APA References

General Guidelines

• Page Set Up - The reference list should be a separate, double spaced page. Center the word References at the top in bold font. Entries should be double spaced with a hanging indent. Recommended fonts: Times New Roman (12 pt.) Arial, Calibri, Georgia (11 pt.) Check the APA manual for more suggestions.
• Organizing Sources - Alphabetize sources by the last name of the first author. If there is no author, alphabetize by the first significant word in the title. A group or organization may be the author.
• Titles - Capitalize the titles of journals, magazines, and newspapers. Capitalize only the first word of the title, subtitle, and any proper nouns for books and encyclopedias.
• Online Sources - Include a URL or Digital Object Identifier (DOI). A DOI is a number assigned to scholarly journal articles. Use the DOI if available and not a URL. Database information is not required for most academic research databases. See the manual for exceptions.
• Authors - List up to 20 authors. For 21 and more authors, include the first 19 authors, an ellipsis (...) and the name of the final author. Author may be an organization or government agency.
• Missing Information - If there is no author, start your citation with the title of the source. If there is no date of publication, use (n.d.).

Digital Object Identifer (DOI)

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique number assigned to some journal articles and books available electronically. Magazine and newspaper articles are not assigned DOIs. APA requires citations for journals and books to include a DOI, if it is available. Find the DOI on the article or look up the DOI with the author name and article title at: https://www.crossref.org/guestquery/

Research Database Sources

Many articles in research databases are identical to their print version, so it is usually not necessary to provide database information. However, if an article can only be found in a certain database, then include the database name and DOI or URL. Some examples of LCC databases where you would include the database information: ERIC, Nursing Reference Center Plus, Science Online, Vocational Biographies, and World Geography.

Always use a DOI if there is one. If there is no DOI, use the URL for the login page of the database.

Examples

Burundi: Traditions & etiquette (2020). In World Geography: Understanding a Changing World. https://libguides.lcc.edu/worldgeo

Chub, T., & Marcel, C. (2018, April 20). Cystic fibrosis: Nutritional management. In Nursing Reference Center Plus. https://libguides.lcc.edu/nursingreference

Parts of Citation

Author’s Name(s). (Year, Month Day). Title of article. In Database Name. DOI or URL

Book with One Author

Example

Murray, S. (2019). Foundations of maternal-newborn and women's health nursing (7th ed.). Elsevier.

Parts of Citation

Author's Name. (Year of publication). Title of book (Edition). Publisher. DOI or URL

Book with Multiple Authors

List up to 20 authors. For 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors, an ellipsis (...) and the name of the final author.

Example

Greig, A., Taylor, J., & MacKay, T. (2012). Doing research with children: A practical guide (3rd ed.). Sage.

McConnell, M., & Baker, J. (2016). The wedding heard 'round the world: America's first gay marriage. University of Minnesota Press.

Parts of Citation

Authors' Names. (Year of Publication). Title of book (Edition). Publisher. DOI or URL

Book with an Editor

Example

Parnell, K., Stanton, N., & Plant, K. (Eds.) (2018). Driver distraction: A sociotechnical systems approach (2nd ed.). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429466809

Parts of Citation

Editor’s Name. (Ed.) (Year of publication). Title of book (Edition). Publisher. DOI or URL

Original Chapter in an Edited Book

Example

Bagley, E. (2012). Blossom. In E. Bagley & J. Hilley (Eds.), Desert rose: The life and legacy of Coretta Scott King (2nd ed., pp.15-50). University of Alabama Press.

Parts of Citation

Author’s Name. (Year of publication). Title of chapter/article. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (Edition number, Volume number, pages). Publisher. DOI or URL

Reprinted Chapter in an Edited Book

Example

Huerta, D. (2016). Remarks by Dolores Huerta. In M. Ibarra (Ed.), Latino leaders (pp. 10-15). Palgrave Macmillan. (Reprinted from Latino leaders speak: Personal stories of struggle and triumph, pp. 105-111, by M. Ibarra & M. Pérez-Brown Eds., 2017, Arte Público Press.

Parts of Citation

Author’s Name. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (page range). Publisher. (Reprinted from Title of book, page range, by A. Editor & B. Editor Eds., Publication Year, Publisher, DOI or URL)

Reprinted Journal Article in an Edited Book

Example

Day, L., & Beard, K. V. (2020). Meaningful inclusion of diverse voices: The case for culturally responsive teaching in nursing education. In J. Smith (Ed.), Nursing perspectives (pp. 110-114). Anchor. (Reprinted from “Meaningful inclusion of diverse voices: The case for culturally responsive teaching in nursing education,” 2019, Journal of Professional Nursing, 35[4], 277-281, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2019.01.002)

Parts of Citation

Author’s Name. (Year of publication). Title of article. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (page range). Publisher. (Reprinted from “Title of article,” Year of Publication, Journal Name, volume number[issue number], page range, DOI or URL)

E-Book

eBooks are formatted the same as physical books, with the addition of the DOI or URL.

