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APA Citations: Full Citations

This guide will help with APA formatting citations

APA Basics

In APA, you must cite the sources that you have paraphrased, quoted, or otherwise used to write your research paper.  Cite your sources in two places:

  1. At the end of your paper, you will provide a full citation for each source in a reference list.
  2. Within the text of your paper, you will provide an abbreviated in-text citation whenever you use information taken from a source.

Online Journal Articles

Author's last name, Initials. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume #(Issue), page number. URL/DOI
  • Make sure to put the journal and volume number in italics

References List Example:

Kizilirmak, P. (2015). The most critical question when reading a meta-analysis report: Is it comparing apples with apples or apples with oranges? The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology, 15(9), 701-708. https://lib.assumption.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/most-critical-question-when-reading-meta-analysis/docview/1718121455/se-2

 

Parenthetical Citation: 

(Kizilirmark, 2015)
  • Remember to put a comma between the author and the date. 

Narrative Citation: 

Kizilirmark (2015) believes that ... 
Author's last name, Initials. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume #(Issue), page number. URL/DOI
  • Make sure to put the journal and volume number in italics

References List Example:

Kizilirmak, P., & Özdemir, O. (2015). The most critical question when reading a meta-analysis report: Is it comparing apples with apples or apples with oranges? The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology, 15(9), 701-708. https://lib.assumption.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/most-critical-question-when-reading-meta-analysis/docview/1718121455/se-2
  • Because there are two authors, you'll need to use an ampersand (&) to represent and 

Parenthetical Citation: 

(Kizilirmark & Özdemir, 2015)
  • Remember to put a comma between the author and the date. 
  • Do not use the word and. You'll need to use an ampersand (&) 

Narrative Citation: 

Kizilirmark & Özdemir (2015)
  • Do not use the word and. You'll need to use an ampersand (&) 

 

Author's last name, Initials. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume #(Issue), page number. URL/DOI
  • Make sure to put the journal and volume number in italics

References List Example:

Kizilirmak, P., Özdemir, O., & Öngen, Z.  (2015). The most critical question when reading a meta-analysis report: Is it comparing apples with apples or apples with oranges? The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology, 15(9), 701-708. https://lib.assumption.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/most-critical-question-when-reading-meta-analysis/docview/1718121455/se-2
  • Because there are two authors, you'll need to use an ampersand (&) to represent and 
  • Don't forget to add the oxford comma which is right before the & 

Parenthetical Citation: 

(Kizilirmark et al., 2015)
  • Remember to put a comma between the author and the date. 
  • et al. is the latin phrase for “and others.” When citing multiple authors, instead of listing every single one, you'll abbreviate it with et al. 
  • et al. only applies to the in-text citation. Do not use et al on the References page. 

Narrative Citation: 

Kizilirmark et al. (2015)
  • Don't forget that et al. has a period at the end, regardless where it is in the sentence. 

Websites

Last name, Initials. (Year Published). Article title. Publication Name. URL/DOI
  • Make sure the article title is in italics. 

Works Cited List Example:

Smith, J. (2020). The Legend of John Smith. The John Smith Archives. www.Johnsmith.com

 

Parenthetical Citation: 

(Smith, 2020)

 

Narrative Citation: 

Smith (2020) writes ...

 

Name of Group/Organization. (Year Published). Title of Article. DOI/URL.
  • If there is no author, move where the Publisher would be located to the front. 
  • Make sure the article title is in italics. 

References Example:

U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2021). National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37998.v1.

 

Parenthetical Citation: 

(U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2020)

 

Narrative Citation: 

U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (2020) noted that ... 

 

Other Online Articles

Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Title of Newspaper [City of Publication if not stated in Newspaper Title], Day Month Year of Publication, Database Name, Link.
  • If the month and date is also listed, make sure to put it in the date section as well. If it is not listed, then just supply the date. 

