Models for an APA Style
References Page

Writers of research papers should always use personal insights, judgments, and experiences as elements of their work, but documented external data (facts or opinions attested to by an authority or other useful source) establish the researcher's credibility, demonstrate scholarly exploration of the topic, and increase the researcher's knowledge in the field. The following are some models of how sources of evidence must appear on the references page at the end of a paper in the American Psychological Association (APA) format. For each entry follow the punctuation style and spacing exactly. However, if some of your sources do not fall into the following categories, you will need to refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association or seek an instructor's assistance.

A Note about Format: The references page should be double spaced, and the first line of each entry should begin on the left margin, with all other lines of the entry indented one half inch. This is called a "hanging indent." If the following samples are not displayed correctly in your browser, refer to the Writing Center's Term Paper Handbook for APA Format in PDF format.

Citing a book:

Author's last name, first and middle initials. (Year). Title of the book. 

     City of publication: Publisher.

Example:

Barth, R.S. (1990). Improving schools from within: Teachers, parents, and 

     principals can make the difference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Citing an article in an anthology:

Last name, first and middle initials of the article's author. (Year of book
 
     publication). Title of the article. In Editor's first and middle initials and
 
     last name (Ed.), Title of the book (pages following the abbreviation pp.). 

     City of publication: Publisher. 

Example:

Lilienfeld, R.M. & Rathje, W.L. (1998). Six enviro-myths. In L.G. Kirszner & 

     S.R. Mandell (Eds.), Patterns for college writing: A rhetorical reader 

     and guide (7th ed., pp. 176-179). New York: St. Martin's.

Citing an article from an encyclopedia:

Author of the article. (Year). Title of the article. In Encyclopedia title 

     (Volume and pages with abbreviations Vol. and pp.). Location: Publisher.

Example:

Hinkle, S.F. (1996). Chocolate. In Encyclopedia Americana (Vol. 6, 

     pp. 620-621). Danbury, CT: Grolier.

Citing an article from a scholarly journal:

Author's last name, first and middle initials. (Year). Title of the article.
 
     Title of the Journal, volume, pages.

Example:

Ebell, M.H., Smith, M.A., Barry, H.C., Ives, K., & Carey, M. (2000). Does 

     this patient have strep throat? The Journal of the American Medical 

     Association, 284, 2912-2918.

Note: If there are multiple authors, type all authors' last names first. Use first and middle initials, and do not include titles like Dr. or degrees like MA. List up to six authors. Put the symbol & (ampersand) before the last author. If there are more than six authors, put the abbreviation et al. (meaning "and others") after the sixth author.

Citing an article from a magazine:

Author's last name, first and middle initials. (Year, Month day, as given in

     the magazine). Title of the article. Title of the Magazine, volume, pages.

Example:

Schaaf, R.V. (1999, June). Health and safety. Parents, 74, 47-49.

Citing an article from a daily newspaper:

Author's last name, first and middle initials. (Year, Month day). Title of the

     article. Title of the Newspaper, pages following the abbreviation p. or pp.

Example:

Cooper, Claire (2002, December 17). Governor's broad parole power upheld.

     The Sacramento Bee, pp. A1, A17.

Note: If there is no author, begin the entry with the title of the article, and put the date after the title.

Example:

Older investors feel pressure of losses. (2002, December 17). The Sacramento 

     Bee, p. D6.

Citing a pamphlet:

Note: Format a reference to a pamphlet in the same way as one to an entire book; in brackets, identify the publication as a brochure. A corporation or institution is often cited as the author. If there is no author, begin the entry with the title of the pamphlet. If the author is the same as the publisher, write Author after the place of publication.

Example:

California Department of Education, Child Development Division. (2000). Care 

     about quality: Your guide to child care [Brochure]. Sacramento, CA: Author.

Citing an article found on a periodical database:

Note: The Sierra College Library subscribes to several databases, including EBSCOhost MasterFILE Premier, ProQuest Newspapers, NewsBank Full-Text Newspapers, New York Times On-Disc, Health Reference Center, SIRS Researcher and Literature Resource Center. For an article found on a database, begin the reference with the same publication information that you would give for the print version, or as much as is available. Then put the date when you retrieved the article, followed by the name of the database. End the entry with a period.

Author's last name, first and middle initials. (Date). Title of the article.

     Title of the Periodical, publication information required for the printed 

     source (such as volume and pages). Retrieved Month day, year, from Name of 

     database.    

Example:

Bobroff, L., Feldman, E.B., & DiLoreto, S. (2001, August 15). Cancer and heart 

     disease: Lowering the risks. Patient Care, 35, 71. Retrieved December 18, 

     2002, from Health Reference Center-Academic database.

Citing a source from an Internet site:

Note: To refer to a document on an Internet site, list the author (which may be an organization), the date, and the title, followed by the date you retrieved the article and the Internet address. When citing one section or page within a document on an Internet site, list the section title first (not in italics), then the title of the whole document (in italics). An Internet address may be broken at the end of a line after a slash mark. No period follows the Internet address.

Author. (Date of last update or copyright). Title of the section. In Title of 

     the document. Retrieved Month day, year, from Internet address 

Example:

National Audubon Society. (2001). Atlantic puffins. In Project puffin. 

     Retrieved December 17, 2001, from http://www.audubon.org/bird/puffin/

     atlantic_puffin.html

Note: If there is no author, begin the reference with the title of the document, followed by the date (or n.d. for no date).

Example:

Spelling Words in English. Retrieved August 28, 2002, from http://esl.about.com/

     library/weekly/aaspellinga.htm

Citing an article on the Internet based on a print source:

Note: Start with the same publication information you would give for the print version (as much as is available), followed by the date you retrieved the article and the Internet address. No period follows the Internet address.

Author. (Date). Title of the article. Title of the Periodical, publication 

     information required for the printed source (such as volume and pages). 

     Retrieved Month day, year, from Internet address

Example:

Johnstone, K. (1995, Summer). "Two perspectives on Ukrainian identity." Center 

     for Slavic and East European Studies Newsletter, 12, 3-4. Retrieved 

     January 8, 2003 from http://socrates.berkeley.edu/%7Ecsees/publications/

     1995_12-03.pdf

Citing an article in an Internet-only periodical or an article
from a daily newspaper available by search:

Author. (Date). Title of the article. Title of the Periodical. Retrieved 

     Month day, year, from Internet address 

Example:

Shapiro, B. (2000, July 31). Hard time for soft crimes. Salon. Retrieved 

     December 17, 2001, from http://www.salon.com/news/feature/ 2000/07/31/

     drugs/index.html          

Citing a motion picture:

Name of director and/or producer (function). (Date). Title of the motion picture 

     [motion picture]. Location: Name of the distributor

Example:

Wells, O. (Director). (1963). The trial [Motion picture]. Quebec, Canada: 

     Madacy Music Group       

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