APA Citation Guide s2

APA Citation Guide

When to cite: Citing is a must-have for most academic papers, and knowing when to cite is crucial. Not citing or citing too little may result in suspicions about plagiarism. Over-citing may be helpful at first, but may become cumbersome and may obscure the flow of the piece. The APA Publication Manual, 6th Edition says the following about citations:

Cite the work of those individuals whose ideas, theories, or research have directly influenced your work. They may provide key background information, support…or offer critical definitions and data…In addition to crediting the ideas of others that you used to build your thesis, provide documentation for all facts and figures that are not common knowledge (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010, p. 169).

Note: Be sure to include both the in-text citation and the reference page. If students fail to provide both components, then they may be accused of plagiarism.

In-Text Citations

Authors In-Text Citation Example 1 Author: (last name, date) (Walker, 2007) 2 Authors: (last name & last name, date) (Walker & Allen, 2004) 3-5 Authors: (last name, last name, last name, last name, & last name, date) (Bradley, Ramirez, & Soo, 1999) 3-5 Authors (Last name et al., date) (Bradley et al., 1999) SECOND time they are mentioned:

6 or more authors: (last name, et al., date) (Wasserstein et al., 2005)

Organization: (Organization name, date) (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2003) Organization (Organization’s Abbreviations, date) (NIMH, 2003) SECOND time they are mentioned: Direct Quotations (Author, Date, Page number) (Csikai, 2006, p. 112)

Books (whole)

Author last name, Author’s Initials (date). Title of work. Location: Publisher.

Example: Shotton, M.A. (1989). Computer addiction? A study of computer dependency. London, England: Taylor & Francis.

Electronic-only book:

Author last name, Author’s Initials (date). Title of work. Retrieved from http://www.xxxxx

Example: Shotton, M.A. (1989). Computer addiction? A study of computer dependency.

Retrieved from http://ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/html/index.asp

Book with an editor

Editor last name, editor’s initials (Ed.). (date). Title of work. Location: Publisher.

Example: Shotton, M.A. (Ed.). (1989). Computer addiction? A study of computer dependency.

London, England: Taylor & Francis.

Periodicals

Author’s last name, Author’s initials. (year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, pp-pp. doi: xx.xxxxxxx

Example: Herbst-Damm, K.L. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill patients. Health psychology, 24, 225-229. Doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

Newspaper Article(Online)

Author’s last name, Author’s initials. (Date of article publication). Article title. Newspaper Title, pp. A1, A4.

Example: Brody, J.E. (2007, December 11). Mental reserves keep brain agile. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com