Citing Print and Electronic Documents

APA Style

This guide is intended as a general introduction to citing sources using the bibliographic style established by the American Psychological Association (APA). For more complete details, see the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ref BF76.7 .P83 2001. Note that the manual includes essential information on manuscript preparation (e.g., margins, use of the passive voice), creating figures and tables, and ethics.

In-Text Citations: General Guidelines

Format of the citation:

• Provide the author's last name, year, and page number (or location information, for electronic sources) in parentheses (Smith, 2003, p. 25).
• But... do not repeat information you have already included in your text. For example, if you use the author's name in your text, do not also include it in the citation.
• If paraphrasing someone else's text or ideas, page numbers or location references are not required.

Location references in electronic sources:

• If paragraph numbers are visible, cite the paragraph number (Smith, 2003, ¶ 8).
• If the document is divided into sections, cite the section heading, followed by the paragraph number (Smith, 2003, Conclusion section, ¶ 2).
• If no paragraph numbers or section headings are visible, omit the location reference.
• You can use the abbreviation para. instead of the ¶ symbol when referring to paragraph numbers.

In-Text Citations: Text Sample

Note: In an APA style manuscript, the text below would be double-spaced, with no extra space between paragraphs. But because of the limitations of HTML, that's difficult to show here.

The custom of citing references – that is, providing a record of the sources you have used for your research – is a form of professional honesty and courtesy that is based on a regard for the responsibilities that writers have to readers and to other writers to indicate when they have used someone else's ideas or words.

Citing sources also strengthens the authority of your work, by demonstrating that you have considered others' opinions and ideas in forming your own. In addition, it gives the the reader valuable information, indicating where he or she may go to get further information on that subject; for many researchers, the list of cited references at the end of a relevant article or book is the single most valuable item they can come across in their research.

Accuracy in citing references is highly regarded, and essential in helping others locate the materials you used in your research. Consider the following, from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed.:

Because one purpose of listing references is to enable readers to retrieve and use the sources, reference data must be correct and complete.... Authors are responsible for all information in their reference lists. Accurately prepared references help establish your credibility as a careful researcher. An inaccurate or incomplete reference "will stand in print as an annoyance to future investigators and a monument to the writer's carelessness" (Bruner, 1942, p. 68). (p. 216)

Because of the importance of citing references, the scholarly community has agreed on several standards – found in style manuals – to use when citing a reference or compiling a bibliography. Many different styles exist; the following list represents the most commonly used or prominent styles.

References

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2nd ed.). (2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

References: General Guidelines

• Items are presented in alphabetical order by the first author's last name, or, if no author is listed, by the first element of the citation (generally the title).
• Use hanging indents.
• If using a typewriter, use underlining to represent italicized text, such as titles. Otherwise, use italics.
• During your research, develop a consistent system for noting bibliographic information (author, title, date, publisher, source, page numbers) and keep it with your notes or copies of the source material you used.
• Always consult your professor/department/publisher for specific requirements.

Sample List of References

Note: In an APA style manuscript, the text below would be double-spaced, with no extra space between paragraphs. But because of the limitations of HTML, that's difficult to show here.

Citation Example	Type of Citation
Bankes, P., Boss, J., Cochran, A., Duemer, L., McCrary, J., & Salazar, D. (2001). Censorship and restraint: Lessons learned from the Catalyst. College Student Journal, 35, 335-338. Retrieved August 14, 2003, from Ebsco Academic Search Elite database.	Journal article retrieved from an electronic database, 6 or fewer authors, continuous pagination
Chafee, Z., Jr. (1962). Freedom of speech and press. In W. S. Dowden & T. N. Marsh (Eds.), The heritage of freedom: Essays on the rights of free men (pp. 140-156). New York: Harper.	Chapter in an edited book
Dennis, E. E., & Vanden Heuvel, J. (1991). Emerging voices: East European media in transition: A report of the Gannett Foundation Task Force on Press Freedom in Eastern Europe (2nd ed.). New York: Gannett Foundation Media Center.	Book
FCC ruling to stifle debate, critics say. (2003, June 13). The Buffalo News, p. C1.	Newspaper article, unsigned
Foerstel, H. N. (Ed.). (1997). Free expression and censorship in America: An encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.	Encyclopedia or dictionary
Freedom of the press: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, Senate, 92d Cong., 1 (1972).	Government hearing, whole hearing
Hardt, H. (2000). Communication is freedom: Karl Marx on press freedom and censorship. Javnost: The Public, 7(4), 85-99.	Journal article, pagination restarts with each issue
Jayasekera, R. (2003, June 11). Gives with one hand, takes away with the other. Index on Censorship. Retrieved August 9, 2003, from http://www.indexonline.org/news/20030611_iraq.shtml	Article retrieved from web site
Jeffords, S., & Rabinovitz, L. (Eds.). (1994). Seeing through the media: The Persian Gulf war. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.	Edited book
Paretsky, S. (2003, June 2). The new censorship. New Statesman, 759, 18-20.	Magazine article
Project censored. (n.d.). Retrieved August 9, 2003, from http://www.projectcensored.org/	Entire web site, no date of publication
Sanders, B. (Producer/Director). (1987). Making the news fit [Motion picture]. (Available from The Cinema Guild, 130 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-7038)	Film or video
Solomon, N. (2000, March 15). Self-censorship shadows new media. Message posted to news://misc.activism.progressive	Message posted to a newsgroup

Acknowledgement: The text of this document has been copied and modified with the permission of the author, Colleen Bell, at the University of Oregon Libraries (5/21/04).