- The authority on APA Style and the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual. Find tutorials, the APA Style Blog, how to format papers in APA Style, and other resources to help you improve your writing, master APA Style, and learn the conventions of scholarly publishing.
- How to cite websites, books, podcasts, articles, journals, movies, and more in APA 5th edition style. APA 5th edition Example. A referencing guide from Citationsy, the world’s best reference management tool.
In late 2009, the American Psychological Association (APA) published a revised style guide: the 6th edition of the publication manual. This edition contains a few minor changes to APA referencing style.
At a glance
- Retrieval date: Online sources do not usually need a retrieval date
- Cities: All cities must be followed by either a two-letter state code (if American) or a country (if not American)
- Many authors: A source with many authors uses “. . .” instead of “et al.” in the reference list
- Database names: These are not included in reference list entries
- DOI: The Digital Object Identifier is the preferred method of identifying online sources
- Minor changes: There are also minor changes and expanded information on the format of theses and dissertations, DVDs, miscellaneous sources, and archival documents.
1 APA Format–5th Edition OVERVIEW–The American Psychological Association (APA) style is widely accepted in the social sciences and other fields, such as education, business, and nursing.
This short video lecture describes the most important changes to APA referencing style introduced in the new 6th edition.
Which edition should I use?
Most courses at Massey use the 6th edition of APA. However, if the course materials ask for a retrieval date on online sources (see below), the course probably uses 5th edition.
If you are unsure which edition to use, ask your lecturer.
APA 5th ed. requires a date of retrieval before a URL:
Ministry for Primary Industries. (2012). Rural communities. Retrieved 26 July, 2012, from http://www.mpi.govt.nz/agriculture/rural-communities
APA 6th ed. does not include the retrieval date unless the source is likely to change often (for example, a Wiki). Instead, “Retrieved from” is used:
Ministry for Primary Industries. (2012). Rural communities. Retrieved from http://www.mpi.govt.nz/agriculture/rural-communities
APA 5th ed. does not require a state or country if the city is famous for publishing (see city for details):
Neftci, S. N. (2009). Principles of financial engineering (2nd ed.). London: Academic.
Lawford, C. K. (2009). Moments of clarity: Voices from the front lines of addiction and recovery. New York: William Morrow.
APA 6th ed. always includes a country (if the city is not American) or a two-letter state code (if the city is American):
Neftci, S. N. (2009). Principles of financial engineering (2nd ed.). London, England: Academic.
Lawford, C. K. (2009). Moments of clarity: Voices from the front lines of addiction and recovery. New York, NY: William Morrow.
In the reference list, APA 5th ed. puts “et al.” after the sixth author when there are 7+ authors (see 2+ authors for details):
Smith, J. D., Khan, V., Zhang, H., Williams, T., Garcia, J., Sato, Y., et al.
APA 6th ed. uses “. . .” instead, replacing all authors between the sixth author and the last author:
Smith, J. D., Khan, V., Zhang, H., Williams, T., Garcia, J., Sato, Y., . . . Laurence, D.
If there are 6 or 7 authors, all of their names are spelled out in the reference list.
The format of in-text citations for multiple authors is unchanged.
APA 5th ed. can include database names when citing journals (see online journal articles for details):
Hsing, Y., Baraya, A., & Budden, M. (2005). Macroeconomic policies and economic growth: The case of Costa Rica. Journal of Applied Business Research, 21(2), 105-112. Retrieved December 3, 2007, from Business Source Premier database.
APA 6th ed. does not include database information; instead, the home page URL of the journal is used:
Hsing, Y., Baraya, A., & Budden, M. (2005). Macroeconomic policies and economic growth: The case of Costa Rica. Journal of Applied Business Research, 21(2), 105-112. Retrieved from http://journals.cluteonline.com/index.php/JABR/
Note that if a DOI is available it should be used instead of the URL (see below).
If both the journal's URL and the DOI are unavailable, the best course is to treat the source as you would an offline journal.
APA 6th ed. puts increased emphasis on the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) as the best way to identify an online source.
Many online journal entries include a DOI, either with the copyright information or in the online citation. If a DOI is present, it should be used instead of other retrieval information:
Gelkopf, M., Ryan, P., Cotton, S., & Berger, R. (2008). The impact of “training the trainers” for helping tsunami-survivor children on Sri Lankan disaster volunteer workers. International Journal of Stress Management, 15(2), 117-135. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.15.2.117
The DOI can be looked up via http://www.crossref.org/guestquery/
APA 5th ed. puts “Unpublished doctoral dissertation” or “Unpublished masters thesis” after the title (see theses and dissertations for details):
Bowker, N. I. (2003). What it means to be online for people with disabilities. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
APA 6th ed. puts this text in brackets:
Bowker, N. I. (2003). What it means to be online for people with disabilities (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
The 6th edition manual also gives information on citing theses and dissertations from online, institutional, or commercial databases.
