Below are some basic rules to follow when creating a reference list:
Learn how to create a References section, including how to ensure entries are accurate, complete, consistently styled, and up-to-date.
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Along with showing your knowledge of the subject and credibility as an author, the point of providing a reference is to allow a reader to look up the source for themselves. You will need to provide as much information as possible. You can either learn the reference elements and their formatting rules so that you can apply them to any source, or you can use reference examples. Keep in mind that if you use the examples, you may need to combine several of them to get the best citation for your source. For example, if you have an edited book with an edition and several authors, you may need to look at the edited book example, a book with multiple authors example, and the book with an edition example.
For a Word Document with citation examples already formatted with hanging indent, download the APA 7th Ed. Paper Template.
Ex: Author, A. A.
Ex: Editor, A. A. and Editor, B. B. (Eds.).
Ex: In A. A. Editor (Ed.),
Ex: In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.),
Ex: In A. A. Editor, B. B. Editor, and C. C. Editor (Eds.),
Ex: American Psychological Association.
Ex: (2006, January 31).
Ex: (n.d.).
To Capitalize or Not to Capitalize
Ex: The psychology of affiliation: Experimental studies of the sources of gregariousness.
Journal Ex: American Journal of Psychology
Website Name Ex: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
To Italicize or not to Italicize?
Ex: 10(2),
You may have noticed that some citations in APA require a description in brackets while others do not. If a description would help your reader identify the source or if the source is not typical for a research paper, such as social media or videos, then include a description in brackets after the title.
Ex: [Tweet], [Status update], [Comment], [Brochure], [Video file], [Motion picture], [Lecture notes], [Monograph], [Transcript], [Video webcast]
Journal and Magazine Articles
Ex: Volume 5, Issue 12 would be formatted: 5(12),
Books with Volumes or Editions
Ex: (Vol. 1)
Ex: (Expanded ed.)
Ex: 465-473.
Ex: Oxford University Press
DOIs or Digital Object Identifiers are the preferred method for citing an electronic source. Have you ever clicked on the link to a website only to find the link was broken? DOIs are permanent urls assigned to an article to make sure a reader can always find it. They are most commonly assigned to journal articles, but sometimes ebooks, ebook chapters, and online magazine articles have them too.
Ex: https://doi.org/10.1111/napa.12020
Some publishers put the DOI in number only form. In this case, change the DOI into the url form with the prefix https://doi.org/
Ex: Change this: DOI:10.1037/arc0000014
To This: https://doi.org/10.1037/arc0000014
For electronic journal, magazine, and newspaper articles without DOI’s, you do not need to provide an alternative URL from the database or browser bar.
Websites do not have DOIs. If you’re citing a website you can use the full URL of the page you’re citing from.
Do no put a period after a DOI or URL.
The DOI or URL should not be hyperlinked unless your professor asks for it to be.
Need to see reference citation formatting explained in a different way? Check out this Scaffolded Reference Elements Worksheet by the American Psychological Association: