APA 7th Refencing Short Guide: APA style of

citing and referencing

Introduction

During your studies you will need to show your knowledge of other people’s work or
ideas. These may be obtained from many types of sources such as books, journal
articles, websites etc. However, it is important that you do not pass off other people’s
work as your own. If you do, it is regarded as plagiarism or cheating. When you use
(quote, paraphrase, summarise) information from any source, you must both cite and
reference it to:

 Acknowledge the work of other writers and researchers.

 Refer to established experts to give your work authority.
 Enable your tutor or others to trace your sources easily.
 Avoid accusations of plagiarism.

As Psychology students, you will use the American Psychological Association 7th
style of referencing (APA 7th style).

There are two stages to referencing sources for a piece of academic work using the
APA style:

1) Refer to the sources in your text usually including the authors surname and
year of publication (the citation).
2) Give full details of the source in your reference list at the end of your work.

Citing within your text

The APA style of referencing does not require any numbering or footnotes on each
page. In most cases, you insert the author’s surname and the date of publication in
brackets, depending upon your style of writing (see Citation example below).
Quotations or specific information also require page numbers. This is called the
citation. It acts as a signpost to your reader who can then locate the full reference,
describing the source you have cited in detail, in the alphabetical list of references
or bibliography at the end of your document.

In-text citation

Workers in teams tend to adopt particular roles (Belbin, 2010).

Or

According to Belbin (2010) workers in teams tend to adopt particular roles.

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In-text citation for 3 or more authors

Janowski et al. (2016) highlight that websites promote an idealised image…

Or

(Janowski et al., 2016)

Twenty-one or more authors

Follow the same pattern as you would for in-text citations for 3-20 authors but in the
reference list, list the first 19 authors followed by 3 ellipses (…) ending with the last
author’s name.

There is no author

If there is no named author and the source is written by an organization,

government body, or a group, you can list the name of the organization as the
author. Omit the publisher when the author and the publisher are the same
organization. If you use an abbreviation, indicate the abbreviation in the first in-
text citation.

First in-text citation: (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

[NIWA], 2004)

Subsequent in-text citations: (NIWA, 2004) OR NIWA (2004)

Full reference: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. (2004).

Managing New Zealand’s climate: A resource and a hazard.

Secondary referencing (references within another article)

For sources that you have not actually seen but which are referred to in another work,
cite both the original source and the secondary source where you read it.

It is recommended that you try and read the original source and use secondary
sources cautiously. In this example, if the work of Howitt and Cramer is cited within
a book authored by Caulfield and Hill, and you did not read Howitt and Cramer’s
work, list the Caulfield and Hill reference in the reference list. In the text, use the
following:

In-text citation: Howitt and Cramer (as cited in Caulfield and Hill, 2014).

Reference list: Caulfield, L. & Hill, P. (2014). Criminological research for

beginners: A student guide. Routledge.

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Quotations

If you are using the authors own words i.e. using a quotation, and the quote is less
than 40 words long, incorporate it within the body of your text surrounded by double
quotation marks and cite the author, year of publication and page number(s)
immediately afterwards within brackets e.g. (Bower & Fisher, 2017, p.65).

If the quote is longer than 40 words, omit the quotation marks and display it as a
freestanding block of text. Indent the block about half an inch from the left side
using the tab key on your keyboard. Double space the entire quotation. At the end
of the quotation, cite the source, year and page number in brackets after the final
punctuation mark.

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or

whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages

must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I

record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on

a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night. It was remarked that the

clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously.

(Dickens, 1896, p. 1)

If the authors name and year appear within the narrative of your text, enclose only the
page numbers in brackets after the last full stop of the quote.

Paraphrasing

When you summarise an author’s work in your own words you will still need to
include a reference to the author and date either within the text of your work or in
brackets at the end of the paraphrase. Page numbers do not need to be included
but you may choose to include it alongside the author and year details to help the
reader locate interesting material e.g. (Gerodetti, 2019, pp. 21-25).

(APA recommends page numbers for large documents such as books to help the
reader locate the information).

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DOIs and URLS

DOIs (digital object identifiers) are incredibly important within the APA 7 th style of
referencing. A DOI provides a permanent link to information retrieved online. Most
online academic work has either a DOI or a URL.

When to use a DOI and a URL

 Include a DOI for all resources that have a DOI, regardless of whether you
used the online version or the print version.
 If a print work does not have a DOI, do not include any DOI or URL in the
reference.
 If an online work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI.
 If there is no DOI and the article/ book is from a Library database, treat the
resource as a print version.
 If an online work has a URL but no DOI, include the URL in the reference as
follows:
o For works without DOIs from websites (not including academic research
databases), provide a URL in the reference (as long as the URL will
work for readers).
o For works without DOIs from most academic research databases, do
not include a URL or database information in the reference because the
link will not work for the reader. The reference should be the same as
the reference for a print version of the work.

Example of a reference with a DOI

Hallion, M., Taylor, A., Roberts, R., & Ashe, M. (2019). Exploring the association
between physical activity participation and self-compassion in middle-aged
adults. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 8(3), 305–
316. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000150

Key changes between APA 6th and APA 7th for returning students

 Et al.: “et al.” is used in the first in-text citation for works with three or more
authors.
 Up to 20 authors cited: In the reference list, give the surnames and initials for
up to 20 authors.
 Website names: Website names are now included as well as the webpage
title.
 Publication location: The location of the publisher (i.e., city, country/state
code) is no longer required.

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  Ebook publisher: You no longer need to give the platform, format, or device
(e.g., Kindle) for ebooks, but you do need give the publisher.
 "Retrieved from": You no longer need to write “Retrieved from” before a URL.
 DOIs: DOIs are formatted the same as URLs. You do not need to write "DOI."

