Research Basics: APA Citation Examples

This page provides examples of works cited entries in APA Citation Style for a variety of common sources. These examples should not be considered exhaustive. 

If you are unsure how to cite a particular source, talk to your instructor or a reference librarian, or consult the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 

• Use initials only for an author or editor's first and middle names.
• Use ampersands between multiple authors’ names.
• List the publication city and state (or city and country) unless the publication city is listed in the name of the publisher itself. 
• The publication date immediately follows the author’s name in parentheses.
• Only the first word of the title and subtitle are capitalized (along with any proper names).
• Missing information can be omitted from the citation except dates, which should be recorded as n.d.
• In text citations referring to a print source include a page number.

Book by one author (Brophy, 1995, p. 54)

Brophy, R. J. (1995). Robinson Jeffers: Dimensions of a poet. New York, NY:

         Fordham University Press.

 
Book with two authors (Werther & Davis, 1993, p. 123)

Werther, W. B., Jr. & Davis, K. (1993). Human resources and personnel

         management (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

 
Book with three to five authors First in-text citation (Edginton, Hudson, & Lankford, 2001, p. 45); subsequent citations (Edington et al., 2001, p. 45)

Edginton, C. R., Hudson, S. D., & Lankford, S. V. (2001). Managing recreation,

         parks, and leisure services: An introduction. Champaign, IL: Sagamore.

Multiple books, same author (Brophy, 1973, p. 45) (Brophy, 1995, p. 56)

Brophy, R. J. (1973). Robinson Jeffers: Myth, ritual, and symbol in his narrative

         poems. Cleveland, OH: Case Western Reserve University Press.

Brophy, R. J. (1995). Robinson Jeffers: Dimensions of a poet. New York, NY:

         Fordham University Press.

 
Edited book (Nuwer, 2004, p. 23)

Nuwer, H. (Ed.). (2004). The hazing reader. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Chapter in an edited book (Arnold, 2004, pp. 60-85)

Arnold, J. C. (2004). Hazing and alcohol in a college fraternity. In H. Nuwer (Ed.), The

         hazing reader (pp. 51-105). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

 
Book with a corporate author First in-text citation (World Tourism Organization [WTO], 2003, p. 34); subsequent citations (WTO, 2003, p. 34)

World Tourism Organization. (2003). MICE outbound tourism 2000. Madrid,

         Spain: Author.

Company Profile (Business and Company Resource Center, 2010)

Business and Company Resource Center. (2010, May 14) Darden restaurants.

         [Company profile]. Retrieved from Business and Company Resource

         Center Database: http://ebscohost.com/search=login/articles/33957

Film or Video Recording (Schofield, 2001)

Schofield, J. D. (Producer), & Annuad, J. J. (Director). (2001). Enemy at the Gates

         [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.

Personal Interview format: (E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2014)

Personal interviews or communications (emails, etc) are not included in your reference list but an in-text citation should be included in the manuscript.

Class Handout Quoting Another Source (Aldiss, 2006)

Aldiss, B. (2006) Icarus Poems: A Selective Arachniography [Handout]. English

         Composition: English 1020, Johnson & Wales University. Denver, Colorado.

Professor's Video Lecture posted in Ulearn (Smith, 2013)

Smith, J. (2013). Foodservice management: An introduction [Video]. Retrieved

         from http://www.blackboard.com/FSM3020/videos

For all electronic articles, include the DOI (digital object identifier) in the reference if one is assigned. The DOI is typically listed on the first page of the article or in the detailed record of the citation.

Journal article, one author, full-text online database, with DOI (Perry, 1973, p.276)

Perry, A. (1973). The effect of heredity on attitudes toward alcohol, cigarettes, and

         coffee. Journal of Applied Psychology, 58(2), 275-277. doi: 10.1037/h0035527

Journal article, two authors, full-text online database, without a DOI (Baily & Sage, 1988, p.128)

Bailey, C. I., & Sage, G. H. (1988). Values communicated by a sports event: the case

         of the Super Bowl. / Valeurs transmises par un evenement sportif: le cas du

         "super-bowl". Journal Of Sport Behavior, 11(3), 126-143. Retrieved from

         http://0-search.ebscohost.com.helin.uri.edu/s3h&AN=SPH229187

Magazine article, full-text online database (“Call of the East”, 2005)
Note: only use article title if an author cannot be found

