APA 7th Edition: Formatting a Reference List*

Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for
a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in
the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited
in your text.

At the University of Southern Mindanao, the Reference List is termed Literature Cited. Label the
page as such, in accordance with institutional recommendation. All text should be double-spaced
just like the rest of your paper.

Basic Rules for Most Sources

 All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half

inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.

 All authors' names should be inverted (i.e., last names should be provided first).

 Authors' first and middle names should be written as initials.

 For example, the reference entry for a source written by Jane Marie Smith would

begin with "Smith, J. M."

 If a middle name isn't available, just initialize the author's first name: "Smith, J."

 Give the last name and first/middle initials for all authors of a particular work up to and

including 20 authors (this is a new rule, as APA 6 only required the first six authors).

Separate each author’s initials from the next author in the list with a comma. Use an

ampersand (&) before the last author’s name. If there are 21 or more authors, use an ellipsis

(but no ampersand) after the 19th author, and then add the final author’s name.

 Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each

work.

 For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries

in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.

 When referring to the titles of books, chapters, articles, reports, webpages, or other

sources, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title and subtitle, the first word

after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns.

 Note again that the titles of academic journals are subject to special rules. See

section below.
  Italicize titles of longer works (e.g., books, edited collections, names of newspapers,

and so on).

 Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as

chapters in books or essays in edited collections.

Basic Rules for Articles in Academic Journals

 Present journal titles in full.

 Italicize journal titles.

 Maintain any nonstandard punctuation and capitalization that is used by the journal in its

title.

o For example, you should use PhiloSOPHIA instead of Philosophia, or Past &

Present instead of Past and Present.

 Capitalize all major words in the titles of journals. Note that this differs from the rule for

titling other common sources (like books, reports, webpages, and so on) described above.

 Present journal titles in full.

 Italicize journal titles.

 Maintain any nonstandard punctuation and capitalization that is used by the journal in its

title.

o For example, you should use PhiloSOPHIA instead of Philosophia, or Past &

Present instead of Past and Present.

 Capitalize all major words in the titles of journals. Note that this differs from the rule for

titling other common sources (like books, reports, webpages, and so on) described above.

o This distinction is based on the type of source being cited. Academic journal titles

have all major words capitalized, while other sources' titles do not.

 Capitalize the first word of the titles and subtitles of journal articles, as well as the first

word after a colon or a dash in the title, and any proper nouns.

 Do not italicize or underline the article title.

 Do not enclose the article title in quotes.

o So, for example, if you need to cite an article titled "Deep Blue: The Mysteries of the

Marianas Trench" that was published in the journal Oceanographic Study: A Peer-

Reviewed Publication, you would write the article title as follows:

  Deep blue: The mysteries of the Marianas Trench.

o ...but you would write the journal title as follows:

 Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication

Please note: While the APA manual provides examples of how to cite common types of sources, it
does not cover all conceivable sources. If you must cite a source that APA does not address, the APA
suggests finding an example that is similar to your source and using that format.

Reference List: Author/Authors

SINGLE AUTHOR

Last name first, followed by author initials.

Ahmed, S. (2012). On being included: Racism and diversity in institutional life. Duke

University Press.

TWO AUTHORS

List by their last names and initials. Separate author names with a comma. Use the ampersand
instead of "and."

Soto, C. J., & John, O. P. (2017). The next big five inventory (BFI-2): Developing and

assessing a hierarchical model with 15 facets to enhance bandwidth, fidelity, and

predictive power. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(1), 117-

143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000096

THREE TO TWENTY AUTHORS

List by last names and initials; commas separate author names, while the last author name is
preceded again by ampersand. This is a departure from APA 6, which only required listing the first
six authors before an ellipsis and the final author's name.

Nguyen, T., Carnevale, J. J., Scholer, A. A., Miele, D. B., & Fujita, K. (2019).