Example

Silva, M. M. (2020). Public spaces for water. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429020421

Parts of Citation

Author’s Name. (Year of publication). Title of book (Edition). Publisher. DOI or URL

Dictionary Entry or Encyclopedia Article

Example

Brennan, C., & Jacques, D. (2017). Carla D. Hayden. In Contemporary Black biography (Vol. 137, pp. 63-66).

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Diversity. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 22, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diversity

Parts of Citation

Author’s or Organization’s Name. (Year of publication). Title of entry. In Name of dictionary or encyclopedia (Volume or Edition number, pages). Retrieved Month Day, Year, from DOI or URL

Journal Article

Example

Budegja, A., & Clark, E. G. (2017). Living kidney donation. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 189(32), E1041. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.170304

Lerner, R. M. (2019). Character development: Four facets of virtues. Child Development Perspectives, 13(2), 79-84. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12315

Nath, A. P., Ritchie, S. C., Grinberg, N. F., Tang, H. H., Huang, Q. Q., Teo, S. M.,
Ahola-Olli, A.V., Wurtz, P., Havulinna, A.S., Santalahti, K., Pitkänen, N., Lehtimäki, T., Kähönen, M., Lyytikäinen, L.P., Raitoharju, E., Seppälä, I., Antti-Pekka, S., Ripatti, S., Palotie, A. . . Inouye, M. (2019). Multivariate genome-wide association analysis of a cytokine network reveals variants with widespread immune, haematological, and cardiometabolic pleiotropy. American Journal of Human Genetics, 105(6), 1076. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12315

Parts of Citation

Author's Name. (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), pages. DOI or URL

Newspaper Article

Include page numbers for print articles.

Example

Banta, M. (2020, May 2). Sixty-three year old receives nursing pin on zoom. Lansing State Journal, 8A.

Roberts, S. (2020, March 17). Why birds are the world's best engineers. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/science/why-birds-are-the-worlds-best-engineers.html

Parts of Citation

Author's Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Name of Newspaper, pages. URL

Magazine Article

Include page numbers for print articles

Example

Kluger, J. (2020, April 21). How people across the U.S. celebrated the first Earth Day. Time. https://time.com/5824343/first-earth-day

Karlis-Shananaquet, J. (2018, January-February). Agatha Biddle: Trader, wife, and Anishinaabe chief. Michigan History Magazine, 102(1), 31-32.

Parts of Citation

Author's Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Magazine, volume number(issue number), pages. URL

Page or Document from a Website

When contents of a page are designed to change over time but are not archived, include a retrieval date. See Webpage on Website References for more example citation.

Example

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, October 16). Health literacy. Culture and Language. https://www.cdc.gov/health-literacy/php/develop-materials/culture.html

United States Department of Labor. (2020, May).Consumer price index. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved June 30, 2020, from https://www.bls.gov/cpi/latest-numbers.htm

Veith, E. (n.d.).Eight easy recipes to make.Spoon University.https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/8-easy-recipes-to-make-with-things-you-probably-have-at-home

Parts of Citation

Author's Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of page or document. Website Name. URL

Blog

Example

Lee, C. (2020, March 13). New reference examples on the APA Style website. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/reference-examples

Parts of Citation

Author's Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of blog post. Title of Blog site. URL

Government Publication

Webpage

A page on a government website that is not a report or other work should be in the website format.

Example

National Center for Education Statistics. (2020, May 19). College enrollment rates. The Condition of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cpb.pdf

Parts of Citation

Author's or Agency's Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of page or document. Website Name. URL

Report

Example

U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. (2019, September 24). Title VIII nursing workforce reauthorization act of 2019 (116th Congress Report No. 116-216). United States House of Representatives. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-116hrpt216/pdf/CRPT-116hrpt216.pdf

Parts of Citation

Author's or Organization's Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of report (Publication No). Government agency name. URL

Image

Artwork in a museum, on a museum website, or in a database

Example

[Anishinaabe bandolier bag] (ca. 1870). [Woven art]. National Museum of the American Indian, Washington D.C., United States.https://americanindian.si.edu/static/exhibitions/infinityofnations/woodlands/011125.html

Savage, A. (1934-35). Gwendolyn Knight [Sculpture]. Seattle Art Museum, Seattle WA, United States. https://libguides.lcc.edu/artstor

Parts of Citation

Artist's Name. (Year of creation). Title of artwork [Medium]. Name of Museum, City, State, Country. URL

Photograph

If the photograph has no title, use a description in brackets in place of the title.

