RESEARCH Reference List
RESEARCH Reference List
Single Author
Last name first, followed by author initials.
Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 11, 7-10.
Two Authors
List by their last names and initials. Use the ampersand instead of "and."
Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The
hedonic contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66,
1034-1048.
Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., Harlow, T., & Bach, J. S. (1993). There's
more to self-esteem than whether it is high or low: The importance of stability of self-
esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1190-1204.
Miller, F. H., Choi, M. J., Angeli, L. L., Harland, A. A., Stamos, J. A., Thomas, S. T., . . .
Rubin, L. H. (2009). Web site usability for the blind and low-vision user. Technical
Communication, 57, 323-335.
Organization as Author
Also known as a "corporate author." Here, you simply treat the publishing organization
the same way you'd treat the author's name and format the rest of the citation as
normal.
American Psychological Association. (2009). Blog guidelines. APA Style Blog. Retrieved
from https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/blog-guidelines.html
Unknown Author
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-
Webster.
NOTE: When your essay includes parenthetical citations of sources with no author
named, use a shortened version of the source's title instead of an author's name. Use
quotation marks and italics as appropriate. For example, parenthetical citations of the
source above would appear as follows: (Merriam-Webster's, 1993).
Berndt, T. J. (1981).
Berndt, T. J. (1999).
When an author appears both as a sole author and, in another citation, as the first
author of a group, list the one-author entries first.
Berndt, T. J. (1981a). Age changes and changes over time in prosocial intentions and
behavior between friends. Developmental Psychology, 17, 408-416.
Berndt, T. J. (1981b). Effects of friendship on prosocial intentions and behavior. Child
Development, 52, 636-643.
Funk, R., & Kolln, M. (1998). Introduction. In E. W. Ludlow (Ed.), Understanding English
grammar (pp. 1-2). Needham, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical,
volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5-13.
Article in a Magazine
Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, 28-31.
Article in a Newspaper
Unlike other periodicals, p. or pp. precedes page numbers for a newspaper reference in
APA style. Single pages take p., e.g., p. B2; multiple pages take pp., e.g., pp. B2, B4 or
pp. C1, C3-C4.
Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The
Country Today, pp. 1A, 2A.
Review
Baumeister, R. F. (1993). Exposing the self-knowledge myth [Review of the book The self-
knower: A hero under control, by R. A. Wicklund & M. Eckert]. Contemporary
Psychology, 38, 466-467.
Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal
publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
A Translation
Laplace, P. S. (1951). A philosophical essay on probabilities (F. W. Truscott & F. L. Emory,
Trans.). New York, NY: Dover. (Original work published 1814)
Note: When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should
appear with both dates: Laplace (1814/1951).
Note: When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book
title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not
appear before the page numbers in periodical references, except for newspapers. List
any edition number in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by
a comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).
O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: A metaphor for
healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues across the
life cycle (pp. 107-123). New York, NY: Springer.
Multivolume Work
Wiener, P. (Ed.). (1973). Dictionary of the history of ideas (Vols. 1-4). New York, NY:
Scribner's.
Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-
route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589-
608.
NOTE: Give the secondary source in the references list; in the text, name the original
work, and give a citation for the secondary source. For example, if Seidenberg and
McClelland's work is cited in Coltheart et al. and you did not read the original work, list
the Coltheart et al. reference in the References. In the text, use the following citation:
In Seidenberg and McClelland's study (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993), ...
Dissertation Abstract
Yoshida, Y. (2001). Essays in urban transportation. Dissertation Abstracts International,
62, 7741A.
Dissertation, Published
Lastname, F. N. (Year). Title of dissertation (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Name
of database. (Accession or Order Number)
Dissertation, Unpublished
Lastname, F. N. (Year). Title of dissertation (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Name of
Institution, Location.
Government Document
National Institute of Mental Health. (1990). Clinical training in serious mental
illness (DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1679). Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
For information about citing legal sources in your reference list, see the University of
Nebraska, Kearney page on Citing Legal Materials in APA Style.
