2. A bibliography is a list of all of the sources you
have used (whether referenced or not) in the
process of researching your work. In general, a
bibliography should include:
the authors' names
the titles of the works
the names and locations of the companies that
published your copies of the sources
the dates your copies were published
the page numbers of your sources (if they are part
of multi-source volumes)
4. There are two main types of bibliography formats:
1. MLA (Modern Language Association) and
2. APA (American Psychological Association).
MLA format is typically used by
those writing in the liberal arts or
humanities community. It focuses
on the author of the cited source
material, in order to help the reader
place him or her in the appropriate
historical and philosophical
context.
APA format, on the other
hand, is used more often in the
social sciences and is useful for
citing from journals and other
such publications. Its focus is
more on the research presented
in the source and when it was
released, rather than the
individuals who conducted it.
5. The list of references must be on a new page at
the end of your text. The word References should
be centered at the top of the page. Do not
underline, bold, enlarge or use quotes for the
word References. The reference list must include
all references cited in the text of your paper. The
only exceptions to this rule are personal
communications and classical works; they are
cited in text only and are not included in the
Reference list.
General Rules – APA Reference List
6. Capitalization:
• Title case: Each word in the title is capitalized,
except for articles (a, an, the), prepositions
(against, between, in, of, to), conjunctions (and,
but, for, nor, or, so, yet), and the infinitive to.
Titles of periodicals (journals, magazines and
newspapers) are in title case.
• Sentence case: Only the first word and proper
nouns in the title are capitalized. Always
capitalize the first word, the first word after a
colon or a dash.
7. What to Capitalize?
Noun type
• Author or a person
• Company, institution, or agency
• Product
• Test or inventory
• Website or database
• Periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper)
• Software, program, or app
• Legal materials (statutes, acts, codes, bills, regulations,
constitutions, etc.; see also PM Appendix 7.1 and the legal
bluebook)
8. • Electronic sources: DOI or URL
DOI: If a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is listed on either a
print or an electronic source it is included in the reference. A
DOI is a unique alphanumeric string that is used to identify a
certain source (typically journal articles).
Example: doi:10.1080/14622200410001676305. You will not
have to include the URL of the article's home page or of the
database from which you retrieved the article if a DOI is
available.
A DOI will help your reader easily locate a document from your citation
URL: If there is no DOI for an article found in an online
periodical or book, include the URL for the journal home page.
If the article does not have a DOI, APA says to provide the
homepage URL for the article or the publisher. Do not provide
electronic database information, since it is not stable retrieval
information.
9. • Order: Entries should be arranged in alphabetical order
• Abbreviations:
– ed. = edition
– Ed. or Eds. = Editor(s)
– n.d. = no date (for not date of publication)
– p. or pp. = Page(s)
– Vol. or Vols. = Volume(s)
– No. = Number
• Italics: Titles of larger are italicized.
• Page numbers Use the abbreviation p. or pp. to designate page numbers of
articles from periodicals that do not use volume numbers, especially
newspapers. These abbreviations are also used to designate pages in
encyclopaedia articles and chapters from edited books.
10. • Indentation*: The first line of the entry is flush with the left
margin, and all subsequent lines are indented (5 to 7 spaces) to
form a "hanging indent".
• Authors: list authors in chronological order with the earliest
first.
• Spacing: All References should be double-spaced, and should
have a hanging indent (of 5-7 spaces) for the second and
subsequent lines for each entry.
• URL break: When the Reference entry includes a URL that
must be divided between two lines, break it before a slash or
dash or at another logical division point.
• Remove hyperlinks
11. Basic Format for Books
Format:
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital
letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.
Example:
Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to
preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.
Note: For "Location," you should always list the
city and the state using the two letter postal
abbreviation without periods (New York, NY).
12. Edited Book, No Author
Example:
Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J.
(Eds.). (1997). Consequences of
growing up poor. New York, NY:
Russell Sage Foundation.
Edited Book with an Author or
Authors
Example:
Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged
journals. K. V. Kukil (Ed.). New
York, NY: Anchor.
13. Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
Format:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title
of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of
book (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.