Example

[Aerial view of LCC's main campus in downtown Lansing] (ca. 1980-1989). [Photograph]. Lansing Community College Archives. https://www.lcc.edu/library/find/images/campus-aerial.jpg

Ungurs, K. Winding dirt road by pond and meadow. [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/winding-dirt-road-by-pond-and-meadow-19845844/

Parts of Citation

Photographer's Name. (Year of publication). Title of photograph [Photograph]. Source. URL

Streaming Video

From a database

Example

Cole, M. (Director). (2017.) The play within: An LGBTQ documentary [Film]. Media Artists, Inc. https://libguides.lcc.edu/films

Parts of Citation

Director's Name. (Director). (Year). Title of movie [Film]. Name of Studio. URL.

From a television show

Example

Ward, G. C. (Writer), & Burns, K. & Novick, L. (Directors). (2017, September 18). Riding the tiger 1961-1963 (Season 1, Episode 2) [TV series episode]. In K. Burns (Executive Producer), The Vietnam war. Florentine Films. https://libguides.lcc.edu/films

Parts of Citation

Writers' Names. (Writers), & Director's Name (Director). (Original airdate Year, Month Day). Title of episode (Season number, Episode number) [TV series episode]. In A. Producer & B. Producer (Executive Producers), Series title. Production company(ies). URL

From YouTube

Example

TED-Ed. (2019, March 4). The historic women's suffrage march on Washington [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KhYRqozTDE

Parts of Citation

YouTube Account Name. (Year, Month Day of upload). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL

Podcast

The format for a podcast transcript is the same except enter [Audio podcast transcript] rather than [Audio podcast episode].

Example

Parker, P. (Host). (2019, November 4). Be a kid [Audio podcast episode]. Same same different. Michigan Public. https://www.michiganpublic.org/post/same-same-different-be-kid

Ploeg, L.V. & Brown, A. (Producers). (2020, July 21). The vaccine trust problem [Audio podcast transcript]. In The daily. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/podcasts/the-daily/coronavirus-vaccine.html

Parts of Citation

Host or Producer Name. (Host or Producer). (Year, Month Day). Title of podcast episode (Episode number) [Audio podcast episode]. In Podcast title. Production company. URL

Speech

Live speech

If the reader cannot access the speech, it is considered a personal communication. Don't create a reference list entry. Refer to the speech in your paper. See in-text citation (link to that page) for details.

If the speech can be accessed, do not treat it as a personal communication. Instead, use the format for the type of source where the speech can be found.

Speech transcript

Example

Chisholm, S. (n.d.). Speech at Howard University [Speech transcript]. American RadioWorks. https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/blackspeech/schisholm-2.html (Original work published 1969)

Parts of Citation

Speaker. (Date of source). Title of speech [Speech transcript]. Source where speech was located. URL (Original speech publication date if transcript published in a different year)

Radio Broadcast

The format for a radio broadcast transcript is the same except enter [Radio broadcast transcript] rather than [Radio broadcast].

Example

Haelterman, T. (2020, June 10). New LCC president is former Impact dj [Radio broadcast]. Impact 89 FM. https://impact89fm.org/89566/news/new-lcc-president-is-former-impact-dj/

Fadel, L. (2019, September 1). 'Just Ask!' says Sonia Sotomayor. She knows what it's like to feel different [Radio broadcast transcript]. NPR. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/755845325

Parts of Citation

Announcer Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of story [Radio broadcast]. Site of broadcast. URL

Music Recording

Single song or track

Examples

Grande, A. (2016). Bad decisions [Song]. On Dangerous woman. Republic.

Clarke, J. (2007). The prince of Denmark's march [Song recorded by Wynton Marsalis and the English Chamber Orchestra]. On The essential Wynton Marsalis. Sony Classical. (Original work published 1700)

Parts of Citation

Artist Name (Year). Title of song [Song]. On Title of album. Label. (Original work published Year)

Album

It is usually not necessary to list where you listened (Spotify, iTunes etc.) unless the version referenced has special features. For classical works, the composer is the artist. List the individual or group that recorded the work. Provide the original date of the composition at the end of the reference.

Example

Gaga, L. (2020). Chromatica [Album]. Streamline.

Parts of Citation

Artist Name (Year). Title of album [Album]. Label. (Original work published Year)

Personal Communication

Communications that cannot be accessed by the reader. Examples: emails, text messages, online chats or direct messages, telephone conversations, live speeches, unrecorded classroom lectures, memos, letters, messages from non-archived discussion groups or online bulletin boards.