APA 5th ed. describes ways to reference motion pictures, television broadcasts, and other audiovisual material: video and audio material. The type of source is identified in square brackets after the title: “[Motion picture]”, “[Television broadcast]”, etc.
APA 6th ed. includes “[DVD]” as an option, when a video source does not fit into categories such as “[Motion picture]”.
APA 5th ed. identifies certain non-standard source types in square brackets after the title. This is often used for grey literature such as annual reports and brochures.
APA 6th ed. includes many new source types, many relating to online materials:
- [Audio podcast]
- [Video webcast]
- [Lecture notes]
- [Supplemental material]
Archival documents are historical documents such as correspondence, oral histories, unpublished papers, and other primary sources. They are often held by universities or research institutions.
For example, Massey University hosts the Massey University Archive, the Dairy Records Archive, and the New Zealand Federation of Graduate Women (North Shore Branch) Archive: Massey University archives.
APA 6th ed. gives detailed advice on referencing archival documents. For details, consult the APA 6th ed. manual.
References and further reading
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. [Massey Library link]
American Psychological Association. (2007). APA style guide to electronic references. Washington, DC: Author. [Massey Library link]
American Psychological Association. (2010a). Concise rules of APA style (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. [Massey Library link]
American Psychological Association. (2010b). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. [Massey Library link]
Disclaimer
These pages are provided as a guide to proper referencing. Your course, department, school, or institute may prescribe specific conventions, and their recommendations supersede these instructions. If you have questions not covered here, check in the style guide listed above, ask your course coordinator, or ask at Academic Q+A.
Page authorised by Director, CTL
Last updated on 26 February, 2020
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New chapter on journal article reporting standards
Updated bias-free language guidelines; includes usage of singular “they”
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Resources for students on writing and formatting annotated bibliographies, response papers, and other paper types as well as guidelines on citing course materials.
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Dedicated chapter for new users of APA Style covering paper elements and format, including sample papers for both professional authors and student writers.
6th Edition Apa Style Guide
Journal Article Reporting Standards
New chapter on journal article reporting standards that includes updates to reporting standards for quantitative research and the first-ever qualitative and mixed methods reporting standards in APA Style.
Bias-Free Language Guidelines
New chapter on bias-free language guidelines for writing about people with respect and inclusivity in areas including age, disability, gender, participation in research, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality.
100+ Reference Examples
More than 100 new reference examples covering periodicals, books, audiovisual media, social media, webpages and websites, and legal resources.
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7th Edition Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Editorial Staff and Contributors
Acknowledgments
Types of Articles and Papers
ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN PUBLISHING
Ensuring the Accuracy of Scientific Findings
Protecting the Rights and Welfare of Research Participants and Subjects
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights
Required Elements
Paper Elements
Format
Organization
SAMPLE PAPERS
Overview of Reporting Standards
Common Reporting Standards Across Research Designs
Reporting Standards for Quantitative Research
Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research
Reporting Standards for Mixed Methods Research
EFFECTIVE SCHOLARLY WRITING
Continuity and Flow
Conciseness and Clarity
GRAMMAR AND USAGE
Verbs
Pronouns
Sentence Construction
Strategies to Improve Your Writing
General Guidelines for Reducing Bias
Reducing Bias by Topic
Punctuation
Spelling
Capitalization
Italics
Abbreviations
Numbers
Statistical and Mathematical Copy
Presentation of Equations
Lists
General Guidelines for Tables and Figures
Tables
Apa 5th Edition Citation
SAMPLE TABLES
Figures
SAMPLE FIGURES
General Guidelines for Citation
Works Requiring Special Approaches to Citation
In-Text Citations
Paraphrases and Quotations
Reference Categories
Principles of Reference List Entries
REFERENCE ELEMENTS
Author
Date
Title
Source
Reference Variations
Reference List Format and Order
Author Variations
Date Variations
Title Variations
Source Variations
Textual Works
Data Sets, Software, and Tests
Audiovisual Media
Online Media
General Guidelines for Legal References
Legal Reference Examples
Preparing for Publication
Understanding the Editorial Publication Process
Manuscript Preparation
Copyright and Permission Guidelines
During and After Publication
Credits for Adapted Tables, Figures, and Papers
References
Apa 5th Edition Manual
Index