Note: When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use
"pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before
the page numbers in periodical references, except for newspapers. List any edition number
in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by a comma: (2nd ed.,
pp.66-72).
Example:
O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's
gender role journeys: A metaphor for healing, transition,
and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues
across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York, NY:
Springer.
14. Reference List: Other Print Sources
An Entry in an Encyclopedia
Format:
Last, F. M., & Last, F. M. (Year
Published). Article title. In Encyclopedia
Name. (Vol.#, pp. Page(s)). City, State:
Publisher
Examples:
McGhee, K., & McKay, G. (2007).
Insects. In Encyclopedia of Animals. (pp.
170-171). Washington, DC: National
Geographic Society.
15. Thesis/Dissertation – Unpublished/Print
version
Format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of
dissertation/thesis (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation [OR] Unpublished master's
thesis). Academic
Institution, City, State [OR] Country.
Example:
Considine, M. (1986). Australian
insurance politics in the 1970s: Two case
studies. (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation). University of Melbourne,
Melbourne, Australia.
16. Government Publication
Format:
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. OR
Government Name. Name of Government Agency.
(Year). Title: Subtitle (Report No. xxx [if available]).
Place of Publication: Publisher.
Example:
Gilmore, J., Woollam, P., Campbell, T., McLean, B.,
Roch, J., & Stephens, T. (1999). Statistical report on
the health of Canadians: Prepared by the Federal,
Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on
Population Health. Charlottetown, PEI: Health
Canada, Statistics Canada, Canadian Institute for
Health Information.
17. How to Cite a Magazine in Print in APA
• Format:
Last, F. M. (Year, Month Published). Article
title. Magazine Title, volume(issue), pp. Page(s).
Examples:
1. Rothbart, D. (2008, October). How I caught up
with dad. Men's Health, 108-113.
2. Jaeger, J. (2010, August). Social media use in the
financial industry. Compliance Week, 54.
18. How to Cite a Journal in Print in APA
Format:
Last, F. M., & Last, F. M. (Year Published). Article
title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. Pages.
Examples:
1. Jacoby, W. G. (1994). Public attitudes toward
government spending. American Journal of Political
Science, 38(2), 336-361.
2. Fearon, J. D., & Laitin, D. D. (2003). Ethnicity,
Insurgency, and Civil War. American Political Science
Review, 97(01), 75. doi: 10.1017/S0003055403000534
19. Electronic sources (web publications)
Article From an Online Periodical
Online articles follow the same guidelines for printed articles.
Include all information the online host makes available,
including an issue number in parentheses.
Format:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of
article. Title of Online Periodical, volume number(issue number
if available). Retrieved from
http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Example:
Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living web. A List
Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 149. Retrieved from
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving
20. Dissertation/thesis (data base)
Format:
Last, F.M. (Date
published). Title (Doctoral
dissertation or master’s thesis).
Retrieved from database name.
(Accession or Order no.)
Example:
Knight, K.A. (2011). Media
epidemics: Viral structures in
literature and new media (Doctoral
dissertation). Retrieved from MLA
International Bibliography Database.
(Accession No. 2013420395)
21. Thesis/Dissertation – Institutional Database
(i.e. University website)
Format:
• Author, A. A. (Year). Title of
dissertation/thesis (Doctoral
dissertation/Master's thesis). Retrieved from
http://url.com
Examples:
• Adams, R. J. (1973). Building a foundation for
evaluation of instruction in higher education and
continuing education (Doctoral dissertation).
Retrieved from http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/
22. Article From an Online Periodical
with DOI Assigned
Format:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of
article. Title of Journal, volume number, page range.
doi:0000000/000000000000 or http://doi.org/10.0000/0000
Example:
Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An
annotated bibliography. European Journal of Marketing, 41,
1245-1283. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161
23. Article From an Online Periodical with no DOI
Assigned
Format:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title
of article. Title of Journal, volume number. Retrieved from
http://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/
Example:
Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of
human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 8. Retrieved
from http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html
24. Newspaper Article
Format:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of
article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from
http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Example:
Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry
handbook linked to drug industry. The New York
Times. Retrieved from
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/psychi
atry-handbook-linked-to-drug-industry/?_r=0
25. Electronic Books
Format:
To cite e-book formats you must include the following
information: The author, date of publication, title, e-book
version, and either the Digital Object Identifer (DOI)
number, or the place where you downloaded the book.
