Researching

Finding information, using the ideas of others, citing sources.

APA References List

The References list is a list of sources referenced throughout the document. The References list works in conjunction with in-text citation so that readers can find your sources if they wish.. The in-text citation lets readers know immediately that the quote or information included in the paper is the work of another writer. Readers can then refer to the References list to see all of the publication information.

To see how entries on an APA Style Reference page compare to those on a MLA Style Works Cited page, click here.

Formatting the References Page

The References list is located at the end of your paper. Begin the list on a new page.
The References list uses 1 inch margins, double spacing, and the same header as the rest of your paper.
Title the list References. Do not underline or italicize the title. The title should also be centered at the top of the page.
List the sources alphabetically by the author of the source’s last name, and when there isn’t an author, use the first word(s) of the entry, excluding a, an, and the.
If a source is longer than one line of text, indent the second and remaining lines ½ inch.

APA References Page

Formatting the References List Entries

APA follows a general format for entries that usually begins with the author and date of publication. Different kinds of sources, however, need to include specific kinds of information. Here are the APA guidelines for some of the most common.

Tip

There are a number of bibliography generators online, including RefWorks (which FSC subscribes to), EasyBib, and Citation Machine, and they work fairly well. You still need to understand how the citations work, though, because their results aren’t 100% correct and sometimes you need to make adjustments manually.

Authors

The names of the authors in a References list are arranged with the last name first. Use initials (with periods) for first and middle names. All authors are listed this way.

Tip

If there are multiple authors, list the authors in the same order the source lists them. Do NOT alphabetize the authors’ names.

List the names of up to six authors with an ampersand (&) between the last two. If there are more than six authors, list the first six, followed by et al. (Latin for “and others”).

Examples:

Burnett, R. E.

Williams, R., & Tollett, J.

Himley, M., Farris, C. R., & Marzluf, P. P.

Sengupta, N., Booy, R., Schmitt, H., Peltola, H., Van-Damme, P., Schumacher, R., et al.

When the author is a group or organization, put the full name of the organization in the same position as a person's name.

Example:

American Psychological Association (2001).

Books

Author(s). (Date of publication). Title of work. Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:

Williams, R. & Tollett, J. (2006). The non-designer’s web book. Berkeley,

CA: Peachpit Press.

Tip

For anything other than the title of a journal, capitalize only the first letter of the title and that’s it. With the title of a journal, capitalize all important words. If there is a subtitle, use a colon (:) and capitalize the first word after the colon.

Scholarly Journal Articles

Scholarly journal articles that you get in print form need the following information in the References list: Author(s) (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number if available), page numbers.

Example:

Carter, M. (2007). Ways of knowing, doing, and writing in the disciplines.

College Composition and Communication, 58(3), 385-418.

If the full text of the journal article comes from a database, you need to add the information about that electronic resource: Retrieved Month Day, Year, from Name of Database (Document Number, if any).

Example:

Davison, T. E. & McCabe, M. P. (2006). Adolescent body image and

psychosocial functioning. Journal of Social Psychology, 146

(1),15-30. Retrieved December 7, 2007 from Academic

Search Premier (AN 19547542).

Tip

Italicize titles of books and journals, but not articles or essays.

Web Document

Author(s) (Date of publication). Title of work. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from http://web address. If you are only using a part of a site, add the title of the individual page or section after the date of publication, and place In in front of the title of the work.

Example:

Driessen, C.E., (2005). Message communication in advertising: Selling the

Abercrombie and Fitch image. In Journal of Undergraduate

Research, VIII. Retrieved October 16, 2007, from

http://www.uwlax.edu/urc/JUR-online/PDF/2005/driessen.pdf.

Tip

Do not break a URL in the middle if the URL will fit on one line, even if it looks strange. If you have to break the URL, do it after a hyphen or a slash.

Online Periodical or Scholarly Journal Articles

Author(s) (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical or Scholarly Journal, volume number(issue number if available). Retrieved month day, year, from http://full address.

Example:

Alexander, M., (2005). Clothing and fit preferences of young female adult

consumers. International journal of clothing, 17, 56-64.

Retrieved October 23, 2007, from

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0955-6222.htm.

Sources

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001.

Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007.

Purdue University. “APA Formatting and Style Guide.” The OWL at Purdue. 4 Dec. 2007. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.