Citation Styles: APA

This is the basic in-text APA form:(Critser, 2003, p. 5).  If the author's name is mentioned in the text, it can be omitted from the citation.

In-text citation formats:

(Perkins,  Conklin & Levine, 2008)

Perkins, Conklin, and Levine (2008) found....

Subsequent citations, 3 to 5 authors: (Perkins et al.)

For citations with six or more authors, include only the first author's last name and et al. for in-text citations.  In-text citations for articles are essentially the same as for books.

The bibliography (list of used sources) should appear on a new page at the end of the paper, entitled "References."  Alphabetize the works cited list by author's last name, or by title if a work's author is unknown or not given.

APA recommends that citations be double-spaced.  Check with your professors to see if this is required for papers in their classes.

The first line of a bibliographic entry should be aligned with the left margin. Second and subsequent lines should be indented by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent.

The basic format for APA citations is:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (date). Title of book. Publisher Name. DOI or URL.

Perkins, K. A., Conklin, C. A., & Levine, M. D. (2008). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for smoking cessation: A practical guidebook to the most effective treatments. Routledge.

Edited book:

Heilbrun, K, Goldstein, N. E. S., & Redding, R. E. (Eds.)  (2005). Juvenile delinquency: Prevention, assessment, and intervention. Oxford University Press.

Chapter in book:

Palmer, E. J. (2008). Criminal thinking. In D. Carson, R. Milne, F. Pakes, K. Shalev, & A. Shawyer (Eds.), Applying psychology to criminal justice (pp. 147-165). John Wiley.

To cite journal articles:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (date). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume(issue), page numbers. DOI or URL.

Fazlioglu, Y., & Baran, G. (2008). A sensory integration program on sensory problems for children with autism. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 106, 116-422.

(Note: Most GSU social science faculty will accept this format if you are citing the PDF format of an article retrieved electronically from a database, since the PDF format is exactly the same as the print.)

Goldstein, G., Luther, J. F., Jacoby, A. M., Haas, G. L., & Gordon, A. J. (2008). A preliminary classification system for homeless veterans with mental illness.  Psychological Services, 5, 36-48. doi:10.1037/1541-1559.5.1.36

APA is recommends that the DOI be included if available because this number is unique and permanent and will allow for accessing the citation through the Internet without knowing the specific database from which it was retrieved.

Format for non-peer-reviewed web sources:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (date). Title of work. Site Name. URL.

Insurance Information Institute. (2008, October).  Cellphones and driving. Retrieved December 22, 2022 from http://www.iii.org/media/ hottopics/insurance/cellphones/

Include the date retrieved only if the date is not included in the site and the content is likely to change.

Social Media citation format:

Author, A. A. [@username]. (date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words. Site Name. URL. 

Audiovisual Works

Director, D. D. (Director). (date). Title of work [Description]. Production Company. URL.

Jackson, P. (Director). (2001). The lord of the rings: The fellowship of the ring [Film; four-disk special extended ed. on DVD]. WingNut Films; The Saul Zaentz Company.