Basic format (Author-Date Style)

In addition to having a references list at the end of your paper, you must give credit to sources that you use within your paper. Usually the author's last name and publication date are enough for the reader to identify the complete reference in the references list. See the examples below for variations of this general rule.

Author's name in text

If you cite the author's name in your paper, cite only the publication year in parentheses after the author's name.

Example

In Silent Spring, Carsen (1962) made an intelligent and passionate case for the immediate cessation of careless and pervasive pesticide use.

References

Carsen, R. (1962). Silent spring. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett.

APA Manual 6.11 (p. 174)

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Author's name in reference

If you do not cite the author's name in your paper, then include both the author's last name and the publication year in parentheses at the end of the sentence separated by a comma.

Example

Silent Spring was one of the first books to discuss dangers of pesticide use (Carsen, 1962).

References

Carsen, R. (1962). Silent spring. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett.

APA Manual 6.11 (p. 174)

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Multiple authors

Two authors

Cite both authors' last names and the publication date every time you refer to the work in your paper. In parentheses, use an ampersand (&) to separate the authors' names.

Example

They believe that a key aspect of the growth of dance on the American cultural scene has been the expansion of dance education in varied forms (Kraus & Hilsendager, 1981).

References

Kraus, R. G., & Hilsendager, S. C. (1981). History of the dance in art and education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Three, four, or five authors

Cite all the authors' last names and the publication date the first time you refer to the work. If you refer the work again, cite the first author's last name followed by et al.

Example

Oliver, Chiras, and Reganold (2004) offer sustainable solutions to global resource and environmental problems.

Oliver et al. argue that...

References

Oliver, O. S., Chiras, D. D., & Reganold, J. P. (2004). Natural resource conservation (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Simon & Schuster.

Six or more authors

Cite the last name of the first author followed by et al. and the publication date the first time you refer to a work and in each new paragraph. If you cite the work again in the same paragraph, do not include the year of publication.

Examples

Knight et al. (2002) found that college students have been exposed to alcohol before attending college.

In the research study, Knight et al. focused on interviewing undergraduate students.

References

Knight, J. R., Wechsler, H., Kou, M., Seibering, M., Weitzman, E. R., & Schuckit, M. A. (2002). Alcohol abuse and dependence among U.S. college students Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 63(3), 263-271.

APA Manual 6.12 (p. 175)

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No author listed (cite by title)

When there is no author listed for a work, include the first few words of the title followed by the publication year in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

Example

Many in the liquor industry argue that the ban on television liquor advertising gives those in the beer and wine industry an unfair advantage ("Liquor Advertising," 2002).

References

Liquor advertising on TV. (2002, January 18). In Issues & Controversies. Retrieved from http://www.fofweb.com/

APA Manual 6.15 (p. 176)

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Citing part of a work (page and paragraph numbers)

Page numbers

When you quote or paraphrase a specific part of a print or online source give the relevant page, chapter, figure, table or equation in parentheses at the end of the sentence after the author's last name and publication date.

Example

"Time management is an important survival skill" (Brown, 2003, p. 6).

References

Brown, D. C. (2003). No time for time management? Behavioral agencies have several options for improving staff efficiency. Behavioral Healthcare Tomorrow, 12(6), 27-30.

Paragraph numbers

In an online source that does not provide page numbers, give the paragraph number, preceded by the ? symbol or the abbreviation para. after the author's last name and publication date.

Examples

The water level in the Great Lakes has gone down in recent years (Assel, 2004, para. 5).

References

Assel, R. A. (2004). Hydroclimatic factors of the recent record drop in Laurentian Great Lakes water levels. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 85, 1143-1151.

APA Manual 6.19 and 6.05 (p. 179 and 171-172)

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Personal communications (interview, letter, email)

References to personal communications do not appear in the reference list. Personal communication references in text should provide the initials and last name of the person and the exact date of the communication.

Examples

J. J. McKenzie (personal communication, August 30, 2002) confirmed that he was one of the unofficial organizers of the teachers' strike.

He confirmed that he was one of the unofficial organizers of the teachers' strike (J. J. McKenzie, personal communication, August 30, 2002).

APA Manual 6.20 (p. 179)

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Secondary sources

Whenever possible, use original source material, not secondary. If you must use an indirect source, include the primary source in the paper and the secondary source in the reference list. For example, if you read about Fruzetti's work in an article by Martens, include Fruzetti in the in-text citation and Martens in your reference list.

Example

Fruzetti explained that no effective treatments for borderline patients had been established until the past decade (as cited in Martens, 2005)

References

Martens, W.H. (2005). Therapy on the borderline: Effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy for patients with borderline personality disorder. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 8(4) 5-13.

APA Manual 6.17 (p. 178)

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