Conference Proceedings
Schnase, J. L., & Cunnius, E. L. (Eds.). (1995). Proceedings from CSCL '95: The First
International Conference on Computer Support for Collaborative Learning. Mahwah,
NJ: Erlbaum.
Reference List: Electronic Sources (Web
Publications)
Please note: Some electronic citations necessitate the use of brackets; APA style
dictates that brackets should directly surround their content without spaces (e.g.,
[bracketed content] should look like this). When possible, include the year, month, and
date in references. If the month and date are not available, use the year of publication.
Please note, too, that the OWL still includes information about print sources and
databases for those still working with these sources.
Author, A. A. & Author B. B. (Date of publication). Title of page [Format description when
necessary]. Retrieved from https://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Eco, U. (2015). How to write a thesis [PDF file]. (Farina C. M. & Farina F., Trans.) Retrieved
from https://www.researchgate.net/...How_to_write_a_thesis/.../Umberto+Eco-
How+to+Write+... (Original work published 1977).
If the page's author is not listed, start with the title instead. If the date of publication is
not listed, use the abbreviation (n.d.).
You only need to include a date of access when the page's content is likely to change
over time (like, for instance, if you're citing a wiki that is publicly edited).
Purdue University Writing Lab [Facebook page]. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2019,
from https://www.facebook.com/PurdueUniversityWritingLab/
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online
Periodical, volume number(issue number if available). Retrieved from
https://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living web. A List Apart: For People Who Make
Websites, 149. Retrieved from https://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume
number(issue number if available). Retrieved from
https://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/
Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of
Buddhist Ethics, 8. Retrieved from https://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume
number(issue number if available), page range. Retrieved from
https://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L., & Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas. Journal of
Abnormal Eating, 8(3), 120-125. Retrieved from
https://www.fakeexamplehomepage.com/full/url/
Abstract
If you only cite an abstract but the full text of the article is also available, cite the online
abstract as any other online citations, adding "[Abstract]" after the article or source
name. However, if the full text is not available, you may use an abstract that is available
through an abstracts database as a secondary source.
Paterson, P. (2008). How well do young offenders with Asperger Syndrome cope in
custody?: Two prison case studies [Abstract]. British Journal of Learning Disabilities,
36(1), 54-58.
Hendricks, J., Applebaum, R., & Kunkel, S. (2010). A world apart? Bridging the gap
between theory and applied social gerontology. Gerontologist, 50(3), 284-293. Abstract
retrieved from Abstracts in Social Gerontology database. (Accession No. 50360869)
Newspaper Article
Note that the APA recommends using the homepage address for the online newspaper,
rather than the full URL for the article itself.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from
https://www.homeaddress.com/
Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New
York Times. Retrieved from https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/
Electronic Books
Electronic books may include books found on personal websites, databases, or even in
audio form. Use the following format if the book you are using is only provided in a
digital format or is difficult to find in print. If the work is not directly available online or
must be purchased, use "Available from," rather than "Retrieved from," and point
readers to where they can find it. For books available in print form and electronic form,
include the publish date in parentheses after the author's name. For references to e-
book editions, be sure to include the type and version of e-book you are referencing
(e.g., "[Kindle DX version]"). If DOIs are available, provide them at the end of the
reference.
De Huff, E. W. (n.d.). Taytay’s tales: Traditional Pueblo Indian tales. Retrieved from
https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/dehuff/taytay/taytay.html
Davis, J. (n.d.). Familiar birdsongs of the Northwest. Available from
https://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio? inkey=1-9780931686108-0
Kindle Books
To cite Kindle (or other e-book formats) you must include the following information: the
author, date of publication, title, e-book version, and either the Digital Object Identifier
(DOI) number, or the place where you downloaded the book. Please note that the
DOI/place of download is used in-place of publisher information.
Here’s an example:
Stoker, B. (1897). Dracula [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com
NOTE: Use a chapter or section identifier and provide a URL that links directly to the
chapter section, not the home page of the website.