Metamotivational knowledge of the role of high-level and low-level construal in goal-

relevant task performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(5), 879-

899. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000166

MORE THAN TWENTY AUTHORS

List by last names and initials; commas separate author names. After the first 19 authors’ names,

use an ellipsis in place of the remaining author names. Then, end with the final author's name (do
not place an ampersand before it). There should be no more than twenty names in the citation in

total.

Pegion, K., Kirtman, B. P., Becker, E., Collins, D. C., LaJoie, E., Burgman, R., Bell, R.,

DelSole, R., Min, D., Zhu, Y., Li, W., Sinsky, E., Guan, H., Gottschalck, J., Metzger, E. J.,

Barton, N. P., Achuthavarier, D., Marshak, J., Koster, R., . . . Kim, H. (2019). The

subseasonal experiment (SubX): A multimodel subseasonal prediction

experiment. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 100(10), 2043-

2061. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0270.1

GROUP AUTHOR

Group authors can include corporations, government agencies, organizations, etc; and a group may

publish in coordination with individuals. 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. Be sure to

give the full name of the group author in your reference list, although abbreviations may be used in

your text.

Entries in reference works ( e.g. dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias) without credited

authors are also considered works with group authors.

Merriam-Webster. (2008). Braggadocio. In Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English

Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.

When a work has multiple layers of group authorship (e.g. The Office of the Historian, which is a

part of the Department of State, publishes something), list the most specific agency as the author

and the parent agency as the publisher.

Bureau of International Organization Affairs. (2018). U.S. contributions to international

organizations, 2017 [Annual report]. U.S. Department of

State. https://www.state.gov/u-s-contributions-to-international-organizations/
UNKNOWN AUTHOR

When the work does not have an author move the title of the work to the beginning of the

references and follow with the date of publication. Only use “Anonymous ” if the author is the work

is signed “Anonymous.” This is a new addition to APA 7.

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2003). Merriam-Webster.

NOTE: When your paper 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, 2003).

TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Use the author's name for all entries and list the entries by the year (earliest comes first). List

references with no dates before references with dates.

Urcuioli, P. J. (n.d.).

Urcuioli, P. J. (2011).

Urcuioli, P. J. (2015).

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.

Agnew, C. R. (Ed.). (2014). Social influences on romantic relationships: Beyond the dyad.

Cambridge University Press.

Agnew, C. R., & South, S. C. (Eds.). (2014). Interpersonal relationships and health: Social and

clinical psychological mechanisms. Oxford University Press.

References that have the same first author and different second and/or third authors are arranged

alphabetically by the last name of the second author, or the last name of the third if the first and

second authors are the same.

Arriaga, X. B., Capezza, N. M., Reed, J. T., Wesselman, E. D., & Williams, K. D. (2014). With

partners like you, who needs strangers?: Ostracism involving a romantic

partner. Personal Relationships, 21(4), 557-569.

Arriaga, X. B., Kumashiro, M., Finkel, E. J., VanderDrift, L. E., & Luchies, L. B. (2014). Filling

the void: Bolstering attachment security in committed relationships. Social

Psychological and Personality Science, 5(4), 398-405.

TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR IN THE SAME YEAR

If you are using more than one reference by the same author—or the same group of authors listed in

the same order—published in the same year, first check to see if they have more specific dates (this

recommendation is new to APA 7). Works with only a year should be listed before those with a more

specific date. List specific dates chronologically. If two works have the same publication date,

organize them in the reference list alphabetically by the title of the article or chapter. If references
 with the same date are identified as parts of a series (e.g. Part 1 and Part 2), list them in order of

their place in the series. Then assign letter suffixes to the year. Refer to these sources in your essay

as they appear in your reference list, e.g.: "Berndt (2004a) makes similar claims..."

Berndt, T. J. (2004a). Children’s friendships: Shifts over a half-century in perspectives on

their development and their effects. Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 50(3), 206-223.

Berndt, T. J. (2004b). Friendship and three A’s (aggression, adjustment, and

attachment). Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88(1), 1-4.

INTRODUCTIONS, PREFACES, FOREWORDS, AND AFTERWORDS

Cite the publishing information about a book as usual, but cite Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or
Afterword (whatever title is applicable) as the chapter of the book.

