This document provides an overview of APA citation style, including the differences between citations and references, why we cite sources, and how to format references correctly. It explains that references appear in the bibliography while citations are used in-text, and discusses quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing sources. Examples are provided for various source types, such as journal articles, legal sources, and sources without authors. Guidance is offered on citing multiple authors, indirect sources, and no author sources.

1. Created by Candice Benjes-Small
Presented by Sarah Smith
APA 6th
for RU Students

2. Citations and References
What’s the difference?
Reference is the entry in the bibliography at the end of the
paper
Citation is the in-text parenthetical notation alerting readers to
where a particular quote or piece of information came from

3. Why do we cite?
To prevent plagiarism
To give credit
To support our arguments

4. When do we cite?
Quotations
Word for word (used rarely in health sciences)
Paraphrases
Putting a sentence or paragraph into your own words
Summaries
Providing a short sentence or two summing up an article,
usually emphasizing what the conclusion of the article was

5. Creating an APA style reference
Author. (Date of publication). Title of document.
Publishing/Retrieval data.
Baym, G. (2010). From Cronkite to Colbert: The evolution
of broadcast news. Boulder, CO: Paradigm
Publishers.
Gray, L. A., & Saracino, M. (1991). College students'
attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about AIDS:
Implications for family life educators. Family
Relations, 40(3), 258-263.

6. Secret to Success
Find an example of what you wish to cite and follow the
format in the example
Order the parts like in the example
Use capitalization like in the example
Use italics like in the example
FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE!

7. Finding Examples
The APA Publication Manual
Note that the back cover is a guide to reference examples
RU’s color-coded APA Guide
Intended for undergraduates, but still useful for examples
If you can’t find example there, be sure to check the Manual
Next two slides show you how to find the Color-Coded Guide
from the library home page: http://library.radford.edu

11. Using the Color-Coded Guide
Decide what kind of item you are trying to cite
Choose the tab that corresponds to that type of item
Also look at the tabs for in-text citations and formatting your
paper for further help

12. Social Work students most often use JOURNAL ARTICLES
In your manual or on the color-coded guide, find an example
of an APA reference for scholarly journal articles
In the next two slides, compare the original article with an
APA reference of the article. What is different?

14. APA reference for the article
Muise, A., Christofides, E., & Desmarais, S. (2009).
More information than you ever wanted: Does
Facebook bring out the green-eyed monster of
jealousy? CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(4), 441-
449. doi:10.1089/cpb.2008.0263

15. Differences
Don’t include professional titles of authors
Don’t include first or middle names (just initials)
The capitalization of the article and journal titles are different
from the original vs. the APA
DOI is capitalized in the article; it’s lower case in APA

16. In-Text Citation
As part of their study, researchers created “The Facebook
Jealousy scale” (Muise, Christofides, & Desmaris, 2009, p.
442).
Include page number for paraphrases and quotes
Include just authors and year for summaries

17. Multiple Authors
Reference list
If you have up to 7 authors, list all.
If you have 8 or more, list the first 6, then use the ellipse (…)
before listing the final author
Example:
Torres, K., Ackermann, E. G., Vassady, L. J., Brainard, B.,
Small, C. B., Smith, S.,…Hyde, W. E. (2007). Cognitive
development and evaluation skills. Journal of Library Research,
14(9), 336-352.

18. Multiple Authors
In-text citation
If you have 2 authors, name both every time.
If you have 3-5 authors, list all the first time. After the first
time, use only the first author’s name followed by et al.
If you have 6 or more authors, list only the first author
followed by et al.
In-text citation: Most college students are considered to be
relativists (Torres et al., 2007).
This is a summary, so no need for a page number.

19. No author
If there is a government agency or organization, treat it as
the author
Supreme Court of the United States. (2007). Rules of the
Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved January 28, 2010
from http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
ctrules/2007rulesofthecourt.pdf
In-text citation:
(Supreme Court of the United States, 2007, p. 7).

20. No author at all- I swear!
Tablet computing: The book of Jobs. (2010, January 28). The
Economist. Retrieved January 28, 2010 from
http://www.economist.com/world/middleeastafrica/displ
ayStory.cfm?story_id=15403075&source=hptextfeature
In-text citation: (“Tablet Computing,” 2010, para. 3).

21. No author continued
NEVER start with the date! Instead, the title moves into the
first spot, followed by the date.

22. Citing indirect sources
Sheets, Fredendall, and Claypool created categories for
different situations that could cause jealousy (as cited in
Muise, Christofides, & Desmarais, 2009, p. 442).
*In your reference list, you would have an entry for the Muise,
Christofides, & Desmarais article. You would not have an
entry for the Sheets, Fredendall, and Claypool article.

23. Citing legal sources
Follow models from:
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/legalapa.htm
APA Publication Manual, Appendix 7.1 (pgs. 216-224)
Reference to a U.S. Supreme Court case:
Brown v. Board of Educ., 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
In-text citation:
In the case of Brown v. Board of Educ. (1954), the court decided…
~or~ (Brown v. Board of Educ., 1954)

24. McConnell Library
 IM: RULibSpot
 E-mail: refdesk@radford.edu
APA Color-Coded Guide:
http://libguides.radford.edu/apastyle
For more help