Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.)
by
American Psychological Association
APA Style provides a foundation for effective scholarly communication because it helps writers present their ideas in a clear, precise, and inclusive manner.
APA Style originated in 1929, when a group of psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers convened and sought to establish a simple set of procedures, or style guidelines, that would codify the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension. They published their guidelines as a seven-page article in Psychological Bulletin describing a “standard of procedure, to which exceptions would doubtless be necessary, but to which reference might be made in cases of doubt” (Bentley et al., 1929, p. 57).
Since then, the scope and length of the Publication Manual have grown in response to the needs of researchers, students, and educators across the social and behavioral sciences, health care, natural sciences, humanities, and more; however, the spirit of the original authors’ intentions remains.
Uniformity and consistency enable readers to (a) focus on the ideas being presented rather than formatting and (b) scan works quickly for key points, findings, and sources.
Style guidelines encourage authors to fully disclose essential information and allow readers to dispense with minor distractions, such as inconsistencies or omissions in punctuation, capitalization, in-text citations, references, and presentation of statistics.
When style works best, ideas flow logically, sources are credited appropriately, and papers are organized predictably and consistently. People are described using language that affirms their worth and dignity. Authors plan for ethical compliance and report critical details of their research protocol to allow readers to evaluate findings and other researchers to potentially replicate the studies. Tables and figures present data in an engaging, consistent manner.
Whether you use APA Style for a single class or throughout your career, we encourage you to recognize the benefits of a conscientious approach to writing.
Although the guidelines span many areas and take time and practice to learn, we hope that they provide a balance of directiveness and flexibility and will eventually become second nature.
APA Style covers the aspects of scholarly writing most pertinent to writing in psychology, nursing, business, communications, engineering, and related fields. It specifically addresses the preparation of draft manuscripts being submitted for publication in a journal and the preparation of student papers being submitted for a course assignment.
The Publication Manual does not cover general rules explained in widely available style books and examples of usage with little relevance to the behavioral and social sciences. Among the most helpful general guides to editorial style are Words Into Type (Skillin & Gay, 1974) and the Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.; University of Chicago Press, 2017).
Style manuals agree more often than they disagree. Where they disagree, the Publication Manual, because it is based on the special requirements of psychology, takes precedence for APA publications.
APA Style promotes consistency in writing, and the APA Style team values the same in developing APA Style guidelines. Consistency of style helps authors learn and apply the guidelines correctly over time. However, to reflect changing standards and new developments in research, writing, publishing, and more, any needed changes or updates to APA Style are documented on the Updates and Additions to APA Style page.
*The information on this page has been borrowed from the APA Style website, and it is cited in the reference list below.
American Psychological Association. (2023, March). About APA style. APA Style.https://apastyle.apa.org/about-apa-style
Bentley, M., Peerenboom, C. A., Hodge, F. W., Passano, E. B., Warren, H. C., & Washburn, M. F. (1929). Instructions in regard to preparation of manuscript. Psychological Bulletin, 26(2), 57–63. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0071487
Skillin, M. E., & Gay, R. M. (1974). Words into type (3rd ed. rev.). Prentice Hall.
University of Chicago Press. (2017). Chicago manual of style (17th ed.).
The information in this guide comes directly from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Style (7th ed.). Instructors may have requirements that differ from this so always be sure to consult each assignment for specific guidelines.
Typical APA style papers have four main sections:
This page of the Citations & Formatting: APA Style guide has further information on how to format APA Style Reports and Student Papers. It also includes sample papers, and templates to use.
There are two components of an APA style citation: the full Reference List entry that goes in the bibliography at the end of your paper and the in-text citation (parenthetical or narrative) that goes in the body of your paper. Both components provide the information necessary for the reader to locate and retrieve the source(s) used to inform a paper. Each cited source in the text of your paper, must also appear in the Reference List.
Complete Citation
Your complete citation should include the name of the author, date of publication, the title of the source, the title of the journal/website, identifying information such as volume, issue, and page numbers, and either a DOI or a URL if available. This gets alphabetized and placed in the References section at the end of your paper.
Example:
Hanauer, N. (2019, July). Education isn't enough. Atlantic, 324(1), 19-22.
In-Text Citation
Your in-text citation contains the last name of the author, the publication year, and page number (for direct quotes only), and is placed in the text of the sentence to which it relates. There are a few ways to do this, parenthetically, narratively, and using a direct quote. Parenthetical citations place the relevant information at the end of your sentence in parentheses, while narrative citations allow for the relevant information to be conveyed in the body of your sentence. As for direct quotes, there are a variety of ways to use them in your paper. APA style prefers that you frame them using your own words rather than simply dropping a quote in as its own sentence. See below for examples of each.
Parenthetical Citation Example:
The percentage of Americans with high-school diplomas has increased from approximately 50% in 1970 to 90% today (Hanauer, 2019).
Narrative Citation Example:
Hanauer (2019) found that the percentage of Americans with high-school diplomas has increased from approximately 50% in 1970 to 90% today.