Lang, J. M. (2018). Introduction. In Dujardin, G., Lang, J. M., & Staunton, J. A.

(Eds.), Teaching the literature survey course (pp. 1-8). West Virginia University Press.

Reference List: Articles in Periodicals

BASIC FORM

APA style dictates that authors are named with their last name followed by their initials; publication

year goes between parentheses, followed by a period. The title of the article is in sentence-case,

meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. The periodical title is run in

title case and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized. If a DOI has

been assigned to the article that you are using, you should include this after the page numbers for

the article. If no DOI has been assigned and you are accessing the periodical online, use the URL of

the website from which you are retrieving the periodical.

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

ARTICLE IN PRINT JOURNAL

Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5–13.
Note: APA 7 advises writers to include a DOI (if available), even when using the print source. The
example above assumes no DOI is available.
ARTICLE IN ELECTRONIC JOURNAL
As noted above, when citing an article in an electronic journal, include a DOI if one is associated
with the article.
 Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-

oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and

International Engagement, 6(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979

DOIs may not always be available. In these cases, use a URL. Many academic journals provide stable

URLs that function similarly to DOIs. These are preferable to ordinary URLs copied and pasted from

the browser's address bar.

Denny, H., Nordlof, J., & Salem, L. (2018). "Tell me exactly what it was that I was doing that

was so bad": Understanding the needs and expectations of working-class students in

writing centers. Writing Center Journal, 37(1), 67–

98. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26537363

Note that, in the example above, there is a quotation in the title of the article. Ordinary titles lack

quotation marks.

ARTICLE IN A MAGAZINE

Peterzell, J. (1990, April). Better late than never. Time, 135(17), 20–21.

ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER

Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The

Country Today, 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(5), 466–467.

Reference List: Books

Note: If available, APA 7 requires a DOI for all works that have one — whether print or digital. If a

print work does not have a DOI do not include it in the reference citation.

BASIC FORMAT FOR BOOKS

 Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher

Name. DOI (if available)

Stoneman, R. (2008). Alexander the Great: A life in legend. Yale University Press.

EDITED BOOK, NO AUTHOR

Editor, E. E. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle.

Publisher. DOI (if available)

Leitch, M. G., & Rushton, C. J. (Eds.). (2019). A new companion to Malory. D. S. Brewer.

EDITED BOOK WITH AN AUTHOR OR AUTHORS

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (E. Editor,

Ed.). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Malory, T. (2017). Le morte darthur (P. J. C. Field, Ed.). D. S. Brewer. (Original work

published 1469-70)

A TRANSLATION

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (T. Translator,

Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published YEAR) DOI (if available)

Plato (1989). Symposium (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff, Trans.). Hackett Publishing Company.

(Original work published ca. 385-378 BCE)

Note: When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should appear with both
dates: Plato (385-378/1989)

EDITION OTHER THAN THE FIRST

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (# edition).

Publisher. DOI (if available)

Belcher, W. (2019). Writing your journal article in twelve weeks: A guide to academic publishing

success (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.

ARTICLE OR CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor & F. F.

Editor (Eds.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. pages of chapter).

Publisher. DOI (if available)

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. List any edition number in the same set of parentheses as the
page numbers, separated by a comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).
 Armstrong, D. (2019). Malory and character. In M. G. Leitch & C. J. Rushton (Eds.), A new

companion to Malory (pp. 144-163). D. S. Brewer.

MULTIVOLUME WORK

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (Vol.

#). Publisher. DOI (if available)

David, A., & Simpson, J. (Eds.). (2006). The Norton anthology of English literature: The Middle

Ages (8th ed.,Vol. A). W. W. Norton and Company.

Reference List: Other Print Sources

Important Note: Because the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual heavily emphasizes digital
and electronic sources, it does not contain explicit instructions for certain less-common print
sources that earlier editions covered. For this reason, some of the examples below have been
adapted from the instructions for sources with similar attributes (e.g., the conference
proceedings example is derived from the instructions the 7 th edition manual gives for citing edited
collections). Every example below that has been adapted in this way is accompanied by a note
explaining how it was adapted.

