American Psychological Association

(APA) referencing style

The APA referencing style is used in psychology and some social science subjects. It consists of two
elements: (1) in-text citations, written in the author-date format and (2) a reference list where full
details are given in alphabetical order.

General Conventions

 APA style does not include a retrieval date for online sources
 Punctuation: ampersand (&) is used for ‘and’
 Common abbreviations: edition – ed.; editor – Ed.; editors – Eds.
 Titles of sources (as well as volume numbers of journal articles) are italicised
 Multiple authors: for works with 3, 4 or 5 authors include all names in the first in-text citation
and the abbreviate to the first author plus et al. (not italicised); and for works with 6 or more
authors abbreviate to the first author plus et al. for all in-text citations. For more examples,
visit http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/11/the-proper-use-of-et-al-in-apa-style.html
 doi: the new preferred format is to include the secure https protocol and URL prefix doi.org
e.g. https://doi.org/10.1037/arc0000014 (the plain-text version – doi:10.1037/arc0000014 –
will also be accepted, We recommend that you pick one format to use consistently throughout a
reference list.)

Reference List Layout

All lines after the first line of each source in the reference list should be indented half an inch (1.27cm)
from the left margin. Place your mouse cursor at the beginning of the second line in each reference list
item, right-click your mouse and select “Paragraph” from the pop up menu. Under “Indentation”, use
the “Special” pull-down menu to select “hanging”. In the “By:” menu select 1.27cm (or 0.5”).

Example

Hannoosh, M. (1989). The reflexive function of parody. Comparative Literature, 41(2), 113-127.
doi: 10.2307/1770971

Hanging indent

In-text Citations
You need to identify the sources of information you have used in the main body of your assignment. In
APA style, this is called an in-text citation and is surrounded by rounded brackets ( ). An in-text
citation can be embedded within a sentence or placed at the end of a sentence. It should include the
following elements:

 Author(s) or editor(s) surname

 Year of publication
 Page numbers – required for direct quotations
Paraphrasing, Summarising & Quoting Directly

Generally, when you are discussing previous research, you will be using your own words to describe
the understanding that you have arrived at through reading and thinking about that work. In these
cases, you will need to include an in-text citation to make it clear to the reader that the idea you are
presenting is not your own. Paraphrasing usually entails taking specific sections from another author
and putting their ideas into your own words. Summarising is when you offer your own understanding
of a what a larger piece of work, for example a theory, is attempting to convey. Correct citations are
required in both instances. Finally, when you include the words of someone else’s work in your essay
you are quoting. You must indicate that the words you are using are not your own. To do this you will
use speech marks around the words you are quoting and the page number (or page range).

Remember: Each time you quote directly, paraphrase or summarise someone else’s ideas, you have to
include an in-text citation and a full reference entry at the end of your work.

Source type In text citation example Reference list example

(Surname of author, Year)
Book (Aronson, 2003)
Only include page numbers if you are quoting directly
from the source.
(Surname of author of chapter,
Chapter in an
Year, p. no)
Edited Book
(Leites, 2013, p. 452)
(Surname of author of article, Year,
p. no)
Journal Article
(Lopez & Louis, 2009, p. 6)
(Surname of author of website OR
Corporate author, Year)
(The British Psychological Society
[BPS], 2018)
Website
Hint: Corporate author is the
organisation or institution that has
created the source. Spell out the first
time and then use the acronym the
following times.
Surname, Initial. (Year). Title of the book in sentence case and
italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.
Aronson, E. (2003). The social animal (9th ed.). New York, NY:
Worth Publishers.
Surname, Initial. (Year). Title of chapter in sentence case. In
Initial(s). Surname of editor (Ed.), Title of book in sentence
case and italics (pp. page numbers). Place of Publication:
Publisher.
Leites, N. (2013). Transference interpretations only? In A.H.
Esman (Ed.) Essential papers on transference (pp. 434-454).
New York, NY: New York University Press.
Surname, Initial. (Year). Title of the article in sentence case. Title
of Journal in Title Case and Italics, Volume in italics(Issue no),
page numbers of article, doi: or Retrieved from URL
Lopez, S.J. and Louis, M.C. (2009). The principles of strengths-
based education. Journal of College and Character, 10(4), 1-8.
doi: 10.2202/1940-1639.1041
Surname, Initial. OR Corporate author. (Year site
created/updated). Title of webpage in sentence case.
Retrieved from URL
The British Psychological Society (2018). Women in Science
Database to raise the profile of women researchers in
psychology and neuroscience. Retrieved from
https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/women-science-
database-raise-profile-women-researchers-psychology-and-
neuroscience

Surname, Initial. (Year). Title of the article in sentence case. Title

(Surname of original author, Year
cited in Surname of author, Year,
p. no)
Secondary
Referencing (Jennings, 1973, cited in Kedem-
Tahar & Felix-Kellermann, 1996, p.
28)
of Journal in Title Case and Italics, Volume in italics(Issue no),
page numbers of article.
Kedem-Tahar, E. & Felix-Kellermann, P. (1996). Psychodrama and
drama therapy: a comparison. The Arts in Psychotherapy,
23(1): 27-36.
Please note: Your reference list should only contain works you have read.
By putting an item in your reference list, you are implying you have actually
read that work.

For more examples, please visit http://blog.apastyle.org or consult pp. 91-108 of Cite Them Right (10th ed.) by Pears &
Shields.