References List Example:

Loney, M. (2006, Feb 23). Why not compare racial apples with apples? National Post. https://lib.assumption.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/why-not-compare-racial-apples-with/docview/330453423/se-2?accountid=36120
  • If the month and date is also listed, make sure to put it in the date section as well. If it is not listed, then just supply the date. 

Parenthetical Citation: 

(Loney, 2006, Feb 23). 

 

Narrative Citation: 

Loney (2006, Feb 23) 
Last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Magazine Name, Volume(Issue), page range.
  • Don't forget to put the magazine title in italics. 
  • If there is a month or day also with the magazine article, be sure to add that in the year section. 

References List Example:

Barth, B. (2017, Jan). Apples to Apples. Horticulture, 114, 32. https://lib.assumption.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/apples/docview/1853720667/se-2?accountid=36120

 

Parenthetical Citation: 

(Barth, 2017, Jan). 

 

Narrative Citation: 

Barth (2017, Jan)

Books

Author's Last Name, Initials. (Year Published). Title of Book (edition if given and if it is not the first edition). Publisher. 
  • Make sure the book title is in italics. 
  • If the book was the 1st edition or if there is no edition listed, then simply ignore that section. 

References List Example:

Roberts, S. (2019). Behind the Screen: Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social Media (2nd. ed.). Yale University Press.

 

Parenthetical Citation:

(Roberts, 2019).

 

Narrative Citation:

Roberts (2019) noted that ...

 

Author's Last Name, Initials. (Year Published). Title of Book (edition if given or if it is not the first edition). Publisher. URL. 
  • Make sure the book title is in italics. 
  • If the ebook was the 1st edition or if there is no edition listed, then simply ignore that section. 

References List Example:

Neibaur, J. L. (2010). The fall of buster keaton : His films for mgm, educational pictures, and columbia (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/assumption-ebooks/detail.action?docID=616319

 

Parenthetical Citation:

(Neibaur, 2010).

 

Narrative Citation:

Neibaur (2010) wrote that ... 

 

Author's Last Name, Initials. (Year Published). Title of chapter, article, essay or short story. In Editor's Initials. Last Name. (Ed.), Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition., page numbers). Publisher Name.
  • You only want to cite this way if the source has edited book chapters, which means that different authors wrote different chapters and there is an editor(s) who complied the book together. 
  • Make sure the book title is in italics. 
  • If the ebook was the 1st edition or if there is no edition listed, then simply ignore that section. 

References List Example:

Neibaur, J. L. (2010).  Supporting Appearances in the 1940s and '50s. In J. Smith (Ed)., The fall of buster keaton : His films for mgm, educational pictures, and columbia (2nd ed., pp. 133-136). Scarecrow Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/assumption-ebooks/detail.action?docID=616319

 

Parenthetical Citation:

(Neibaur, 2010).

 

Narrative Citation:

Neibaur (2010) notes that ... 

 

But Which Link Do I Use?

DOI Links

If your citation requires a link, try first to locate a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for your source.  A DOI may be listed as a link or as a string of numbers and letters (for example: 10.1007/s12021-021-09517-8).  If the DOI appears as a string of numbers and letters, convert it to a link by adding https://doi.org/ to the beginning.  A DOI link is the best type of link to use in your MLA citations.

Example: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12021-021-09517-8

Permalinks

When a DOI is not available, try to locate a URL that is stable, permanent, or persistent (sometimes called a permalink). Most library databases will provide such a link, although it is NOT located in the address bar at the top of your browser.  Look around for a special icon or button.  You do not need to include https:// when using a permalink URL.

Example: www.jstor.org/stable/24537368

Other URLs

If neither a DOI or permalink is available, use the URL in the address bar at the top of your browser.  If the URL runs for three full lines of text or longer, you can shorten it or omit the remaining portion.  Do not use shortening services such as bit.ly.  You do not need to include https:// when using these types of URLs.

Example: www.cnn.com/2022/03/16/politics/zelensky-speech-takeaways/index.html