APA Citation Style

Reference List

References cited in the text of a research paper must appear in a Reference List or bibliography. This list provides the information necessary to identify and retrieve each source.

Order : Entries should be arranged in alphabetical order by authors' last names. Sources without authors are arranged alphabetically by title within the same list.

Authors : Write out the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work. Use an ampersand (&) instead of the word "and" when listing multiple authors of a single work. e.g. Smith, J. D., & Jones, M.

Titles : Capitalize only the first word of a title or subtitle, and any proper names that are part of a title.

Pagination : Use the abbreviation p. or pp. to designate page numbers of articles from periodicals that do not use volume numbers, especially newspapers. These abbreviations are also used to designate pages in encyclopedia articles and chapters from edited books.

Indentation *: The first line of the entry is flush with the left margin, and all subsequent lines are indented (5 to 7 spaces) to form a "hanging indent".

Underlining vs. Italics*: It is appropriate to use italics instead of underlining for titles of books and journals.

Two additional pieces of information should be included for works accessed online.

Internet Address **: A stable Internet addresses should be included and should direct the reader as close as possible to the actually work. If the work has a digital object identifier (DOI), use this. If there is no DOI or similar handle, use a stable URL. If the URL is not stable, as is often the case with online newspapers and some subscription-based databases, use the home page of the site you retrieved the work from.

Date : If the work is a finalized version published and dated, as in the case of a journal article, the date within the main body of the citation is enough. However, if the work is not dated and/or is subject to change, as in the case of an online encyclopedia article, include the date that you retrieved the information.

* The APA has special formatting standards for the use of indentation and italics in manuscripts or papers that will be typeset or submitted for official publication. For more detailed information on these publication standards, refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, or consult with your instructors or editors to determine their style preferences.

** See the APA Style Guide to Electronic References for information on how to format URLs that take up more than one line.

Source: Cornell University Library PSEC Documentation Committee