APA Referencing Guide

APA Citations Overview

While the majority of the formatting is highly similar to the Harvard Style, there are some crucial differences in APA style. The American Psychological Association (APA) citation style is widely used in the social sciences, behavioural sciences, education, and business. This guide follows the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual, released in 2020.

There are two types of citation in APA referencing: in-text citations, which are found in the main body of the work and contain a fraction of the full bibliographical information, and reference lists, which are located at the end of the main work and list full information for all sources mentioned within the work.

In-Text Citations in APA

You can cite a source directly (quoting verbatim) or indirectly (citing ideas without quoting).

In APA, in-text citations follow similar rules to Harvard, with one key difference: for sources with three or more authors, the reference section should list each author, but for each in-text citation, only the first author is displayed followed by et al.

• One author: Dern (2023)
• Two authors: Dern and Geller (2023)
• Three or more authors: Dern et al. (2023)

In the main body of the text, authors' names should be joined with the word 'and'. However, within parentheses, an ampersand (&) should be used:

1. Books

Books with One or Two Authors

Books with Three or More Authors

Only the first author's name appears in-text followed by 'et al.' However, all authors are listed in the reference list in the order they are credited in the original work.

Chapter in an Edited Book

When citing a single chapter in a larger book, include the page range (pp.) that the chapter spans and the edition of the book.

Multiple Books by the Same Author

2. Articles

Print Journals

The same rule applies regarding number of authors as with books. For three or more authors, only the first author appears in-text followed by 'et al.' All authors are listed in the reference list.

Eight or More Authors

For articles with eight or more authors, list the first six authors, then an ellipsis (...), then the final author.

Journal Articles Accessed Online

Wherever possible, supply the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). If no DOI is available, cite the URL.

Newspaper and Magazine Articles

3. Online Sources

Websites

If no date is available, use 'n.d.' instead of the year. If no individual author, credit the organisation or website name.

Social Media

Provide a retrieval date if the content is likely to change dramatically (e.g., a live feed).

4. Images and Visual Mediums

Films and DVDs

YouTube Videos

Broadcasts

Images and Photographs

Podcasts

5. Other Source Types

Reports

Dissertations

Government Publications

Presentations and Lectures

Music Recordings

Dictionaries