“Call of the East”. (2005, Feb 19). The Economist. Retrieved from

         http://www.lexisnexis.com/articles/3497343

Magazine article, web (Gleadle, 2002)

Gleadle, F. (2002). Playing with food. Wine International, 3(12). Retrieved

         from http://www.wineinternational.com/articles/34323

OR

Gleadle, F. (2002). Playing with food. Wine International, 3(12).

         doi: 0000000/000000000000

Newspaper article, full-text online database (Hudson, 2004)

Hudson, K. (2004, Dec 6). Center’s lessons added up. Denver Post.

         Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/articles/593573 

Newspaper article, newspaper web site (Franklin, 2007)

Franklin, D.T. (2007, Nov 20). The scientists speak. New York Times.

         Retrieved from http://www.thenewyorktimes/articles/78241

Company Web site (Youth, 2010); ("How to cut a cake", 2010); (Youth, n.d.)

Youth, J. (2010, May 5). How to cut a cake the right way. Retrieved from

         http://www.cakeartists.com/how-to

OR (if no author)

"How to cut a cake". (2010, May 5). How to cut a cake the right way. Retrieved

         from http://www.cakeartists.com/how-to

OR (if no date)

Youth, J. (n.d.). How to cut a cake the right way. Retrieved from

         http://www.cakeartists.com/how-to

Blog Post (Le, 2014)
The generic form of a works cited entry for a blog post is: Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of the Blog Post Entry. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from http://thewebsite.com

Le, S. (2014, July 20). Sunday Stuff. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from

http://iamafoodblog.com/sunday-stuff-1/

YouTube Video (jwdenver, 2013)

The generic form of a works cited entry for a YouTube video is: Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from http://thewebsite.com

LIONTV. (2013, August 28). Finding Keywords [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://youtu.be/7x7ANen-2hU?list=PLTverb9dWv3A_HSU1s6AubTl1dYP3Y5jd

Tweet (TCTCLibrary, 2014)

The generic form of a works cited entry for a Twitter post is: Twitter Handle.(Year, Month Day). Enter the tweet message here. [Twitter post]. Retrieved from http://thewebsite.com

TCTCLibrary. (2015, June 18). Rare recordings of famous authors - enjoy! http://buff.ly/T7iPlz

#mentalfloss. [Twitter post]. Retrieved from

http://twitter.com/TCTCLibrary/status/479318403313049600

Facebook Post (TCTCLibrary, 2014)

The generic form of a works cited entry for a Facebook post is: Username. (Year, Month Day). Enter Facebook post here. [Facebook update]. Retrieved from http://thewebsite.com

TCTCLibrary. (2015, June 20). Say goodbye! The semester is finally over! [Facebook update]. Retrieved from

http://www.facebook.com/TCTCLibrary

Email (personal communication, May 16, 2016)

Personal communications (emails, etc) are not included in your reference list but an in-text citation should be included in the manuscript.

Borrowed from TeachBytes. c 2013.

Journal article (Kozak, 2004, p. 290)

Kozak, M. (2004). Introducing destination benchmarking: A conceptual approach.

         Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 28(2), 281-97.

Chart, Journal Article

This citation should directly follow the chart/table:

Note. Verb Tenses. Reprinted from "Verb Tenses and their uses" by J. H. Horton and T. U. Verlander, 2001, The OWL at Purdue Journal, 34, p. 36. Copyright 2001 by the Educational Publishing Foundation.

This citation should be included in your references:

Horton, J. H. & Verlander, T. U. (2001). Verb tenses and their uses. The OWL at

         Purdue Journal, 34.

Magazine article, monthly (Foster & Bradach, 2005, p. 98)

Foster, W., & Bradach, J. (2005, May 4). Should nonprofits seek profits? Harvard

         Business Review, 7(12), 92-100.

Magazine article, weekly (Lipper & Hirsh, 2003, p. 28)

Lipper, T., & Hirsh, M. (2003, June 4). Stepping into the fray. Newsweek, 16, 26-29.

Newspaper editorial, print, with no author (“Federal Deficit”, 2005, p. A1)

Federal deficit still looms large. [Editorial]. (2006, October 12). Denver Post,

         pp. A1, A9.