Skip to Main Content

Referencing and Citation

American Psychological Association (APA) (7th edition)

The American Psychological Association devised the APA citation style. It provides a set of rules standardized in academic writing.

If you follow the APA format, you have to ‘cite’ the sources used to write your research paper, regardless of whether the text had been paraphrased, quoted, or referred to during the entire writing process.

This citation style consists of two parts:

  1. In-text citation: A brief citation in parentheses when you mention a source within the main body of your paper.
  2. Reference list: A page, which appears at the end of your paper, lists the full publication details corresponding to the in-text citations.

This is typically employed in the majority of social sciences courses

You can find the latest version of APA style here:

We recommend verifying with your professor to confirm which version of APA Style should be used for your assignment.

Reference: APA Style Official Website, APA Style Blog 

Feature Summary

Features
In-text parenthetical/ narrative citations of author(s) last name, publication year, and cited pages, followed by a reference.

Example
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase)
1. Struck and White (2000) explain that nonrestrictive relative clauses are used to be parenthetic and introduced by conjunctions to indicate place or time. OR
2. Nonrestrictive relative clauses are used to be parenthetic and introduced by conjunctions to indicate place or time (Struck & White, 2000). 

In-Text Citation (Direct Quote)
1. They stated, “Nonrestrictive relative clauses are parenthetic, as are similar clauses introduced by conjunctions indicating time or place” (Struck & White, 2000, p. 16). OR
2. According to Struck and White (2000), “Nonrestrictive relative clauses are parenthetic, as are similar clauses introduced by conjunctions indicating time or place” (p.16). OR
3. Struck and White (2000) explain that “Nonrestrictive relative clauses are parenthetic, as are similar clauses introduced by conjunctions indicating time or place” (p.16).

In reference list
Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (2000). The elements of style (4th ed.). Allyn and Bacon.

Format & Example

In-Text Paraphrase
A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words

In-Text Quote
A direct quotation reproduces words verbatim from another work

Reference List

Work by one author

Standard Format
(Author's Last Name, Year)

Example
(Kim, 2016)

Standard Format
(Author's Last Name, Year, Page Number)

Example
(Kim, 2016, p. 56)

Standard Format
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of      Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given. Publisher                   Name.

Example
Kim, S. (2016). Public reason Confucianism: democratic                   perfectionism and constitutionalism in East                                  Asia. Cambridge University Press.

Work by two authors

Standard Format
(Last Name of First Author & Last Name of Second Author, Year)

Example
(Chan & Tse, 2018)

 

Standard Format
(Last Name of First Author & Last Name of Second Author, Year, Page Number)

Example
(Chan & Tse, 2018, p. 18)

Standard Format
First author's Last Name, First Initial., Second Initial if Given, &       Second Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if             Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given           (edition number if needed). Publisher Name.

Example
Chan, W.S., & Tse, Y.K. (2018). Financial mathematics for               actuaries.  World Scientific.

Work by three or more authors

Standard Format
(Last Name of First Author et al., Year)

Example
(Scott et al., 2018)



 

Standard Format
(Last Name of First Author et al., Year, Page Number)

Example
(Scott et al., 2018, p. 48)

 

Standard Format
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.


Example
Scott, J. M., Carter, R. G., & Drury, A. C. (2018). IR:                         International, Economic, and Human Security in a Changing       World (3rd ed.). CQ Press.

Work by organization with abbreviation

First citation
Standard Format
(Organization Name [Abbreviation], Year)
Example
(Hong Kong Monetary Authority [HKMA], 1997)

Subsequent citations
Standard Format
(Abbreviation for Organization, Year)
Example
(HKMA, 1997)

First citation
Standard Format
(Organization Name, Year, Page Number)
Example
(Hong Kong Monetary Authority, 1997, p. 6)


Subsequent citations
Standard Format
(Abbreviation for Organization, Year, Page Number)
Example
(HKMA, 1997, p.6)

Standard Format
Group Author Name. (Year of Publication). Title of book:                   Subtitle if given (edition number if needed). Publisher Name.

Example
Hong Kong Monetary Authority. (1997). Prudential supervision         in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Work by organization without abbreviation

Example
(University of Cambridge, 2009)

Example
(University of Cambridge, 2009. p.3)

Standard Format
Group Author Name. (Year of publication). Title of Book.                   (edition number if needed). Publisher Name.

