On This Page
Books:
One volume of a multivolume work
Entry in dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia
Reports and Gray Literature:
Report by a government agency or other organization
Report by task force, working group, or other group
Dissertations and Theses
Unpublished dissertation or thesis
Dissertation or thesis from a database
Dissertation or thesis published online (not in a database)
Conference Sessions and Presentations
Sample Citations - Books
- Use commas to separate authors, to separate surnames and initials, and to separate initials and suffixes (ex. Jr. and III).
Example: Authored book without a DOI, from database or print version
Example: Authored book with DOI:
Example: Authored book with editor credited on the cover
- When an editor is credited on the cover of an authored book, provide the editor's name in parenthesis after the book title with "Ed." or "Eds." in parentheses (see Section 9.10).
- Separate multiple publisher names using semicolons
Example: Edited book without DOI, from database or print version
Example: Edited book with DOI, multiple publishers
Example: Chapter in edited book without a DOI, from database or print version
Example: Chapter in edited book with a DOI
Example: Chapter in edited ebook or audiobook without a DOI, with a nondatabase URL
- It is not necessary to note when you used an audiobook versus a book or an ebook when the content is the same, even if the format is different. However, do note that the work is an audiobook in the title element when:
- the content is different (e.g., abridged),
- if you want to note something special about the audiobook (e.g., the impact of the narration), or
- if you quote from the audiobook (see Section 8.28).
- For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g. Kindle) is not included in the reference.
- For audiobooks, include the narrator and audiobook notation only in specific cases.
- If an audiobook was released in a different year than the text version of the book, treat the audiobook as republished (see Section 9.41).
Examples: Authored ebook or audiobook without a DOI, with a nondatabase URL
Example: Edited ebook or audiobook without a DOI, with a nondatabase URL
Example: Republished audiobook
One Volume of a Multivolume Work
- If the volume has both series editors (or editors-in-chief) and volume editors, only the volume editors appear in the author element.
- If the volume does not have its own title, include the volume number in parentheses without italics (as in the Fiske et al. example).
- If the volume has its own title, include the volume number and title after the main title in italics (as in the Travis & White example).
Example: one volume of multivolume work, titled
Example: one volume of multivolume work, untitled
- When the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher from the source element.
- It is common, but not required, to identify the title (and edition) of a diagnostic manual in the text. Group authors and manual titles can be abbreviated in the text (with a few exceptions) but not in the reference list (see Sections 6.25, 8.21, and 10.32)
- Generally, include a citation for a manual the fist time it is mentioned in the text. If the first mention appears in a heading, do not cite the manual in the heading; rather, cite it within the first paragraph of that section or soon thereafter.
- Do not repeat the citation for a subsequent general mention of a manual. Repeat a citation only when it directly supports a statement (e.g., quoting, paraphrasing).
- Additional examples and guidance for citing other editions of and entries in the DSM and ICD are available on the APA Style website.
Examples:
Entry in a Dictionary, Thesaurus, or Encyclopedia
- When a stable or archived version of the work is cited, a retrieval date is not needed.
- When an online reference work is continuously updated and the versions are not archived (as with the APA Dictionary of Psychology and the Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary examples), use "n.d." as the year of publication and include a retrieval date (see Section 9.16).
Example: entry in dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia with group author
Example: entry in dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia with individual author
Sample Citations - Reports and Gray Literature
Report by a Government Agency or Other Organization:
- If multiple agencies authored a report together, join the names with an ampersand, using commas to separate the names of three or more agencies.
- The names of parent agencies not present in the group author name appear in the source element as the publisher (see Section 9.11)
- See Section 9.11 for how to treat the names of group authors.
Example: report by a government agency
Example: report by individual authors at a government agency or other organization
Report by Task Force, Working Group, or Other Group
- Capitalize the name of the task force or working group wherever it appears in the reference because it is a proper noun.
Example:
Example:
Example:
- List the principal investigator as the author with their role in parentheses, the project start and end year(s) as the date, the project title as the title, and the funding agency as the source.
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) refers to grant numbers as project numbers; use the appropriate terminology for the grant in your reference, and include the number in parentheses after the title.
- A grant application is not a recoverable source and should be discussed as part of the methodology but not included in the reference list.
Example:
- Issue briefs are typically numbered; identify the number of the issue brief in parentheses after the title.
- If a number is not provided, identify the work as an issue brief in square brackets following the title.
Example:
Example:
Sample Citations - Dissertations and Theses
Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis
- For unpublished dissertations and theses, the university name appears in the source element of the reference, whereas for published dissertations and theses, the university name appears in square brackets after the title.
Example:
Dissertation or Thesis from a Database
Example:
Dissertation or Thesis Published Online (Not in a Database)
Example:
Sample Citations - Conference Sessions and Presentations
- Include a label in square brackets after the title that matches how the presentation was described at the conference.
- Include all authors listed as contributing to the presentation (even if they were not physically present).
- The date should match the date(s) of the full conference to help readers find the source, even though a session or presentation likely occurred on only one day.
- Include the location of the conference to help with retrieval.
- Conference proceedings published in a journal or book follow the same format as for a journal article, edited book, or edited book chapter.
Example:
Example:
Example:
- Use this format only for recorded, retrievable webinars.
- Cite unrecorded webinars as personal communications. (Section 8.9)
Example:
PowerPoint slides or Lecture Notes
- If slides come from a classroom website, learning management system (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard, Sakai), or company intranet and you are writing for an audience with access to that resource, provide the name of the site and its URL (use the login page URL for sites requiring login; see Section 8.8).
Example:
