Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Apa 6th Edition
Apa 6th Edition
Several departments and courses at Red Deer College, including Psychology, Nursing, and Social Work,
require the use of the American Psychological Association (APA) style for citing references in student
papers. It is important to remain consistent within the paper and to use the style recommended by your
instructor. This guide addresses citation style only. For information on manuscript formatting, including
title pages and appendices, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
The purpose of documentation is to:
Identify (cite) other peoples ideas and information used within your essay or term paper.
Indicate the authors or sources of these in a References list at the end of your paper.
Numbers in parentheses refer to pages in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed.), unless otherwise noted. The examples in this guide cover frequently used citation
forms only. For more detailed information refer to:
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BOOKS
(p. 202-205)
Book
One author (p. 203)
Edited book
(p.202)
Article or chapter in an
edited book
Multiple authors/editors
(pp.202,204)
Article in a reference
book
(p.202)
E-book
(p.203)
Citations in Text
General format
(Author Surname, Year)
(Author Surname, Year,
p. #) [direct quote]
(Harris, 2001)
(Burley & Harris, 2002, p.
153)
(Lawrence & Dodds,
2003, p. 524)
(Ochs, 2004)
Journal article
From article database, with
DOI (p.198)
(Pettigrew, 2009)
Journal article
From online periodical
[Internet only], no DOI
(p.199)
Magazine article
Print (p.200)
Magazine article
From article database, no
DOI (p.200)
Newspaper article
Discontinuous pages
(p.200)
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(Wallace, 2007)
References
General format
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year).
Book title: Subtitle. Place of Publication: Publisher.
rd
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Citations in Text
References
Motion picture
(Video Recording)
(p.209)
YouTube Video
(p.215)
(Wesch, 2007)
Audio Podcast
(p.210)
Electronic Image*
(adapted from APA
Publication Manual)
WEB SITES
General Format
(Author Surname OR
Title, Year)
(Author Surname OR
Title, Year, page or para.
#) [direct quote]
(Browning, 1993, 12)
AUDIOVISUAL
MEDIA (pp.209-210)
Web page
General
(Neurology, n.d.)
Government Document
(p.205)
(Environment Canada,
2004)
Lecture Notes
(Mokry, 2007)
*Please note: Images in text are also generally accompanied by a caption that includes copyright information and a
statement of permission for use. Please check with your instructor to see if this is necessary.
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Citations In Text
How to Cite Quotations (pp.170-171)
When you incorporate a direct quotation into a sentence, you must cite the source.
Fit quotations within your sentences, enclosed in quotation marks, making sure the sentences are
grammatically correct.
Gibaldi (2003, p. 109) indicates that, Quotations are effective in research papers when used selectively.
Remember that [q]uotations are effective in research papers when used selectively (Gibaldi, 2003, p. 109).
In 2003, Gibaldi wrote that, Quotations are effective in research papers when used selectively (p. 109).
If a quotation is 40 words or more, omit quotation marks and use a block format in which the
quotation is indented about inch (or 5 spaces) from the left margin.
How to Cite Summaries or Paraphrases
Even if you put information in your own words by summarizing or paraphrasing, you must cite the original
author or researcher. For example, a paraphrase of Gibaldis earlier quotation might be identified as
follows:
When writing the research paper, students should use quotations judiciously (Gibaldi, 2003, p. 109).
How to Cite Information When You Have Not Seen the Original Source (p.178)
Sometimes an author writes about research that someone else has done, but you are unable to track
down the original research report. In this case, because you did not read the original report, you will
include only the source you did consult in your References. The words as cited in in the parenthetical
reference indicate you have not read the original research.
Fongs 1987 study (as cited in Bertram, 1996) found that older students memory can be as good as that of
young people, but this depends on how memory is tested. [Do not include Fong (1987) in your References;
do include Bertram (1996).]
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