Direct Quote Example:
One way to increase the quality of public schools is to “pay people enough to afford dignified middle-class lives” (Hanauer, 2019, p. 20).
A type of term paper in which you take a stand on a topic and justify it with evidence --either for or against. Both sides --pro and con-- of the issue are typically discussed.
A technique for properly attributing information to the appropriate author or source.
A prescribed set of stylistic and formatting conventions for citing sources in a consistent manner within a given discipline.
A type of term paper that describes the nature of a topic, allowing you to acquire a deeper knowledge of the subject or issue.
Refers to property created through the use of the mind (i.e. intellect), encompassing a wide variety of original creations, including manuscripts, recordings, artwork, inventions, an designs.
Deliberate stealing of another's ideas or representing such as your own.
A means of incorporating text into your paper using roughly the same amount of words as the original but restating the information without quoting it.
Inadvertent or purposeful stealing of intellectual property by failing to properly acknowledge the owner.
A means of incorporating text into your paper using the exact wording and formatting of the original.
A means of incorporating text into your paper by condensing original source materials to present main ideas in a narrower, more focused way.
Specific questions that you hope to answer through your research that will form the basis for your overall paper.
RQs narrow your purpose statement into the fundamental questions in your overall topic.
A summary in one to two declarative sentences indicating what you hope to achieve through your research.
A type of plagiarism committed accidentally and resulting from such factors as a lack of knowledge of proper source use, a misunderstanding of the rules of citation, or careless note taking.
References
McAdoo M. L. (2015). The student's survival guide to research. Neal-Schuman.
This section contains downloadable handouts and supplemental materials for APA formatting and citation practice.
Use this format for citing periodicals, magazines, newspapers, blog posts, and other sources that are available in print and on the web. Do not use this for webpages, websites, and digital-only sources such as CNN, BBC News, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Mayo Clinic, etc...
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.).
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article: Capital letter for the first word of the subtitle. Title of Periodical, Volume(Issue), page-page. DOI or URL
Schwartz, J., Bind, M.-A., & Koutrakis, P. (2017). Estimating causal effects of local air pollution on daily deaths: Effect of low levels. Environmental Health Perspectives, 125(1), 23–29. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP232
Martin, N. (2019, February 5). New Hampshire’s opioid crisis looms over marijuana legalization debate. The Boston Globe. https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/marijuana/2019/02/05/new-hampshire-opioid-crisis-looms-over-marijuana-legalization-debate/xBoezjtW0FzPbU1oyuS71M/story.html
Sciolino, E. (2020, May). The invention of hiking. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/invention-hiking-1-180974592/
McKenna, N. (2020, April 14). The signaling pathways project: A FAIR portal into the cell signaling ‘omics data universe. PLOS Collections. https://blogs.plos.org/collections/the-signaling-pathways-project/
Use this format for citing physical and digital books including citing individual chapters from books and/or works in anthologies.
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).
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
Everly, G.S., Jr., & Lating, J. M. (2017). The Johns Hopkins guide to psychological first aid. Johns Hopkins University Press.
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
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.
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 citing physical and digital images including citing individual paintings, sculptures, and other forms of art.
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
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
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
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/
Use this format for citing physical and digital videos including videos on platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo.
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
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
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
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
Use this format for citing 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.
Author, A. A. (Date of publication). Title of work: Capital letter for the first word of the subtitle. Title of Website. URL
Example:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, March 20). Handwashing: Clean hands save lives. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/
Note: Include a retrieval date only if the content is likely to change over time (e.g., a wiki or dynamic page).
If there is no individual author, begin with the group author (such as an organization). If there is no date, use (n.d.).
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.).
Shukman, D. (2019, April 2). What does air pollution do to our bodies? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47777103
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
Tuscan white bean pasta. (2018, February 25). Budgetbytes. https://www.budgetbytes.com/tuscan-white-bean-pasta/
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
Your in-text citation contains the last name of the author, the publication year, and page number (for direct quotes only), and is placed in the text of the sentence to which it relates. There are a few ways to do this, parenthetically, narratively, and using a direct quote. Parenthetical citations place the relevant information at the end of your sentence in parentheses, while narrative citations allow for the relevant information to be conveyed in the body of your sentence. As for direct quotes, there are a variety of ways to use them in your paper. APA style prefers that you frame them using your own words rather than simply dropping a quote in as its own sentence. See below for examples of each.
Parenthetical Citation Example:
The percentage of Americans with high-school diplomas has increased from approximately 50% in 1970 to 90% today (Hanauer, 2019).
Narrative Citation Example:
Hanauer (2019) found that the percentage of Americans with high-school diplomas has increased from approximately 50% in 1970 to 90% today.
Direct Quote Example:
One way to increase the quality of public schools is to “pay people enough to afford dignified middle-class lives” (Hanauer, 2019, p. 20).
Citing Multiple Works
When citing two or more sources in the same parentheses, alphabetize the citations, and separate each with a semicolon.
Example: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.; Everly & Lating, 2017; Shukman, 2019)
In-text citations can change based upon the number of authors that a source has. Follow the examples below for creating accurate in-text citations for your references.
