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APA Citation Guide

American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used for citing references in science and social science courses, such as Psychology and Social Work.This guide is based on the APA Manual (7th ed.).

Journal article (with doi)

For journal articles, the APA style requires including the Digital Object Identifier or doi when available. 

Author name. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Journal title, volume number(issue number),

   pages. doi:xx.xxxxxxxxxx

Example:   Herbst-Damm, K.L., & Kulik, J.A. (2005). Volunteer support, marital status, and the

                    survival of terminally ill patients. Health Psychology, 24(1), 225-229.

                    doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

Cited in text:   (Herbst-Damm & Kulik, 2005)

Note: DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier. It is a unique number assigned to article so that its information can be shared or retrieved quickly through a website such as crossref.org. Not every article will have a DOI, and if it is not present on the article or in the record, don't panic! The DOI is gaining wider acceptance, but many articles still do not have them. If the DOI is not present, and the article was retrieved online, then use one of the options below to direct the reader to the article. 

Journal article (without doi) Option 1

Note: For journal articles that do not have a doi, there are two options.  Option 1, provide the URL of the journal homepage.  Option 2, provide the name of the database used to access the article.  Check with your professor as to which one you should use.

Author name. (Year of Publication). Article title. Journal title, volume number, pages. Retrieved from

      from database name.

Example: Borman, W.C. (1993). Role of early supervisory experience in supervisor performance.

                  Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 443-449. Retrieved from PsycARTICLES.

Cited in text: (Borman, 1993)

Journal article (without doi) Option 2

Author name. (Year of Publication). Article title. Journal title, Volume number, page numbers.

      Retrieved from URL.

Example:   Sillick, T.J., & Schutte, N.S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem mediate

                     between perceived early parental love and adult happiness.  E-Journal of Applied

                     Psychology, 2(2), 38-48.  Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap

Cited in text: (Sillick & Schutte, 2006)

ERIC Document

Author. (Year). Title of document. Retrieved from ERIC database. (Eric Document #)

Example: Brewster, C., & Railsback, J. (2002). Full-day kindergarten: Exploring an option for

extended learning. Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED472733)

Cited in text: (Brewster & Railsback, 2002)

Note: Use this option for items that are not published in a journal, magazine, book, or elsewhere. 

Online newspaper article

Author. (Date). Article title. Newspaper title. Retrieved from URL. 

Example: Moss, M. (2011, March 27). Philadelphia school battles students’ bad eating habits,

                        on campus and off. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

Cited in text: (Moss, 2011)

Article from online news site, no author

Article title in author position. (Date of publication, showing year, month date). Retrieved from URL.

Example:   All 33 Chile miners freed in flawless rescue. (2010, October 13). Retrieved from

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39625809/ns/world_news-americas/

Cited in text:   ("All 33 Chile miners," 2010)

Conference Proceedings/Presentation

Presenter. (Year, month). Title of paper of poster. Paper or poster presented at the meeting

of Organization Name, Location. Retrieval information. 

Example: Shaw, C. L. M. (1997, November). Customer satisfaction: Communication training and

the help-desk hot-line. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National

Communication Association, Chicago, IL. Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED416553)

Cited in text: (Shaw, 1997)