, L., Kishimoto, T. M., Vitoria, T. (2007). Brazil. In R. S. New & M. Cochran (Eds.), Early childhood education: An international encyclopedia (Vol. 4, pp. 914-970). Praeger.

Work in an anthology

Vicioso, S. (2016). The Caribbean, or the feminine face of multiculturalism. In E. M. Martinez (Ed.), Daring to write: Contemporary narratives by Dominican women (pp. 159-163). University of Georgia Press. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-017-0075-x 

Use this format for webpages, websites, and digital-only sources such as CNN, BBC News, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Mayo Clinic. Do not use this for periodicals, magazines, newspapers, blog posts, and other sources that are available in print and on the web.

Basic format for web sources

Author, A. A. (Date of publication). Title of work: Capital letter for the first word of the subtitle. Title of Website. URL

Do not use copyright or review dates in place of publication dates. If no date of publication or last update is given, use (n.d.).

Webpage on a news website

Shukman, D. (2019, April 2). What does air pollution do to our bodies? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47777103

Webpage on a website with a group author

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). About high blood pressure. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020, April 10). Recreational Therapists. U.S. Department of Labor.  https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/recreational-therapists.htm#tab-1​

Webpage on a website with no author

Tuscan white bean pasta. (2018, February 25). Budgetbytes. https://www.budgetbytes.com/tuscan-white-bean-pasta/

Online dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia entry:

Central Intelligence Agency. (2020, March 19). Central America: Haiti. In The world factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/ the-worldfactbook/geos/aa.html

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Equity. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved November 9, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equity

Basic format for social media posts

Author, A. A. [@username]. (YYYY, Month DD). Insert the first 20 words of the post here [Description of audiovisuals if necessary] [Type of post]. Name of Site. URL

Facebook

Author, A. A. (YYYY, Month DD). Insert the first 20 words of the post here [Description of audiovisuals if necessary]. Facebook. URL

National Institute of Mental Health. (2020, May 7). Today is Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. If you’re concerned about your child’s mental health, where do you begin? Start [Image attached]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/nimhgov/posts/10159664588226978

Instagram

Author, A. A. [@username]. (YYYY, Month DD). Insert the first 20 words of the post here [Description of audiovisuals]. Instagram. URL

Smithsonian Libraries [@silibraries]. (2020, May 14). Alpine Flowers Tales (Alpenblumenmärchen) is a 1922 illustrated storybook that describes the woodland adventures of two acorn children who get [Watercolor illustration]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CALfxZ1A6ck/ 

Twitter

Author, A. A. [@username]. (YYYY, Month DD). Insert the first 20 words of the post here [Description of audiovisuals if necessary] [Tweet]. Twitter. URL

National Geographic [@NatGeo]. (2020, April 12). Harpy eagles—the largest of all the eagles—may look like something from a fantasy book, but in the wild [Thumbnail with link attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/NatGeo/status/1249400149731934208?s=20 

Basic format for visual media

Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (Role of authors). (Date of publication). Title of media: Capitalize the first letter of a subtitle [Description of media]. Publisher/Production Company. URL

Citing an infographic

Creator of Infographic. (date of publication). Title of the infographic: Capitalize the first letter of the subtitle [Infographic]. URL

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Data sharing [Infographic]. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/ data-sharing-infographic.pdf

Citing artwork in a museum or on a museum website

Artist, A. A. (Date of creation). Title of artwork: Capitalize the first word of a subtitle [Description of artwork]. Museum Name, Museum Location. URL

Murakami, T. (2002). If the double helix wakes up... [Painting]. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. https://collections.mfa.org/objects/354616/if-the-double-helix-wakes-up?ctx=14b9a41f-1230-490c-9bf9-3b00357e070e&idx=1

Rostgaard, A. (1967). Cancion Protesta [Song Protest] [Silkscreen]. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/7913

Citing artwork from a database

The following examples were found in various databases, however, note that APA 7 discourages the use of Database names in citations. Additionally, even though the works of art are retrieved from databases, the database states where the images are held. You would cite that as the location instead of the database itself.