Please also note: While this resource contains many examples of citations for uncommon print

sources that we think are helpful, it may not account for every possibility. For even more examples

of how to cite uncommon print sources, please refer to the 7 th edition of the APA Publication

Manual.

ENTRY IN A DICTIONARY, THESAURUS, OR ENCYCLOPEDIA WITH A GROUP AUTHOR

The 7th edition of the APA manual does not provide specific guidance on how to cite physical

reference works such as dictionaries, thesauruses, or encyclopedias. Therefore, this citation, as

well as the one for an individual author of an entry in a reference work, is modeled on that of a

chapter in an edited book or anthology, both which are similar in format to reference works.

Institution or organization name. (Year). Title of entry. In Title of reference work (edition, page

numbers). Publisher name.

Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. (1997). Goat. In Merriam Webster’s collegiate

dictionary (10th ed., pp. 499-500). Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

ENTRY IN A DICTIONARY, THESAURUS, OR ENCYCLOPEDIA WITH AN INDIVIDUAL AUTHOR

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of entry. In F. M. Lastname (ed.), Title of reference work (edition,

page numbers). Publisher.

Tatum, S. R. (2009). Spirituality and religion in hip hop literature and culture. In T. L. Stanley

(ed.), Encyclopedia of hip hop literature (pp. 250-252). Greenwood.

WORK DISCUSSED IN A SECONDARY SOURCE

Provide the source in which the original work was referenced:

Nail, T. (2017). What is an assemblage? SubStance, 46(1), 21-

37. http://sub.uwpress.org/lookup/doi/10.3368/ss.46.1.21

Note: Provide 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 Deleuze and Guattari’s

work is cited in Nail and you did not read the original work, list the Nail reference in the

References. In the text, use the following citation:

Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the assemblage (as cited in Nail, 2017)….

DISSERTATION ABSTRACT

The 7th edition of the APA manual does not provide specific guidance on how to cite dissertation

abstracts. Therefore, this citation models that of a journal article, which is similar in format.

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation. Dissertation Abstracts International, Vol., Page.

Angeli, E. L. (2012). Networks of communication in emergency medical services. Dissertation

Abstracts International, 74, 03(E).

DISSERTATION OR MASTER’S THESIS, PUBLISHED

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation/thesis (Publication No.) [Doctoral

dissertation/Master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Database or

Archive Name.

Angeli, E. L. (2012). Networks of communication in emergency medical services (Publication No.

3544643) [Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

 Note: If the dissertation or thesis is not published in a database, include the URL of the site

where the document is located.

DISSERTATION OR MASTER’S THESIS, UNPUBLISHED

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation/thesis [Unpublished doctoral dissertation/master’s

thesis]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.

Samson, J. M. (2016). Human trafficking and globalization [Unpublished doctoral dissertation].

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

STATE STATUTE

Name of Act, Public Law No. (Year). URL

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Publ. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119

(2010). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-111publ148/pdf/PLAW-

111publ148.pdf

REPORT BY A GOVERNMENT AGENCY OR OTHER ORGANIZATION

Organization Name. (Year). Title of report. URL

United States Government Accountability Office. (2019). Performance and accountability report:

Fiscal year 2019. https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/702715.pdf

REPORT BY INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS AT GOVERNMENT AGENCY OR OTHER ORGANIZATION

Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of report. Organization Name. URL

Palanker, D., Volk, J., Lucia, K., & Thomas, K. (2018). Mental health parity at risk: Deregulating

the individual market and the impact on mental health coverage. National Alliance on Mental

Illness. https://www.nami.org/About-NAMI/Publications-Reports/Public-Policy-

Reports/Parity-at-Risk/ParityatRisk.pdf

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

The 7th edition of the APA manual does not provide guidance on citing conference

proceedings. Therefore, this citation models that of an edited collection, which is similar in format.

Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Eds.). (Year). Title of Proceedings. Publisher. URL (if

applicable)
 Huang, S., Pierce, R., & Stamey, J. (Eds.). (2006). Proceedings of the 24th annual ACM

international conference on the design of communication. ACM Digital

Library. https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1166324&picked=prox

Reference List: Electronic Sources

Important 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. Additionally, APA 7 th edition no longer requires
the use of “Retrieved from” before URLs or DOIs; special exceptions, however, are made for
resources that are unarchived. Including the retrieval date for these sources indicates to readers
that the version of the work they retrieve may be different than what was originally used.

Please note: the following contains a list of the most commonly cited electronic sources. For a
complete list of how to cite electronic sources, please refer to the 7 th edition of the APA Publication
Manual.

WEBPAGE OR PIECE OF ONLINE CONTENT

If the page names an individual author, cite their name first:

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist.

Medium. https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

If the resource was written by a group or organization, use the name of the group/organization as

the author. Additionally, if the author and site name are the same, omit the site name from the

citation.

Group name. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (2019, November 21). Justice served:

Case closed for over 40 dogfighting victims. https://www.aspca.org/news/justice-served-case-

closed-over-40-dogfighting-victims
If the page's author is not listed, start with the title instead. Additionally, include a retrieval date

when the page's content is likely to change over time (like, for instance, if you're citing a wiki that is

publicly edited).

Title of page. (Year, Month Date). Site name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL

Tuscan white bean pasta. (2018, February 25). Budgetbytes. Retrieved March 18, 2020,

from https://www.budgetbytes.com/tuscan-white-bean-pasta/

If the date of publication is not listed, use the abbreviation (n.d.).

Author or Group name. (n.d.). Title of page. Site name (if applicable). URL

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). Mental health

conditions. https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions

ONLINE SCHOLARLY JOURNAL ARTICLE: CITING DOIS

Please note: Because online materials can potentially change URLs, APA recommends providing a

Digital Object Identifier (DOI), when it is available, as opposed to the URL. DOIs are an attempt to

provide stable, long-lasting links for online articles. They are unique to their documents and consist

of a long alphanumeric code. Many—but not all—publishers will provide an article's DOI on the first

page of the document.

Note also that some online bibliographies provide an article's DOI but may "hide" the code under a

button which may read "Article" or may be an abbreviation of a vendor's name like "CrossRef" or

"PubMed." This button will usually lead the user to the full article which will include the DOI. Find

DOIs from print publications or ones that go to dead links with doi.org's "Resolve a DOI"

function, available on the site's home page.

APA 7 also advises writers to include a DOI (if available), even when using the print source.

ARTICLE FROM AN ONLINE PERIODICAL WITH DOI ASSIGNED

Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Vol.(Issue), page

numbers. DOI
 Drollinger, T., Comer, L. B., & Warrington, P. T. (2006). Development and validation of the

active empathetic listening scale. Psychology & Marketing, 23(2), 161-

180. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20105

ARTICLE FROM AN ONLINE PERIODICAL WITH NO DOI ASSIGNED

If an online scholarly journal article has no DOI and is published on a website, include the URL. If an

online scholarly article has no DOI and is published on a database, do not include a URL or any

database information. The only exception is for databases that publish articles that are in limited

circulation (like ERIC) or that are only available on that particular database (like UpToDate). Note

that retrieval dates are required for unarchived sources that are likely, or intended, to change over

time.

Perreault, L. (2019). Obesity in adults: Role of physical activity and exercise. UpToDate.

Retrieved January 12, 2020, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/obesity-in-

adults-role-of-physical-activity-and-exercise

ABSTRACT

APA 7th edition does not provide guidance on how to cite abstracts. However, if you only use

information from the abstract but the full text of the article is also available, we advise you to add

"[Abstract]" after the article or source name. If the full text is not available, you may use an abstract

that is available through an abstracts database as a secondary source.

