Note: The APA Citation Style is generally used for psychology, social sciences, and health disciplines. Please check with your instructors which style to use in your assignments
What is an In-Text Citation?
In-text citations are short references that lead the readers to the Reference List entries for the sources you have used in your research paper. The signal word/phrase that you use in the text must match the first thing that appears on the corresponding entry on the Reference List.
In APA, the author's or authors' last name(s) and the year of publication from which the summary or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text and a complete reference should appear on your Reference List page. If the in-text is a direct quotation, you must include the page number(s) in addition to the author(s) and year of publication.
Quoting Sources
When you quote a source, you include the author's exact words in your text. Use "quotation marks" around the author's words or create a block text for long quotations. Include signal phrases and an in-text citation to show where the quote is from.
Paraphrasing & Summarizing Sources
When you paraphrase or summarize a source, you restate the source's ideas in your own words and sentence structure. Select what is relevant to your topic, and restate only that. Changing only a few words is not sufficient in paraphrasing/ summarizing. Instead, you need to completely rephrase the author's ideas in your own words. You do not need to use quotation marks.
Always use in-text citations when you paraphrase or summarize, to let the reader know that the information comes from another source. Continue to use signal phrases as well.
Signal phrases let your reader know that you are quoting or summarizing from another source.
Examples:
acknowledges | comments | endorses | reasons |
adds | compares | grants | refutes |
admits | confirms | illustrates | rejects |
agrees | contends | implies | reports |
argues | declares | insists | responds |
asserts | denies | notes | suggests |
believes | disputes | observes | thinks |
claims | emphasizes | points | outwrites |
Narrative citation when the author's name is included in your text:
Page numbers are optional for in-text citations that do not include a quotation.
Format for parenthetical citation when the author's name is not included in your text:
Use last names only. Add an "&" before the second name.
In et al., et should not be followed by a period. Only al should be followed by a period.
When there is no author listed or identified as specifically as Anonymous, include only the title and the year of publication in the in-text citation. If Anonymous is used, put that as author. If the title of an unknown book is not italicized in the reference list, then put double quotation marks around the title in the in-text citation. Magazine and news articles are also put in double quotes.
With the right supports, evidence-based practices can be used to improve communications in many different teams (Interpersonal Skills, 2019).
Haptic memory is mediated through the sensory receptors and lasts about 2 seconds ("Understanding Sensory Memory," 2018).
When the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.
To cite a specific part of a source, provide an author-date citation for the work plus information about the specific part such as pages, sections, tables, slides, etc.
According to one study, "The poor and minorities were victims" (Frieden & Sagalyn, 2005, p. 29).
Scientific disciplines explain aesthetic response differently from the humanities (Shimamura, 2017, Chapter 3).
Police have started to target dissidents with technological abilities (Shadid, 2011, para. 3).
Children and the elderly both experience positive outcomes when they perceive a moderate level of control (Thompson, 1991, Table 1).
Some guidelines for the list of references at the end of your paper:
References
Achterberg, J. (1985). Imagery in healing. Shambhala Publications.
American Psychological Association. (2017). Stress in America: The state of our nation. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2017/state-nation.pdf
Baider, L., Uziely, B., & Kaplan De-Nour, A. (1994). Progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery in cancer patients. General Hospital Psychiatry, 16(5), 340–347. https://doi.org/10.1016/0163-8343(94)90021-3
Ball, T. M., Shapiro, D. E., Monheim, C. J., & Weydert, J. A. (2003). A pilot study of the use of guided imagery for the treatment of recurrent abdominal pain in children. Clinical Pediatrics, 42(6), 527–532. https://doi.org/10.1177/000992280304200607
Bernstein, D. A., & Borkovec, T. D. (1973). Progressive relaxation training: A manual for the helping professions. Research Press.
Books with no author given:
Title of book. (Year). Publisher.
World almanac and book of facts. (2000). Funk.
Books or e-books with one author:
Last Name, First Initial(s). (Year). Title of book. Publisher.
Burgess, R. (2019). Rethinking global health: Frameworks of power. Routledge.
Books with two authors:
Last Name, First Initial(s), & Last Name, First Initial(s). (Year). Title of book. Publisher.
Krisberg, B., & Austin, J. F. (2001). Reinventing juvenile justice. Sage.
Books with more than two authors:
APA now requires listing up to 20 authors for a source in the references list. For works with more than 20 authors, list the first 19, insert an ellipsis (…) point, and then list the last author's name.