Example
University of Cambridge. ESOL Examinations.(2009). Official           IELTS practice materials. [Updated ed.]. University of                   Cambridge, ESOL Examinations.

 

Reference 
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

In-Text Paraphrase
A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words

In-Text Quote
A direct quotation reproduces words verbatim from another work

Reference list

Basic format
Last name of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title.                    Publisher. URL

Work by one author

Standard Format
(Author's Last Name, Year)

Example
(Bountouri, 2017)

 

Standard Format
(Author's Last Name, Year, Page Number)

Example
(Bountouri, 2017, p.45)

Standard Format
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of       Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if                   needed). Publisher. URL


Example
Bountouri, L. (2017). Chandos Information Professional Series.          Archives in the Digital Age: Standards, Policies                                and Tools. Chandos Publishing. 

     https://link.gale.com/apps/pub/9CCN/GVRL?                               u=hsuhk&sid=GVRL

 

Work by two authors

Standard Format
(Last Name of First Author & Last Name of Second Author, Year)

Example
(Kearns & Roth, 2019)

Standard Format
(Last Name of First Author & Last Name of Second Author, Year, Page Number)

Example
(Kearns & Roth, 2019, p. 18)

Standard Format
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the book (2nd ed.,         Vol. volume no). Publisher. URL

Example
Kearns, M., & Roth, A. (2019). The Ethical Algorithm: The                 Science of Socially Aware Algorithm Design. Oxford                     University Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?           direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2255401&site=ehost-live

Work by three or more authors

Standard Format
(Last Name of First Author et al., Year)

Example
(Lio et al., 2019)

Standard Format
(Last Name of First Author et al., Year, Page Number)

Example
(Lio et al., 2019, p. 48)

Example
Lio, Y., Ng, H. K. T., Tsai, T., & Chen, D. (2019). Statistical               Quality Technologies: Theory and Practice (ICSA Book               Series in Statistics) Springer.                                                        http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?                                       direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2228851&site=ehost-live

Work organization with abbreviation

First citation
Standard Format
(Organization Name, Year)

Example
(World Health Organization [WTO], 2012)

Subsequent citations
Standard Format
(Abbreviation for Organization , Year)

Example
(WTO, 2012)

First citation
Standard Format
(Organization Name, Year, Page Number)

Example
(World Health Organization [WTO], 2012, p.5)

Subsequent citations
Standard Format
(Abbreviation for Organization, Year, Page Number)

Example
(WTO, 2012, p.5)

Example
World Trade Organization. (2012). The WTO Dispute Settlement       Procedures : A Collection of the Relevant Legal Texts.                Cambridge University Press.                                                         http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?                                       direct=true&db=e000xww&AN=473198&site=ehost-live.

Work by organization without abbreviation

Example
(Catholic University of America, 2009)

Example
(Catholic University of America, 2009, p.6)

Ditto

 

Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

In-Text Citation

Reference List

Work by one author

(Peñaloza, 2018)

Standard Format
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of         article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page      number-last page number.

Example
Peñaloza, L. (2018). Ethnic marketing practice and research at the intersection of             market and social development: A macro study of the past and present, with a look      to the future. Journal of Business Research, 82, 273-280.

Work by three or more authors

(Sin et al., 2020)

Example
Sin, A., Nowak, C., Bogusz, M., Kowalska, M., Janigová, E. (2020). Innovations in            Rural Tourism in Poland and Romania. Economics of Agriculture / Ekonomika               Poljoprivrede. 67(2), 623-633.

 

Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American      Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

E-journal article (with a DOI)

In-Text Citation

Reference List

Work by two authors

(Bogenschutz & Nurnberg, 2004)

Standard Format
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of           article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page        number-last page number. DOI or URL.

Example
Bogenschutz, M. P., & Nurnberg, H. G. (2004). Olanzapine versus placebo in the               treatment of borderline personality disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 65(1),            104–109. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.v65n0118

Work by three or more authors

(Schmit et al., 2020)

Standard Format
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of          article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page        number-last page number. DOI or URL.