Please note that the DOI/place of download is used in-
place of publisher information.
Example:
De Huff, E. W. (n.d.). Taytay’s tales: Traditional Pueblo
Indian tales. Retrieved from
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/dehuff/taytay/tayta
y.html
26. Kindle Books
To cite Kindle (or other e-book formats) you must
include the following information: The author, date of
publication, title, e-book version, and either the Digital
Object Identifer (DOI) number, or the place where you
downloaded the book. Please note that the DOI/place of
download is used in-place of publisher information.
Example:
Stoker, B. (1897). Dracula [Kindle DX version].
Retrieved from Amazon.com
27. How to Cite a Book Online in APA
Format:
Last, F. M. (Year Published) Book. Retrieved
from URL
Examples:
1. James, H. (2009). The ambassadors. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com
2. Porter, R. (1994). London, a social
history. Retrieved from http://books.google.com
28. How to Cite a Book From a Database in APA
Format:
Last, F. M. (Year Published). Book. Retrieved from URL
Examples:
1. Morem, S. (2005). 101 tips for graduates. Retrieved from
http://www.infobasepublishing.com
2. Bloom, H. (1986). American women poets. Retrieved from
http://www.infobasepublishing.com
Make sure to:
1. Add doi (Digital Object Identifier) if it is available after at
the end of the citation instead of URL.
2. If you used an e-reader, you should still include the URL that
you retrieved the book from, for example, www.amazon.com.
29. How to Cite an Website in APA
Format:
Last, F. M. (Year, Month Date Published). Article title.
Retrieved from URL
Example:
1. Satalkar, B. (2010, July 15). Water aerobics.
Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com
2. Cain, K. (2012, June 29). The Negative effects of
Facebook on communication. Social Media Today
RSS. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com
30. How to Cite a Blog Post in APA
Format:
Last, F. M. (Year Month Date Published). Article title
[Type of blog post]. Retrieved from URL.
Example:
1. Schonfeld, E. (2010, May 3). Google throws $38.8
million to the wind [Web log post]. Retrieved May 4,
2010, from http://techcrunch.com
2. China, The American Press, and the State Department
[Web log post]. (2013, January 3). Retrieved from
Schonfeld, E. (2010, May 3). Google throws $38.8
million to the wind [Web log post]. Retrieved May 4,
2010, from http://techcrunch.com
31. How to Cite a Journal Online in APA
Format:
Last, F. M. (Year Published). Article title. Journal
Name, Volume(Issue), pp. Page(s). doi:# or
Retrieved from URL
Example:
1. Poiger, U. G. (1996). Rock 'n' roll, female sexuality,
and the Cold War Battle over German Identities. The
Journal of Modern History, 68(3), 577.
doi:10.1086/245343
32. How to Cite a Journal on a Database in APA
APA style does not require Database information in its citations. You would cite
the source found within the Database, such as a journal article or a
photograph.
Format:
Last, F. M. (Year Published). Article title. Journal
Name, Volume(Issue), pp. Page(s). Retrieved from URL
Examples:
1. Jacoby, W. G. (1994). Public attitudes toward government
spending. American Journal of Political Science, 38(2),
336-361. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.
2. Davis, E. (1932). New chapters in American
history. The Science News-Letter, 22(605), 306-307.
doi: 10.2307/3907973
Make sure to: Provide advanced information for the book if it is
available.
33. How to Cite a Magazine Online in APA
Format:
Last, F. M. (Year, Month Date Published). Article
title. Magazine Title, Page(s). Retrieved from
URL
Examples:
1. Rothbart, D. (2008, October). How I caught up with
dad. Men's Health, 108-113. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com
2. Folger, T. Higgs: What causes the weight of the
world." Discover Magazine,. Retrieved from
http://discovermagazine.com
34. How to Cite a Magazine on a Database in APA
APA style does not require Database information in its citations.
