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APA Citation Style

Articles - Generic

In-Text Citation

(AuthorLastname, Year)

(AuthorLastname, Year, p. #)

(AuthorLastname, Year, para. #) (when referencing an article without page numbers)

(AuthorLastname, Year, "Shortened heading") (referencing an article without page or paragraph numbers, using a shortened heading)

Reference List

Print

AuthorLastname, F. I. (Date). Article title. Publication Title, Vol, pages.

DOI (preferred for electronic sources)

AuthorLastname, F. I. (Date). Article title. Publication Title, Vol, pages. DOI

Publication Homepage (Item Retrieved from Database, subscription or pay-per-view)

AuthorLastname, F. I. (Date). Article title. Publication Title, Vol, pages. Retrieved from homepage url

Freely Available Online/Open Access (Include link to the actual article on a web page)

AuthorLastname, F. I. (Date). Article title. Publication Title, Vol, pages. Retrieved from open access url

Articles in Journals, Magazines and Newspapers

Journal or Magazine Article (7.01, pp. 198-202)

In-Text Citation

(Graham, 2006)

(Graham, 2006, p. 157) (when referencing a specific page)

(Hunt, 2004, para. 3) (when referencing an article without page numbers)

(Gruenwald, 2009, "Phytic Acid Contributes to") (referencing an article without page or paragraph numbers, using a shortened heading)

 

Reference List

Print:

Graham, S. (2006). Impossible to hold: Women and culture in the 1960s. Journal of American Studies, 40, 156-159.

Electronic:

Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients: The best course of action. Health Psychology, 24, 225-229. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

     Including the DOI is the preferred way of citing electronic journal articles.



If you find an article in one of the Mount Library's database and it has no DOI, the APA style prefers the link to the publication homepage, even if it is behind a paywall.  You may have to Google the journal to find its homepage url. For example:

Journal Article:

Ledger, W., Wiebinga, C., Anderson, P., Irwin, D., Holman, A., & Lloyd, A. (2009). Costs and outcomes associated with IVF using recombinant FSH. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 19(3), 337-342. Retrieved from http://www.rbmonline.com/

Magazine Article:

George, L. (2008, November 20). A midwife crisis. Maclean's, 121(47), 62-64. Retrieved from http://www.macleans.ca

Journal Article that is freely available online. Include link to the actual article:

Hunt, R. (2010). From text to talk: Supporting the oral with the written. Teaching Perspectives, 13, 2-4. Retrieved from http://www.stthomasu.ca/~hunt/texttalk.htm


Comments

  • It is rare that an issue number is included. It is used only if the journal is paginated separately by issue.
  • If there is no DOI assigned, give the URL of the journal’s home page in place of the DOI. You may need to do a web search to locate the journal's website address if you found the article in a library database (e.g. Academic Search Premier, ScienceDirect).

Newspaper Article (6.27-6.32, pp. 184-192; 7.01, p. 200)

In-Text Citation

(Hilts, 1999)

(Hilts, 1999, para. 2) (when referencing specific page)

No Author

("All four pillars", 2004)

("All four pillars", 2004, p. C4) (when referencing a specific page)

Reference List

Print

Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4.

Journal Homepage (Item retrieved from database, subscription or pay-per-view)

Hilts, P. J. (1999, February 16). In forecasting their emotions, most people flunk out. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

No Author

All four pillars needed to combat drug scourge. (2004, May 15). The Vancouver Sun, p. C6.

Comments

  • If an article appears on discontinuous pages, give all page numbers and separate the numbers with a comma. (e.g., pp. B1, B3, B5-B7). Use “pp.” for multiple pages, “p.” for a single page.
  • To cite a "letter to the editor", include the text [Letter to the editor] in square brackets, right after the title of the letter and before the title of the newspaper. There is no period after the title of the letter.