ONLINE NEWS ARTICLE

Note: The format for this type of source depends on whether your source comes from a site with an

associated newspaper.

If the source does come from a site with an associated newspaper, leave the title of the article

unformatted, but italicize the title of the newspaper.

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of article. Title of Publication. URL

Richards, C. (2019, December 9). Best music of 2019: Lana Del Rey sings lullabies about the end

of America. Washington

Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/best-music-of-2019-
 lana-del-rey-sings-lullabies-about-the-end-of-america/2019/12/06/6e82c5ec-15d8-

11ea-a659-7d69641c6ff7_story.html

On the other hand, if the source doesn't come from a site with an associated newspaper, italicize

the title of the article, but leave the name of the site unformatted.

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of article. Name of publishing website. URL

Jones, J. (2020, May 10). Why flats dominate Spain's housing market.

BBC. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200506-why-do-flats-dominate-spains-

housing-market

ELECTRONIC OR KINDLE BOOKS

It is not necessary to note that you have used an eBook or audiobook when the content is the same

as a physical book. However, you should distinguish between the eBook or audiobook and the print

version if the content is different or abridged, or if you would like to cite the narrator of an

audiobook.

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of book. Publisher. URL

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of book [eBook edition]. Publisher. URL

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of book (N. Narrator, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Publisher. URL (if

applicable)

DISSERTATION/THESIS FROM A DATABASE

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation or thesis (Publication No.) [Doctoral dissertation or

master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding Degree]. Database Name.

Duis, J. M. (2008). Acid/base chemistry and related organic chemistry conceptions of

undergraduate organic chemistry students (Publication No. 3348786) [Doctoral dissertation,

University of Northern Colorado]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

ENTRY IN AN ONLINE DICTIONARY, THESAURUS, OR ENCYCLOPEDIA WITH A GROUP AUTHOR

Note: An online dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia may be continuously updated and therefore

not include a publication date (like in the example below). If that’s the case, use “n.d.” for the date

and include the retrieval date in the citation.

 Institution or organization name. (Year). Title of entry. In Title of reference work. URL

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Braggadocio. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved January

13, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/braggadocio

ENTRY IN AN ONLINE DICTIONARY, THESAURUS, OR ENCYCLOPEDIA WITH AN INDIVIDUAL

AUTHOR

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of entry. In F. M. Lastname (Ed.), Title of reference work (edition).

Publisher. URL or DOI

Martin, M. (2018). Animals. In L. A. Schintler & C. L. McNeely (Eds.), Encyclopedia of big data.

SpringerLink. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32001-4_7-1
Note: If the dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia does not include an edition, simply skip
that step.

GRAPHIC DATA (E.G. INTERACTIVE MAPS, INFOGRAPHICS, AND OTHER GRAPHIC

REPRESENTATIONS OF DATA)

Give the name of the organization or individual followed by the date and the title. If there is no title,

in brackets, you should provide a brief explanation of what type of data is there and in what form it

appears. Include the URL and the retrieval date if there is no publication date.

HatchMed. (2017). 8 ways to improve patient satisfaction [Infographic].

HatchMed.com. https://www.hatchmed.com/blog/2017/1/30/8-ways-to-improve-

patient-satisfaction

Google. (n.d.). [Google Map of Purdue University]. Retrieved January 12, 2020,

from https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4237095,-86.9233886,17z

QUALITATIVE DATA AND ONLINE INTERVIEWS

If an interview is not retrievable in audio or print form, cite the interview only in the text (not in the

reference list) and provide the month, day, and year in the text. If the interview transcript is

published in an online periodical, like a magazine, cite the interview the same way you would cite

the medium where it is published, as shown below:

Schulman, M. (2019, December 8). Peter Dinklage is still punk rock. The New

Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/peter-

dinklage-is-still-punk-rock
If it is an audio file or transcript published in a database, credit the interviewee as the author and use

the following model:

Paynter, W. (1970, September 17). Interview with Will Paynter [Interview]. Studs Terkel

Radio Archive; The Chicago History

Museum. https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/programs/interview-will-paynter

ONLINE LECTURE NOTES AND PRESENTATION SLIDES

When citing online lecture notes, be sure to provide the file format in brackets after the lecture title

(e.g. PowerPoint slides, Word document).