You would cite the source found within the Database, such as a
magazine article or a photograph.
Format:
Last, F. M. (Year, Month Published). Article
title. Magazine Title. Retrieved from URL
Examples:
1. China's export prospects: Fear of the dragon. (2010,
January). The Economist. Retrieved from
http://academic.lexisnexis.com
2. Miley, M. (2008, December). Magazine's we'll
miss. Advertising Age, 79(46), 19. Retrieved from
http://connection.ebscohost.com/in print.
35. How to Cite a Magazine Published Directly
Online in APA
Format:
Last, F. M., & Last, F. M. (Year, Month Published).
Article title. Magazine Title. Retrieved from URL
Examples:
1. Nasar, S., & Gruber, D. (2006, August). Manifold destiny. The
New Yorker. Retrieved from http://newyorker.com
2. Bradley, K. (2012, December). The trick to tomatoes. Green
Lifestyle Magazine. Retrieved from
http://www.gmagazinecom.au/features/3530/trick-tomatoes
Make sure to:
Determine whether the source was published directly online or
originally
36. How to Cite a Dictionary Online in APA
Format
Format:
Author Last, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Entry Name [Def. Number].
In F. M. Last (Ed.) & F. M. Last (Trans.), Website Title. Retrieved
Month Date, Year, from URL.
Examples:
• Citation [Def. 2]. (n.d.). In Merriam Webster Online, Retrieved
September 24, 2011, from http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/citation.
• Hemorrhage [Def. 1]. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster Online. In Merriam-
Webster. Retrieved January 2, 2013, from http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/citation.
Make sure to:
Add a definition number (ex 5b).
Check the box if the source is well-known.
Provide the advanced information for the dictionary if it is available.
38. Single Author
Format:
Last name first, followed by author initials.
Example:
Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social
development. Current Directions in Psychological Science,
11, 7-10.
39. Two Authors
Format:
List by their last names and initials. Use the
ampersand instead of "and."
Example:
1. Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood
management across affective states: The hedonic
contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 66, 1034-1048.
40. Three to Seven Authors
Format:
List by last names and initials; commas separate author
names, while the last author name is preceded again by ampersand.
Example:
1. Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., Harlow, T.,
& Bach, J. S. (1993). There's more to self-esteem than whether it
is high or low: The importance of stability of self-
esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1190-
1204.
41. More Than Seven Authors
Format:
List by last names and initials; commas separate
author names. After the sixth author's name, use an
ellipses in place of the author names. Then provide the
final author name. There should be no more than seven
names.
Example:
1. Miller, F. H., Choi, M. J., Angeli, L. L., Harland,
A. A., Stamos, J. A., Thomas, S. T., . . . Rubin, L.
H. (2009). Web site usability for the blind and
low-vision user. Technical Communication, 57,
323-335.
42. Organization as Author
Example:
American Psychological Association. (2003).
Example:
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).
(1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
NOTE: When your essay includes parenthetical citations of sources with no
author named, use a shortened version of the source's title instead of an author's
name. Use quotation marks and italics as appropriate. For example,
parenthetical citations of the source above would appear as follows: (Merriam-
Webster's, 1993)
Unknown Author
43. Two or More Works by the Same Author
Format:
Use the author's name for all entries and list the entries by the
year (earliest comes first).
Example:
Berndt, T. J. (1981).
Berndt, T. J. (1999).
When an author appears both as a sole author and, in another citation, as the first
author of a group, list the one-author entries first.
Examples:
1. Berndt, T. J. (1999). Friends' influence on students‘ adjustment to
school. Educational Psychologist, 34, 15-28.
2. Berndt, T. J., & Keefe, K. (1995). Friends' influence on adolescents'
adjustment to school. Child Development, 66, 1312-1329.
44. Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and
Afterwords
Format
Cite the publishing information about a book as
usual, but cite Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or
Afterword (whatever title is applicable) as the
chapter of the book.
Example:
Funk, R., & Kolln, M. (1998). Introduction.
In E. W. Ludlow (Ed.), Understanding English
grammar (pp. 1-2). Needham, MA: Allyn and
Bacon