Online Book Reviews
Cite the information as you normally would for the work you are quoting. (The first
example below is from a newspaper article; the second is from a scholarly journal.) In
brackets, write "Review of the book" and give the title of the reviewed work. Provide the
web address after the words "Retrieved from," if the review is freely available to anyone.
If the review comes from a subscription service or database, write "Available from" and
provide the information where the review can be purchased.
Zacharek, S. (2008, April 27). Natural women [Review of the book Girls like us]. The New
York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/books/review/Zachareck
-t.html?pagewanted=2
Castle, G. (2007). New millennial Joyce [Review of the books Twenty-first Joyce, Joyce's
critics: Transitions in reading and culture, and Joyce's messianism: Dante, negative
existence, and the messianic self]. Modern Fiction Studies, 50(1), 163-173. Available
from Project MUSE website:
https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/modern_fiction_studies/toc/mfs52.1.html
Data Sets
Point readers to raw data by providing a web address (use "Retrieved from") or a
general place that houses data sets on the site (use "Available from").
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2008). Indiana income
limits [Data file]. Retrieved from
https://www.huduser.org/Datasets/IL/IL08/in_fy2008.pdf
Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment. (2007). [Graph illustration the SORCE Spectral
Plot May 8, 2008]. Solar Spectral Data Access from the SIM, SOLSTICE, and XPS
Instruments. Retrieved from https://lasp.colorado.edu/cgi-bin/ion-
p?page=input_data_for_ spectra.ion
Hallam, A. Duality in consumer theory [PDF document]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes
Online Website: https://www.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ501/Hallam/index.html
Roberts, K. F. (1998). Federal regulations of chemicals in the environment [PowerPoint
slides]. Retrieved from https://siri.uvm.edu/ppt/40hrenv/index.html
E-mail
E-mails are not included in the list of references, though you parenthetically cite them in
your main text: (E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001).
Frook, B. D. (1999, July 23). New inventions in the cyberworld of toylandia [Msg 25].
Message posted to https://groups.earthlink.com/forum/messages/00025.html
J Dean. (2008, May 7). When the self emerges: Is that me in the mirror? [web log
comment]. Retrieved from https://www.spring.org.uk/the1sttransport
PBSoffbook. (2013, October 3). How to be creative [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weIQIthC3Ks
Wikis
Please note that the APA Style Guide to Electronic References warns writers that wikis
(like Wikipedia, for example) are collaborative projects that cannot guarantee the
verifiability or expertise of their entries.
OLPC Peru/Arahuay. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2011 from the OLPC Wiki:
https://wiki.laptop. org/go/OLPC_Peru/Arahuay
Audio Podcast
For all podcasts, provide as much information as possible; not all of the following
information will be available. Possible addition identifiers may include Producer,
Director, etc.
Bell, T., & Phillips, T. (2008, May 6). A solar flare. Science @ NASA Podcast. Podcast
retrieved from https://science.nasa.gov/podcast.htm
Video Podcasts
For all podcasts, provide as much information as possible; not all of the following
information will be available. Possible addition identifiers may include Producer,
Director, etc.
Scott, D. (Producer). (2007, January 5). The community college classroom [Episode
7]. Adventures in Education. Podcast retrieved from https://www.adveeducation.com
Motion Picture
Basic reference list format:
Producer, P. P. (Producer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of
motion picture[Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio or distributor.
Note: If a movie or video tape is not available in wide distribution, add the following to
your citation after the country of origin: (Available from Distributor name, full address
and zip code).
Television Broadcast
Important, I. M. (Producer). (1990, November 1). The nightly news hour [Television
broadcast]. New York, NY: Central Broadcasting Service.
A Television Series
Bellisario, D. L. (Producer). (1992). Exciting action show [Television series]. Hollywood,
CA: American Broadcasting Company.
Music Recording
Songwriter, W. W. (Date of copyright). Title of song [Recorded by artist if different from
song writer]. On Title of album [Medium of recording]. Location: Label. (Recording date
if different from copyright date).
Taupin, B. (1975). Someone saved my life tonight [Recorded by Elton John]. On Captain
fantastic and the brown dirt cowboy [CD]. London, England: Big Pig Music Limited.