How to cite using APA referencing

This page outlines how to complete various kinds of citations and author variations using the APA Referencing method.

Quotations, paraphrases and summaries

Quotation (exact words from the source)

In-text

Reproduce the text word for word and place quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quotation. The author, date and page number should be included.

Broudy (1998, p. 8) argues that "on the common criteria for schooling, our sample citizen has failed because he cannot replicate the necessary skill or apply the relevant principles."

"Thinking on the common criteria for schooling, our sample citizen has failed because he cannot replicate the necessary skill or apply the relevant principles." (Broudy, 1998, p. 8)

A paraphrase of an author's words or ideas

Restate the original in your own words. The author and date must be included. It can also be helpful to provide page or paragraph numbers, particularly if you are citing a longer work. The APA publications manual 6th edn (p. 171) encourages you to provide page numbers to help your reader locate the information.

Encouraging students to memorise information and then testing their memory has been a constant criterion of pedagogy (Broudy, 1998).

Broudy (1998, p. 8) argues that memorisation does not result in an ability to solve problems.

To reference the overall content of a work

No need to include page numbers because it is the entire work you are referring to:

Larsen and Greene (1989) studied the effects of pollution in three major citiies...

A secondary source (a source referred to in another publication)

Secondary sources should be used sparingly, such as when the primary work is unavailable.

In-text

Acknowledge both sources. In the text, name the primary source and cite the secondary source. Include the words “as cited in” before the secondary source:

Gibbs suggests that “because students are aware of their tutor’s mastery of the subject matter, it is common for them to assume that their reader has no needs at all” (as cited in Bowden & Marton, 1998, p. 35).

or:

Gibbs' study (as cited in as cited in Bowden & Marton, 1998) discusses the assumptions students hold concerning the expertise of ...

 

References

ONLY include the details of the source you actually read, which is the secondary source:

Bowden, J. & Marton, F. (1998). The university of learning. London, England: Kogan Page.

More than one author

In text

Always include both authors in the order in which they appear. Separate names by using ‘and’ in running text use ‘and’; within parentheses, use an ampersand (&):

(Gerster & Basset, 1987) or:

Gerster and Basset (1987) assert that ...

References

Gerster, R. & Bassett, J. (1991). Seizures of youth: The sixties and Australia. Melbourne, Australia: Hyland House.

More than three authors

In text

State all authors when first mentioning the source. Subsequent references to the source are shortened to the first surname followed by ‘et al.’ (et al. = and others):

First entry: Leeder, Dobson, Patel, Mathews and Marriot (1996, p. 78)

Subsequent entries: Leeder et al. (1996, p. 78) 

 

References

Leeder, S. R., Dobson, A. J., Patel, N. K., Mathews, P. S. & Mariot, D. L. (1996). The Australian film industry, Adelaide, Australia: Dominion Press.

Don’t use et al. in the references. List all authors in the order in which they appear on the title page.

More than one work in the same citation

 In text

Arrange alphabetically, separated by semicolons:

(Entwistle, 1977; Haddon, 1969) 

 

References

Each source will require a separate reference list entry. 

An author who published more than one work in the same year

In the text

Attach an a, b, c, d etc. after the year:

Karskens  (2003a, 2003b) examines the archeology of ... 

 

List of references

Each source will require a separate reference list entry. Order them alphabetically by title.

Karskens, G. (2003a). Revisiting the worldview: The archaeology of convict households in Sydney's rocks neighbourhood. Historical Archaeology, 37(1), 34-55. Retrieved from https://sha.org/

Karskens, G. (2003b). Tourists and pilgrims: (Re)visiting the rocks. Journal of Australian Studies, 27(79), 29-38. doi:10.1080/14443050309387885

Multiple works by the same author

In-text

Use the author name and the dates in chronological order:

In both studies, Entwistle (2007, 2010) examined ...

 

List of references

Each source will require a separate entry in the List of References.

A book with no author

In text

Use the title (if it is short) in place of an author name in the citation. If the title is long, use a short version:

(Oxford collocations dictionary, 2009)

 

References

Place the title in the author position.

Oxford collocations dictionary for students of English (2nd ed.). (2009). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

See next: Citing various sources with APA