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of presentation [Lecture notes, PowerPoint slides,

etc]. Publisher. URL

Smith, C. (2017, October 13). AI and machine learning demystified [PowerPoint slides].

SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/carologic/ai-and-machine-learning-demystified-

by-carol-smith-at-midwest-ux-2017

COMPUTER SOFTWARE/DOWNLOADED SOFTWARE

Do not cite standard office software (e.g. Word, Excel) or programming languages. Provide

references only for specialized software.

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group. (Year). Title of software (Version No.). Publisher. URL

Maplesoft. (2019). Maple companion (Version 2.1.0). Cybernet Systems

Co. https://www.maplesoft.com/products/MapleCompanion/

EMAIL

E-mails are not included in the list of references, though you should parenthetically cite them in

your main text:

(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001).

FACEBOOK PAGE
 Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group. (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Site name. Retrieved Month

Date, Year, from URL

Little River Canyon National Preserve (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved

January 12, 2020 from https://www.facebook.com/lirinps/

YOUTUBE OR OTHER STREAMING VIDEO

Last Name, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Date). Title of video [Video]. Streaming Service.

URL

Lushi, K. [Korab Lushi]. (2016, July 3). Albatross culture 1 [Video].

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AMrJRQDPjk&t=148s

Note: The person or group who uploaded the video is considered the author. If the author’s name is

the same as the username, you can omit the [Username].

TED TALK

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of talk [Video]. TED. URL

Al-Mutawa, N. (2010, July). Superheroes inspired by Islam [Video].

TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/naif_al_mutawa_superheroes_inspired_by_islam#t-

4909

Or (if on YouTube)

Username. (Year, Month Date). Title of talk [Video]. YouTube. URL

Tedx Talks. (2011, Nov. 15). TEDxHampshireCollege - Jay Smooth - How I learned to stop

worrying and love discussing race [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=MbdxeFcQtaU

Reference List: Audiovisual Media

The term "audiovisual media" refers to media that contain both audio components, visual
components, or a combination of both. In general, the citation style for audiovisual media varies
depending on whether the piece stands alone or is part of a larger work. The following examples
provide sample references for some of the most common audiovisual sources.

Please note: the following contains a list of the most commonly cited audiovisual sources. For a
complete list of how to cite audiovisual sources, please refer to the 7 th edition of the APA Publication
Manual.

FILM OR VIDEO

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Film]. Production

company.

Loyd, P. (Director). (2008). Mamma mia! [Film]. Universal Pictures.

FILM OR VIDEO IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture in original

language [Translated title] [Film]. Production company.

Del Toro, G. (Director). (2006). El laberinto del fauno [Pan’s labyrinth] [Film]. Warner Bros.

Pictures.

TV SERIES

Executive Producer, P. P. (Executive Producer). (Date range of release). Title of series [TV

series]. Production company(s).

Sherman-Palladino, A., Palladino, D. (Executive Producers). (2017-present). The marvelous Mrs.

Maisel [TV series]. Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions; Picrow, Amazon Studios.

TV SERIES EPISODE

Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Original air date). Title of episode (Season

number, Episode number) [Tv series episode]. In P. Executive Producer (Executive

Producer), Series title. Production company(s).

Korsh, A. (Writer & Director). (2019, September 25). One last con (Season 9, Episode 10) [TV

series episode]. In D. Liman & D. Bartis (Executive Producers), Suits. Untitled Korsh

Company; Universal Content Productions; Open 4 Business Productions.

YOUTUBE VIDEO

Person or group who uploaded video. (Date of publication). Title of video [Video]. Website host.

URL
 Tasty. (2018, March 7). 7 recipes you can make in 5 minutes [Video].

Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_5wHw6l11o

*Content lifted from Purdue OWL (www.purdue.owl.edu)