Examples of references for different types of sources

The list on the following page shows how a reference list is usually presented when
using the APA 7th style of referencing. Each source is listed only once, regardless of
how many times it has been mentioned (cited) in the essay or assignment. The
sources should be listed in alphabetical order of the author’s surname.

Books

 Always use a DOI if available (for both print and online resources).
 Use the URL instead of DOI if the book is not from an academic database.
 When the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher from the
reference.
 Where an eBook is accessed from the general web (no log in is required),
include the full access link.

Resource Reference

Print book without a Belbin, R. (2010). Team roles at work (2nd ed.).
DOI Butterworth-Heinemann.

Print or eBook with DOI Ellis, R. (2012). Language teaching research and
language pedagogy. Wiley-Blackwell.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118271643

Edited book: two Miller, J., & Smith, T. (Eds.). (1996). Cape Cod stories:
authors Tales from Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's
Vineyard. Chronicle Books.

Corporate author American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication

manual of the American Psychological
Association (6th ed.).

Where the author and the publisher are the same, omit
the publisher from the reference.

eBook from a library Belbin, R. (2010). Team roles at work (2nd ed.).
database Butterworth-Heinemann.

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 Cite as print book without a DOI, as above.

eBook from the web Connell, R. (1924). The most dangerous game. Tark
Classic Fiction.
https://manybooks.net/book/143802/read#epubcfi(
/6/4[html2]!/4/2[calibre_pb_0]/1:0)

Where an ebook from the web does not have a DOI, add
the full access link.

Chapter in an edited Fernando, S. (2008). Institutional racism and cultural

book where each diversity. In, R. Tummey & T. Turner (Eds.),
chapter has a separate Critical issues in mental health (pp. 41-57).
author Palgrave Macmillan.

Blog

Resource Reference

Blog McAdoo, T. (2019, November 7). How Many

Names to Include in an APA Style
Reference. APA Style
Blog. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/more-
than-20-authors

Journals

Resource Reference

Print or ejournal article Arrington, E.G. & Wilson, M.N. (2000). A Re-Examination of
retrieved from a Library Risk and Resilience During Adolescence:
database without a DOI Incorporating Culture and Diversity. Journal of Child
and Family Studies 9, 221-230.

An article retrieved from a library database with no DOI can

be referenced as a print article.

Journal article with DOI Grogan, S., & Mechan, J. (2017). Body image after
mastectomy: A thematic analysis of younger
women’s written accounts. Journal of Health

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 Psychology, 22(11), 1480-1490.
https://doi-org/10.1177/1359105316630137

Journal article without Wandersman, A. & Nation, M. (1998). Urban

DOI retrieved via a neighborhoods and mental health: Psychological
non-subscription contributions to understanding toxicity, resilience,
website and interventions. American Psychologist, 53(6),
647-656. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1998-02607-
004

For online journal articles with no DOI (other than those

retrieved from a Library database), provide the direct URL
for the article.

Newspapers

Resource Reference

Online Newspaper Sharp rise in flu hospital admissions in England. (2018,

Article – no author January). BBC News.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42567374

Online Newspaper Hari, J. (2018, January 7). Is everything you think you
article with author know about depression wrong? The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/07/is
-everything-you-think-you-know-about-depression-
wrong-johann-hari-lost-connections

Newspaper article Ritshel, C. (2018, May 11). Mentalhealth awareness week:

from a Library Why learning mental health first aid can change a
database life: Mentalhealth first aid ‘spreads the important
message that we all have mentalhealth’ The
Independent.

Podcast

Resource Reference

For a Podcast Harford, T. (Host). (2020, March 09). Guttenburg Press

[Audio podcast episode]. In 50 things that made

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episode the modern economy. BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csz2xn
list the host/s as
author/s with their role
in brackets.

Thesis or Dissertation

Resource Reference

Thesis: Institutional Jankowski, G. (2016). Men’s body dissatisfaction: A

Repository critical analysis of neoliberal and representational
approaches [Doctoral thesis, Leeds Beckett
University]. Leeds Beckett University Repository.
http://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/2513/

Thesis available from a Low, I.M. (1980). Creativity as a psychological concept

database service e.g. and its implications for psychological methodology
Ethos (Publication No. 276421) [Doctoral dissertation,
University of Edinburgh]. Ethos.

Note the inclusion of the Ethos publication number in

round brackets. Remember to include the database name
as the source.

Webpages

Resource Reference

Webpage – British Psychological Association. (2020). Children share

organization or group experiences of shielding during lockdown in
as author guidance from psychologists.
https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/children-
share-experiences-shielding-during-lockdown-
guidance-psychologists

Webpage with an Smith, D. (2020, August 04). British Journal of

individual author Occupational Therapy sees increased ‘journal
impact factor’. RCOT.
https://www.rcot.co.uk/news/british-journal-
occupational-therapy-sees-increased-journal-
impact-factor

Webpage – no author When a webpage has no identified author, use the first

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 few words of the title and the year and include the full title
in the reference list.

YouTube

Resource Reference

YouTube Video The Cooking Foodie. (2018). Red velvet cake recipe: How
to make red velvet cake [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGE-RfP6KRE

Further help

The following book is available in the Library at 808.06615 and offers guidance on
referencing including more complex sources

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association. 7th ed. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
https://leedsbeckett.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1111952681

The APA Style Blog offers a free online tutorial and examples of how to reference
specific sources

You can find more information on the Psychology subject support page.

 Phone (0113) 812 1000 – you can also get 24/7 IT advice on this number
 Email or Chat – via the Library website
 Visit – Library staff can help with account and borrower enquiries, IT advice
and researching or finding information
 Watch – the Leeds Beckett Library YouTube channel has a variety of
instructional videos on using Library services