References to personal communications do not appear in the Reference list. Instead, refer to them in your paper. See in-text citation for details.

Interview

Personal interviews are considered personal communications. References to personal interviews do not appear in the Reference list. Instead, refer to them in your paper. See in-text citation for details.

A published interview is one from sources that the reader can find, i.e. in a book, article, website etc. Use the format for the type of source where you found the interview.

Example

Amfmstudios. (2014, April 3). Cesar Chavez interview with Michael Pena, America Ferrera and Gabriel Mann [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLGfjJf4DEw

Social Media

Count a URL or other link, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. Do not italicize emojis.

Parts of Citation

Post author’s or group’s name [Social Media Handle Name]. (Year, Month day of post). First 20 words of post [audiovisual note]. Media Platform Name. URL

Examples

X post

Use [Post]. or [X profile]. before the word X.

King, B. [@BillieJeanKing]. (2020, June 23). Looking forward to commemorating today’s 48th anniversary of #TitleIX by talking with these women in sport about the law’s impact on [Thumbnail with link attached] [Post]. X. https://x.com/billiejeanking/status/1275444610630733824?s=21

Instagram post

Add [Photograph]. or [Video]. before the word Instagram.

Lansing Community College [@lccstars]. (2020, April 29). The Child Care grant assists with child care costs while eligible parent(s) or legal guardian(s) attend Lansing Community College [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_kok3zHGE6/?igshid=1jh6y0eo4jqzg

Facebook post

Lansing Community College Library. (2020, June 8.) June is #PrideMonth. Get involved by attending let’s talk: A discussion on what it’s like to come out & [Image attached with link] [Re-post from Lansing Community College]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/lcclibrary/posts/10158565136215480

TikTok video

Washington Post [@washingtonpost]. (2020, June 18). Taking Monday off to spend more time with my tv #skillbuilding #selfimprovement [Video]. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@washingtonpost/video/6839404643190148357

Open Education Resource (OER)

Open Education Resources use the webpage format. When contents of a page are designed to change over time but are not archived, include a retrieval date.

Example

Clark, M., Douglas, M. & Choi, J. (2018, March 28). Biology 2e: Studying Cells. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/4-1-studying-cells

McCormick, C., Hank, S. & Roth, N. (2019, December 1). Writing for college: Introduction to college writing with grammar skills review. Retrieved July 6, 2020, from https://pb.openlcc.net/writingforcollege

Parts of Citation

Authors’ Names. (Year, Month Day). Title of page or document. Site Name. URL

Classroom Resources

If the reader can access the source online, cite it as you would any other source.

If the reader does not have access to the source, cite it as a personal communication.

If the reader can access the source only on an internal school site, add the URL to the login page of the internal site.

Example

Jones, T. (2020, July 28). Defining cultural service in nursing care [Lecture notes]. D2L@LCC. https://myd2l.lcc.edu/

Smith, M. (2019, March 10). How to format Shakespeare quotations [PowerPoint slides]. D2L@LCC. https://myd2l.lcc.edu/

Parts of Citation

Author’s Name. (Year, Month day). Title of presentation [File format]. Name of internal site. URL

Tables and Figures (Charts, Graphs, and More)

If using tables or figures from another source, create a reference in the Reference List based on the type of source where you found the figure. For example, if the figure was from a journal article, use the reference format for a journal article.

In your paper, create a note under the table or figure with the information from its reference entry. The note is in a different format than the reference entry.

In your paper

Note. From “Bed Moves, Ward Environment, Staff Perspectives and Falls for Older People with High Falls Risk in an Acute Hospital: A Mixed Methods Study,” by Toye et al., 2019, Clinical Interventions in Aging, 14, p. 2228 https://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S211424

In your references

Toye, C., Slatyer, S., Kitchen, S., Ingram, K., Bronson, M., Edwards, D., . . . Hill, K. D. (2019). Bed moves, ward environment, staff perspectives and falls for older people with high falls risk in an acute hospital: A mixed methods study. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 14, 2223-2237. http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S211424

ChatGPT

Rather than treating ChatGPT as an author itself, the American Psychological Association (APA) recommends citing the creator of the algorithm - in this case OpenAI - as the author. Since the results of an individual "chat" are not available online, you may quote the chat in the body of your paper, or put the full text of the chat in an appendix. For more information on the example below, see the APA Style Blog on How to Cite ChatGPT.

Example

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Parts of Citation

Author’s Name. (Year). Name of AI Tool (Month Day version) [Large language model]. URL