Reference List |
Shukman, D. (2019, April 2). What does air pollution do to our bodies?. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47777103 |
||
| In-Text Citation |
Parenthetical (Shukman, 2019) |
Narrative Shukman (2019) |
Direct Quote (Shukman, 2019) |
Reference List |
Everly, G.S., Jr., & Lating, J. M. (2017). The Johns Hopkins guide to psychological first aid. Johns Hopkins University Press. |
||
| In-Text Citation |
Parenthetical (Everly & Lating, 2017) |
Narrative Everly & Lating (2017) |
Direct Quote (Everly & Lating, 2017, p. 86) |
Reference List |
Schwartz, J., Bind, M.-A., & Koutrakis, P. (2017). Estimating causal effects of local air pollution on daily deaths: Effect of low levels. Environmental Health Perspectives, 125(1), 23–29. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP232 |
||
| In-Text Citation |
Parenthetical (Schwartz et al., 2017) |
Narrative Schwartz et al. (2017) |
Direct Quote (Schwartz et al., 2017, p. 24) |
*If there are 21 or more authors, consult section 9.8 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition.
Some sources will not have individual authors, but rather group authors. In these instances, you will still need to cite the item as you would any source with an author. Follow the example below for an accurate in-text citation of a source with a group author.
It is important to note that you should always define the abbreviation for a group author only once in the text. Thereafter, use the abbreviation for all mentions of the group in the text. See sections 8.21 and 9.11 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition for more information.
Reference List |
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 |
||
| First In-Text Citation | Parenthetical (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.) |
Narrative Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (n.d.) |
Direct Quote n/a |
| Subsequent In-Text Citations | Parenthetical (CDC, n.d.) |
Narrative CDC (n.d.) |
Direct Quote n/a |
At times you will come across sources where there is no author listed. If this happens, use a shortened version of the title in your in-text citation. If the title is italicized in the reference entry, italicize it in your in-text citation. If the title is not italicized in the reference entry, place it in quotation marks. See section 8.14 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition for more information.
| Reference List |
Charles Hull. (n.d.). National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/charles-hull Where angels no longer fear to tread. (2008, March 19). The Economist, 386(8572), pp. 89-92. https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2008/03/19/where-angels-no-longer-fear-to-tread |
||
| In-Text Citation | Parenthetical (Charles Hull, n.d.) |
Narrative Charles Hull (n.d.) |
Direct Quote n/a |
There are different ways to format quotes when they are used in your paper. Follow the guidelines below for proper formatting.
Short Quotations (Fewer than 40 words)
Include the quotation in the regular text of your paper. Be sure to use quotation marks and add an in-text citation with a page number (if applicable).
Example:
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.
Block Quotations (40 words or more)
If a quote has 40 or more words, treat it as a block quote. Start the block quote on its own line and indent the entire quote 0.5” from the left margin, be sure that it is also double-spaced, with no extra spaces before or after it. Do not use quotation marks for block quotes.
Use a parenthetical citation after the closing punctuation for the sentence or use the author and year in a narrative introduction before the quote. If you choose to use a narrative introduction, be sure to include the page number of the quote after the final punctuation.
Example 1:
There are a variety of barriers to student success when working on research assignments. An example of these barriers is citation style and formatting. Jones (1998) argues the following based on her experience as an instructor:
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be
attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)
Example 2:
There are a variety of barriers to student success when working on research assignments. An example of these barriers is citation style and formatting. Based on their experiences, some instructors found that:
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help (Jones, 1998, p. 199).
Citations provided by databases and other citation generators are often incorrect. Always be sure to check any pre-generated or copied citations for accuracy.
A hanging indent is the indentation of all lines other than the first within a paragraph. These are typically only used in bibliographies, as they allow for easy differentiation between sources. APA and MLA require the use of hanging indents in reference lists.
APA: For information on hanging indents in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association see section 2.12, "Reference List."
MLA: For information on hanging indents in The MLA Handbook see section 1.6, "Placement of the List of Works Cited."
Footnotes are short numbered notes that are placed at the bottom of the page in an essay or article. They are used for a variety of reasons including citing materials, providing notes on a source or topic, and to acknowledge copyright status.
Although you will find footnotes in many journal articles, they are not typically required in APA or MLA formatted essays.
APA: For information on footnotes in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association see section 2.13.
MLA: For information on footnotes in The MLA Handbook see section 7.
If you need additional assistance with formatting, citations, or research, you can click on the Resources icon in the Canvas navigation menu, or the "Library (LibGuides)" link in the left-hand navigation bar of this Canvas course to chat with the Library Staff.
Additionally, you can visit the complete UCC Library Citations guide for deeper insights into APA style and even templates for your papers. The UCC Library also provides access to NoodleTools, a Citation Management System to help you stay organized and create accurate citations.
Umpqua Community College Library, 1140 Umpqua College Rd., Roseburg, OR 97470, 541-440-4640
Except where otherwise noted, content in these research guides is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.