Multiple Authors

Journal Article – Multiple Authors

In-Text Citation (6.11-6.12 p. 174-175)

One Author

(Gutman, 1999)

(Gutman, 1999, p. 62) (when referencing specific page)

Two Authors

(Hock, & Price, 2004)

(Hock, & Price, 2004, p. 138) (when referencing a specific page)

Three-Five Authors

(Sharp, Peters, & Howard, 2002) (first use)

(Sharp et al., 2002) (subsequent use)

(Sharp, Peters, & Howard, 2002, p.76) (first use when referencing a specific page)

(Sharp et al., 2002, p.76) (subsequent use when referencing a specific page)

Six or More Authors

(Ambrose, S. A. et al., 2010)

(Ambrose, S. A. et al., 2010, p. 26) (when referencing a specific page)

Reference List (7.01 p. 198)

One-Seven Authors
  • If there are seven authors or fewer, spell out all authors’ names in the reference list. Include an ampersand (&) before final name.

AuthorOne, F. I., AuthorTwo, F. I., AuthorThree, F. I., AuthorFour, F. I., AuthorFive, F. I., & AuthorSix, F. I. (2004). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Vol#, pp-pp. doi: xxx.xxxxxx.xxxx

Eight or More Authors
  • For eight or more authors, list the first six authors, add an ellipsis (...), then list the final author:

AuthorOne, F. I., AuthorTwo, F. I., AuthorThree, F. I., AuthorFour, F. I., AuthorFive, F. I., AuthorSix, F. I., ... AuthorLast, F. I. (2004). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Vol#, pp-pp. doi: xxx.xxxxxx.xxxx

Conference Papers

In-Text Citation

(Iyengar & DeVoe, 2003)

(Iyengar & DeVoe, 2003, p. 3418)

Reference List

Proceeding Published in Journal Form

Shennan, S. (2008). Canoes and cultural evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 3416-3420. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0800666105

Proceeding Published in Book Form

Iyengar, S. S., & DeVoe, S. E. (2003). Rethinking the value of choice: Considering cultural mediators of intrinsic motivation. In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Vol. 49. Cross-cultural differences in perspectives in the self (pp. 129-174). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

ERIC Document

In-Text Citation

(Brewster & Railsback, 2002)

(Brewster & Railsback, 2002, p. 34)

Reference List

  • A number of examples exist for citing ERIC documents in a reference list. These are two versions:
Including ERIC accession number (when found in ERIC Database)

Brewster, C., & Railsback, J. (2002). Full-day kindergarten: Exploring an option for extended learning. Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED472733)

Including URL of ERIC website

Brewster, C., & Railsback, J. (2002). Full-day kindergarten: Exploring an option for extended learning. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED472733

About Pagination

Continuous Pagination vs. Non-Continuous Pagination

There are two ways to number the pages of a journal:

  1. restart the page numbers each volume (Continuous)
  2. restart the page numbers each issue (Non-continuous)

Image of two journals with different pagination styles

Continuous pagination: each issue in a volume continues numbering the pages from the previous issue.

Non-continuous pagination: each issue in a volume restarts numbering the pages from page 1

  • In non-continuous pagination there are repeating page numbers within a single volume
  • Therefore the volume and issue numbers are required to know on which pages the article is found
    • In the example above for the journal PLoS ONE both the volume and the issue are needed to know which pages 1-19 of volume 9

Pagination and Issue numbers

Publications with Continuous Pagination

Page numbers increase with each issue

Kandel, E. R., & Squire, L. R. (2000, November 10). Neuroscience: Breaking down scientific barriers to the study of brain and mind. Science, 290, pp. 1113-1120.

In this case because each issue of the journal begins on the page after the last page of the previous issue, include only the volume number.

  • Vol 290, Issue 1, pages 1-132
  • Vol 290, Issue 2, pages 133-267
  • Vol 290, Issue 3, pages 286-410

Publications with Non-Continuous Pagination

Each issue begins

Simmons, C., & Becker-Olsen, K. (2006). Achieving marketing objectives through social sponsorships. Journal of Marketing, 70(4), 154-169.

In this case because each issue of the journal begins on page 1, include the journal volume number and issue number.

  • Vol 70, Issue 1, pages 1-119
  • Vol 70, Issue 2, pages 1-143
  • Vol 70, Issue 3, pages 1-121