Artist, A. A. (Date of creation). Title of artwork: Capitalize the first word of a subtitle [Description of artwork]. Database Name, Database URL (do not use a permalink to the piece of art if it requires the user to log in. If that is the case simply put the URL of the database itself)

Helicobacter pylori bacterium [Photograph]. (n.d.). Science Photo Library, https://www.sciencephoto.com/

Homer, W. (1909). Right & left [Oil on canvas]. The Granger Collection, https://www.granger.com

Miró, J. (1918). Portrait of Juanita Obrador [Oil on canvas]. Art Institute of Chicago, https://www.artic.edu/

Basic format for visual media

Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (Role of authors). (Date of publication). Title of media: Capitalize the first letter of a subtitle [Description of media]. Publisher/Production Company. URL

Citing a webinar or PowerPoint

Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of webinar or PowerPoint: Capitalize the first letter of a subtitle [Webinar/PowerPoint slides]. Publisher. URL

Goldberg, J. F. (2018) Evaluating adverse drug effects [Webinar]. American Psychiatric Association.  https://education.psychiatry.org/Users/ProductDetails.aspx?ActivityID=6172

Jones, J. (2016, March 23). Guided reading: Making the most of it [PowerPoint slides]. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/hellojenjones/guided-reading-making-the-most-of-it

Citing a film or tv series

Producer, A. A. & Producer, B. B. (Producers). (Year). Title of film or series: Capitalize the first letter of a subtitle [Description]. Production Company A; Production Company B. URL.

Jackson, P. (Director). (2001). The lord of the rings: The fellowship of the ring [Film; four-disc special extended ed. on DVD]. WingNut Films; The Saul Zaentz Company.

Ricciardi, L., & Demos, M. (Directors). (2015). Making a murderer [Television series]. Synthesis Films; Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/80000770

Citing an online video (YouTube, Vimeo, etc...)

Uploader, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of work: Capitalize the first word of a subtitle [Description of work]. Publisher. URL

TED. (2011, May 2). Beware online “filter bubbles” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/B8ofWFx525s

University of Oxford. (2018, December 6). How do geckos walk on water? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm1xGfOZJc8

Personal Communication (Interviews, emails, etc...)

Things such as personal emails or interviews lack recoverable data and therefore should be cited in-text only.

Example:

When I interviewed an academic librarian for my career project, I learned that digital literacy is an enormous barrier for many older students when they return to college after being in the workforce (L. Teoli, personal communication, June 14, 2022). 

Secondary Sources

Sometimes an author writes about research that someone else has done, but you are unable to track down the original research report. In this case, because you did not read the original report, cite only the source you did consult. The words “as cited in” in the parenthetical reference indicate you have not read the original research.

Consider the following from (Ward, 2015, p.9):

A further concern is that as collections grow and age, users will find it increasingly difficult to identify and locate relevant material on crowded shelves. "Removing low use materials should increase the user success rate, decrease user frustration in search time and effort, and facilitate stacks maintenance" (Stueart, 1985, p. 53).

You would cite the source that you personally got the information from, but you also need to credit the original source ---even though you did not consult it.

Reference List: Create the appropriate entry for the source you actually read, do not include the original source in your reference list entry.

Ward, S. M. (2015). Rightsizing the academic library collection. ALA Editions. 

In-text citation: Do not include BOTH sources in your in-text citation.

Weeding outdated library materials leads to "decrease[d] user frustration in search time and effort" (Stueart, 1985, as cited in Ward, 2015, p. 9.

What is a DOI?

• DOI stands for Direct Object Identifier
• It is a string of numbers and letters that is unique to a specific piece of content. No two published materials will ever have the same DOI.

Why use a DOI and not a URL or Permalink?

• DOIs will always remain stable whereas URLs have a tendency to change over time.
• If you access an item from a database and use a permalink in your citation people will have to have authentication access for that database in order to retrieve the publication information.
• Anyone who is able to search with a DOI will be taken to an open webpage with the publication information.

How do I find the DOI?

• Most databases will provide the DOI in the detailed record of their materials. 
• If you are looking at a PDF or print version of an article, the DOI will typically be on the first page near the copyright notice.
• DOIs usually appear on articles in any of these formats:
  • https://doi.org/
  • http://dx.doi.org
  • DOI:

What if the DOI isn't on the article or book?

• Most scholarly articles published after the year 2000 have DOIs associated with them. If you cannot find the DOI on the detailed record you can use the Crossref website to locate it.

Click the image or link below to search Crossref.org for a DOI.

For further information on using DOIs in APA Style references:

Here are some other resources that you may find helpful in learning how to appropriately cite materials using the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association​. 

If you need more assistance, please ask a librarian.