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APA (7th) Citation Style Guide

Paper Basics

  • APA now has different title page requirements for student papers. This title page does not require a running head and has a different set of information to include. See  APA Style: Student Title Page Guide.
  • Titles of papers are now bolded, with a blank line before the author's name.
  • There is no font requirement as long as the font is legible and consistent.
  • The heading for the References list is now bolded.
  • opens new windowSentence Case Capitalization.

In-Text Citations

APA has simplified in-text citations in regards to multiple authors. If there is one or two authors, list their names:

Example: (Anderson 2019); (Anderson & Walker, 2019)

For three or more authors, use the first author's name listed and then "et al."

Example: (Anderson et al., 2019)

Author Names

APA now requires listing up to 20 authors for a source in the references list. This is a change from 8 in the 6th edition. For works with more than 20 authors, list the first 19, insert an ellipsis point, and then list the last author's name.

Example:

Smith, J., Jones, B. E., Brown, K. E., Weston, J., Chan, L., Lime, S. M., White, C-G., Fernández, J., Ahmed, A.

J., Zhào, L., Cohen, D., Lee, K., Kim, K., Del Rosario, J., Yilmaz, P. K., Nguyễn, T., Wilson, T.

H., Wang, W., Kahale, A. ... Zhang, Z. Z. (Date). Title. Source.

Books

For books, publication location is no longer added.

Example: Doyle, W. (1980). Classroom management. Kappa Delta Pi.


If the book has a DOI, it should be added to the end of the reference 

ExampleTummala-Narra, P. (2016). Psychoanalytic theory and cultural competence in psychotherapy. American

Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14800-000


eBooks should be cited exactly as print books. Do not include a database.

ExampleSalend, S. (2009). Classroom testing and assessment for all students beyond standardization. Corwin.


Sacred texts should now be included in the references list (the 6th edition only required an in-text citation).

ExampleThe Bhagavad Gita. (E. Easwaran, Trans.; 2nd ed.). (2007). The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation.

Example: King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/ (Original work

published 1769)

Journal Articles and DOIs

Always include the issue number. Previously, if the issues were paginated continuously you did not need to include it. The formatting of the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) should now be formatted as URLs. https://doi.org/XXXXXX . The label "DOI" is no longer added.

Example:
Zhao, W., Garcia-Oscos, F., Dinh, D., & Roberts, T. F. (2019). Inception of memories that guide vocal

learning in the songbird. Science, 366(6461), 83–89. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw4226


If a journal article does not have a DOI, you may end the citation after the page numbers. There is no longer a requirement to include the URL of the journal's homepage. However, if an article is open access, you may choose to link directly to the article's full text.

Example: 
Kerlis, B. (2013). Sacred spaces in virtual places: Locating religion in the financial market. 
Journal for the

Study of Religion, 26(1), 23–44. http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/jsr/v26n1/03.pdf


If an article has an article number, use that in place of the page numbers.

Example: 
Derry, K. (2018). Myth and monstrosity: Teaching indigenous films. 
Journal of Religion & Film,

22(3), Article 7. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2013&context=jrf


You may use a shortened DOI if desired.

Example

Grasset, L., Glymour, M. M., Elfassy, T., Swift, S. L., Yaffe, K., Singh-Manoux, A., & Al Hazzouri, A. Z. (2019).

Relation between 20-year income volatility and brain health in midlife: The CARDIA study. Neurologyhttp://doi.org/dchq

Magazine & Newspaper Articles

Include a URL if it will take the reader to the full text without logging in. The article title is formatted regularly and the newspaper or magazine title is italicized.

Example: 
Gibson, J. (2019, October 9). SF College zoo works to become more inclusive. The Gainesville Sun.

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20191009/sf-college-zoo-works-to-become-more-inclusive

If a magazine or news site does not have an associated daily/weekly publication, use the guidelines for a webpage. Examples include CNN and the Huffington Post.

Databases

If a library database contains its own, proprietary information that cannot be retrieved elsewhere (CQ Researcher, some government agencies databases), include the name of the database and a permalink in the reference.

Example
Ornes, S. (2019, September 20). Extreme weather. CQ Researcher.

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre201909200

Web Resources

Omit the words 'Retrieved from' before the URL. Include the name of the website unless it is the same as the author. Italicize the name of the webpage.

Example:

Corcodilos, N. (n.d.). Keep your salary under wraps. Ask the Headhunter.

http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/hasalary.htm
 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2010, February 1). Facing down PTSD, vet is now soaring high.

http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/featureArticle_Feb.asp


A URL shortener service like tinyurl or bit.ly i can be used.

Example:

Hamline University. (n.d.). About Hamline. https://shorturl.at/jsIR2