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APA Style & Writing Resources: Citations & References

Guidance on using APA Style, 7th edition

Citations & References

Citations

Citation allows the writer to acknowledge other contributions to their work, and how the existing literature relates to that work. In APA Style, citations are provided within the text.

References

References provide the reader with the information necessary to find and retrieve each work that is cited in the text. References consist of four main elements, in this order:

Author: Who is responsible for the work?
Date: When was this work published?
Title: What is this work called?
Source: Where can I retrieve this work?


Follow this general format when creating references, even if you cannot find a specific example.

Here is a citation for a journal article showing these elements:

1Trakhtenberg, E.C. 2(2008).3 The effects of guided imagery on the immune system: A critical review. 4International Journal of Neuroscience, 118(6), 839-855. http://doi.org/fxfsbq

1 Who? Author name(s) listed with last name first, then initials
2 When? Year is enclosed in parenthesis and followed by a period
3 What? First word of the title is capitalized
4 Where? Source may have several parts; online information required if available
In-text citation: (Traktenberg, 2008)

 

APA Style for Presentations

Using APA Style in a presentation (e.g. PowerPoint)

Reference Examples

Examples for most types of references are in Chapter 10, pages 313-352 of the Publication Manual, and many are available on the site below:

Common References Examples

Examples for Images

Citing images is a bit different and requires a few more considerations than other works. The page linked below goes into more detail about citation and references for images.

Citation Management

To help manage citations and quickly format reference lists, you may want to use citation management software. FNU provides access to RefWorks, and free programs are available as well.