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Social Work Research Guide: APA Citation 7th Edition

This is a guide to selected Social Work resources available in the Libraries collections and on the Internet.

APA Citation 7th Edition

 

In-text Citations

In-text Citations

When you reference another source use an in-text citation in the body of your paper. 

Basic Format:
(Author's Last Name(s) or Organization, Year).

I'm using...

 

Summarizing or Paraphrasing 

Paraphrasing or summarizing the main findings or takeaways from a research article is the preferred method of citing sources in an APA paper. Always include the last name of the author(s) and the year of the article, so your reader can find the full citation in the reference list.

According to Shavers (2007), limitations of studying socioeconomic status in research on health disparities include difficulties in collecting data on socioeconomic status and the complications of classifying women, children, and employment status.

Direct Quotes 

If you're quoting the exact words of someone else, introduce the quote with an in-text citation in parentheses. Any sentence punctuation goes after the closing parenthesis.

  • According to Brown (2019), "Direct quote" (p. 1021).
  • Brown (2019) found that "Direct quote" (p. 1021).
  • [Some other introduction] "Direct quote" (Brown, 2019, p. 1021).

 

If you're directly quoting more than 40 words, use a blockquote. Block quotes don't need quotation marks. Instead, indent the text 1/2" as a visual cue that you are citing. The in-text citation in parentheses goes after the punctuation of the quote.

Shavers (2007) study found the following:

While research studies have established that socioeconomic status influences disease incidence, severity and access to healthcare, there has been relatively less study of the specific manner in which low SES influences receipt of quality care and consequent morbidity and mortality among patients with similar disease characteristics, particularly among those who have gained access to the healthcare system. (p. 1021)
Tip!
Use direct quotes sparingly! Focus on summarizing the findings from multiple research studies. In the sciences and social sciences, only use the exact phrasing or argument of an individual when necessary.

I'm citing a work with...

1 Author 

You only need the author's last name comma year in parentheses.

(Abrams, 2018)

2 Authors 

Connect both authors' last names with & (ampersand) comma and the year.

(Wegener & Petty, 1994)

3 or More Authors 

If there are 3 or more authors use et al., which means "and others," comma and the year.

(Harris et al., 2018)

Group Authors 

First time with an abbreviation:

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019)

Then all subsequent citations: (CDC, 2019)

Journal Article- APA 7th Edition - Reference

Journal Article 

  1. Author(s). Note: List each author's last name and initial as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. Use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name. Read more from the APA Style website if there are 21 or more authors.
  2. (Year).
  3. Title of the article. Note: For works that are part of a greater whole (e.g. articles, chapter), use sentence case. Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized.
  4. Title of the Journal, Note: Italicize and capitalize each word in the journal.
  5. Volume Note: Italicize the journal volume. If there is no issue, include a comma before the page range.
  6. (Issue), Note: If there is an issue number in addition to a volume number, include it in parentheses.
  7. Page range.
  8. DOI (Digital Object Identifier) 

 

Ashing‐Giwa, K. T., Padilla, G., Tejero, J., Kraemer, J., Wright, K., Coscarelli, A., Clayton, S., Williams, I., & Hills, D. (2004). Understanding the breast cancer experience of women: A qualitative study of African American, Asian American, Latina and Caucasian cancer survivors. Psycho‐Oncology, 13(6), 408-428. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.750

Hanging Indent

Create a hanging indent

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A Hanging indent, also known as a second line indent, sets off the first line of a paragraph by positioning it at the margin, and then indenting each subsequent line of the paragraph.

WindowsMacWeb

  1. Select the text where you want to add a hanging indent.

  2. Go to Home > Paragraph dialog launcher Button image > Indents and Spacing.

  3. Under Special, select Hanging.

    Selecting Hanging indent

    You can adjust the depth of the indent using the By field.

  4. Select OK.

To add a drop cap to your paragraph, see Insert a drop cap.

To indent the first line of a paragraph, see Indent the first line of a paragraph.

Hanging Indent Video

Citing Media

Piece of Online Content

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of online content: Subtitle. Website Name. URL. 

Type of citation Example citation
Reference List Citation Aubrey, A. (2019, December 12) How to reduce food waste. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2019/12/10/786867315/how-to-reduce-food-waste
In-Text Citation (Aubrey, 2019)

Note: Review this source carefully! You may need to follow the citation structure for a news article, magazine article, blog post, journal article etc. Use the format that best describes your source. 

Webpage

Author/Group/Organization Name. (Date). Title of page: Subtitle. Website Name. URL

Type of citation Example citation
Reference List Citation University of Alabama. (2020). Coronavirus: Virtual student services. https://healthinfo.ua.edu/virtual-student-services/
In-Text Citation (University of Alabama, 2020) 

Note: If the author and website name are the same, omit the website name entry. 

Blog Post

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of blog post. Blog Title. URL

Type of citation Example citation
Reference List Citation Gritters. J. (2019, August 30). Are green spaces in cities as good for us as green spaces in mountains? REI CO-Op Journal. https://www.rei.com/blog
In-Text Citation  (Gritters, 2019)

Report/Document from a website

Corporation/Group/Organization's Name. (Publication Date). Title of report: Subtitle (Publication Number). Website Name. URL

Type of citation Example citation
Reference List Citation National Association of Social Workers. (2005). NASW standards for clinical social work in social work practice. https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=YOg4qdefLBE%3d&portalid=0
In-Text Citation (National Association of Social Workers, 2005)

Note: If the author and website name are the same, omit the website name entry.

Tips

No author? If the webpage's author is not listed, begin your citation with the title instead

Retrieved from? Only include a retrieval date when the webpage's content is likely to change over time

  • Author. (Date). Title of page. Website name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL

Dates? 

  • If there is no publication date, look for the date that the content was last updated or the copyright date.
  • If an item has no date, use n.d. where you would normally put the date.