Smith, J., Jones, B. E., Brown, K. E., Doe, J., Chan, L., Garcia, S. M., White, C-G., Fernández, J., Ahmed, A. J., Zhào, L., Cohen, D., Watanabe, K., Kim, K., Del Rosario, J., Yilmaz, P. K., Nguyễn, T., Wilson, T. H., Wang, W., Kahale, A. ... Zhang, Z. Z. (Date). Title. Source.
Books with an editor:
Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (Year). Title of book. Publisher.
Johnson, C. L., & Tuite, C. (Eds.). (2009). A companion to Jane Austen. Wiley-Blackwell.
Books with edition or volume number:
Montney, C. B. (Ed.). (1994). Asian American information directory (5th ed.). Gale.
E-books from a website with a DOI:
If the URL or DOI in your citation needs to be put on more than one line of text, do not add a hyphen. Do not add a period at the end of the URL or DOI. A shortened URL or DOI (e.g., tiny URL) is accepted if it takes the reader to the exact source. For e-books, the format, platform, or device (e.g., Kindle) is not included in the reference.
Last Name, First Initial(s). (Year). Title of book. Retrieved Month Day, Year DOI or URL (If no DOI, use URL)
Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist Therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000
E-book from a database:
The database name is not required. If a DOI is available, use that. Include the database name only if your instructor requires it.
Hersen, M. (2000). Advanced abnormal child psychology. Lawrence Erlbaum.
E-book with no DOI and a non-database URL:
Christian, B., & Griffiths, T. (2016). Algorithms to live by: The computer science of human decisions. Henry Holt and Co. http://a.co/7qGBZAk
Articles by 2-20 Authors:
Use an ampersand(&) before the final author's name. Include a DOI if it is available. For articles with article numbers, include the article number instead of the page range.
Last Name, First Initial(s). (Year). Title of article. Title of Publication, Vol(issue), Page(s). https://doi.org/xxxxx
Weisz, J. R., McCarty, C. A., & Valeri, S. M. (2006). Effects of psychotherapy for depression in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1),132- 149. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.1.132
Articles by 21 or more Authors:
List the first nineteen authors, then put an ellipsis (. . .) before the final author’s name, but no ampersand.
Last Name, First Initial(s). (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Magazine, Page(s).
Lavelle, M. (2008, June 11). Behind the teen birth decline. U.S. News & World Report, 63-65.
Last Name, First Initial(s). (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, Page(s).
Hall, T. (2008, February 24). IQ scores are up. The New York Times, pp. F1, F5.
If you reference an entire Web site (not a specific part of or document on the site), only give the address (URL) in the text. No entry is needed in the Reference list.
The Maryland Department of Health provides information about state services (https://health.maryland.gov).
Citing web pages:
Last Name, First Initial(s). Year, Month Day). Title of document. Site Name. URL
McNeely, L. (2018, July 10). NCHC Releases Major Health Care Affordability Report. National Coalition on Health Care. https://nchc.org/nchc-releases-major-health-care-affordability-report/
Only cite content that can't be accessed anywhere else.
Twitter:
User Name [twitter handle]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of tweet [image or video] [Tweet]. URL
Capital Weather Gang [@capitalweather]. (2022, May 8). All the rain Friday and Saturday sent debris surging down the Potomac River. This heron decided to go along for [thumbnail video] [Tweet]. https://twitter.com/capitalweather/status/1523463330618232832
Instagram:
User Name [handle]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of post [image or video]. URL
National Alliance on Mental Illness [@namicommunicate]. (2022, May 1). It's our FAVORITE month of the year! Let's kick off #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth! During this month let's come together, share our lived [Instagram photograph]. https://www.instagram.com/p/CdBP14kOUlZ/
Last Name, First Initial(s). (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. Platform. URL
Baker, N. (2007, February 7). March of the librarians [Video]. YouTube. http://youtu.be/Td922l0NoDQ
DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
The DSM-5 Online is available through MC Library's database collection (MC login required off-campus). To cite, use the DOI for the section being referred to - individual chapters and other parts of DSM-5 have been assigned DOIs. Put the DOI in the publisher position. (See the supplemental information for more detail.)
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Anxiety disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm05
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Sleep-Wake Disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Association.
APA Resources
The following activities can help strengthen your APA citation skills.
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