Schmit, T. M., Wall, G. L., Newbold, E. J., & Bihn, E. A. (2020). Assessing the costs            and returns of on-farm food safety improvements: A survey of Good Agricultural             Practices (GAPs) training participants. PLoS ONE, 15(7), 1–18.                                       https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235507

 

Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

In-Text Citation

Reference List

Paper Presentation from web

(MacIntyre, 2008)
 

Standard Format
Contributor, A. A. & Contributor, B. (Year, Month DD-DD). Title of paper. [Type of                contribution]. Conference Name, Location. DOI or URL

Example
MacIntyre, S. (2008, August 10-12). Participation in the classroom, productivity in the         workforce: Unfulfilled expectations. [Paper presentation]. Australian Council for             Educational Research Conference, Brisbane, QLD,                                                         Australia. https://research.acer.edu.au/research_conference_2008/8/

 

Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Web pages

In-Text Citation

Reference List

Newspaper Articles with URL

(Tam, 2020)
 

Standard Format
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year, Month Day if given).           Title of page: Subtitle (if any). Website name. URL

Example
Tam, L. (2020, June 27). Hong Kong cash handout proves that money can buy                  happiness in the city. SCMP. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-                                     kong/society/article/3090738/hong-kong-cash-handout-proves-money-can-buy-           happiness-city


Youtube

In-Text Citation

Reference List

Youtube Video

(BBC News, 2020)
 

Standard Format
Uploader Last Name, initials. (Year, month date). Title of the video. [Format]. URL.

Example
BBC News. (2020, September 7). Surge in UK coronavirus infections.                                [Video]. https://youtu.be/RoTkYshxS0E

 

Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

For AI-generated text:

As of April 7,2023, there is no confirmed rules or guidelines from APA for citing information generated from AI tools like ChatGPT. However, as suggested by the APA Team on their official blog, it is recommended to treat these generated contents as "Software" considering the nature of these AI tools as a large language model. It is suggested to include the prompt text and the generated response text in your own sentences. Full text of long responses may also be put in an appendix

In-Text Citation

Reference List

Contents generated by AI tools

(OpenAI, 2023)

or

(OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript)

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model].
        https://chat.openai.com/chat

 

For AI-generated image:

Caption In-text Citation Reference List

Suggested format:

Figure _​

Image title​

[image]​

Note. Image generated using the prompt “xxx”, by (Author/ Developer), (Name of AI Model), (Year) (URL)

 

Example:

Figure 4​
Group discussion in library

Note. Image generated using the prompt “Academic library with 4 students having discussion in an open learning space, American Cartoon style,” by Stability AI, Stable Diffusion XL, 2024 (https://poe.com/StableDiffusionXL)

Suggested format:

Figure _ portraits (description of the image) (Author/ Developer, Year)​

 

Example:

Figure 4 portraits a group of students having discussion in the library’s open learning space. (Stability AI, 2024)

Suggested format:

Author/ Developer. (Year). Name of AI tool (version) [AI image generation model]. URL

 

Example:

Stability AI. (2024). Stable Diffusion XL [AI image generation model]. https://poe.com/StableDiffusionXL

Reference:
American Psychological Association. (2023, April 7). How to cite ChatGPT. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt

Smart Tips

In-text citation:

  • In-text citation for APA should at least contain the author’s last name and the year of publication of your reference work (author-date style).

 
In reference list:

  • When preparing your reference list, the term “References” should be used as the heading (centred, but not italicized). No heading is required for subsequent pages.
  • The reference list should be double-spaced and that entries should have a hanging indent.
  • All entries are arranged alphabetically by author’s last name.


Book title/ Article title:

  • Keywords of the title are capitalized in the in-text citation.
  • In reference, capitalize only the first word in titles and subtitles, except proper names.
  • e.g. Book title: New directions in social psychology
    e.g. Article title: Some of the challenges facing society and social psychology


Periodical title:

  • Capitalize the major words and remain the minor words in lower case, including articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (e.g. and, or, but), and prepositions (e.g. in, from) unless they are the first word of title or subtitle.
  • e.g. The Globe and Mail


Author:

  • Type only author(s) last names in the in-text citation.
  • In reference, type the last name of the author first and then initials.
No. of Author(s) In-text citation In reference list
1 Pitt Pitt, M.
2 Pitt & Clarke Pitt, M., & Clarke, K.
3 Pitt et al. Pitt, M., Clarke, K., & Mcaulay, L.
4+ Pitt et al. State all names


Publication year:

  • If the book has no date, use “n.d.”.


Publication place:

  • If the book has no publication place, use “n.p.”.

 

Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000