APA

Citations and Reference List

APA Referencing System
(American Psychological Association )
• When writing research papers it is important to
find credible, reliable sources of information
and expert opinions on a topic.

• The APA referencing system is used to indicate

that we are using ideas or information that are
not our own original ideas

• If we don’t show that we are using someone

else’s ideas, we are plagiarising or stealing
their ideas
APA Referencing System

APA consists of two parts:

1) In-text citations

2) Reference list

(It is important to use them both together.

You can’t have one without the other)
APA Referencing System
• In-text citations tell the reader that this information
is not your own, and briefly indicate where the
information or ideas came from.

• They are like sign posts.

• Let’s look at some rules for how to use correct APA

style for in-text citations.
 APA Referencing System
• A reference list provides more detailed
information about the source of information

• It is like a map to help the reader find the

source of information for themselves
APA Rules – In-text
Citations

• Let’s look at some rules for how to use correct

APA style for in-text citations.
APA Rules – In-text
Citations
In-text Citations

1) Direct quotes
“…” (Surname, year of publication, page
number)

2) Paraphrase / Summary
(Surname, year of publication)
APA Rules – In-text
Citations
In-text Citations – 3 styles for paraphrasing:

1) According to Wang (2012)… (full sentence)

2) Wang (2012) states that …(full sentence)

3) full sentence…(Wang, 2012)

APA Rules – In-text
Citations
In-text Citations – 3 styles for Quotations:

1) According to Wang (2012)…” full sentence” (p.6)

2) Wang (2012) states that …”full sentence” (p.6)

3) “full sentence” (Wang, 2012, p.6)

Repeated citations of a study
within one paragraph
APA In-text Citations
When learning the rules for in-text citations it is
important to consider how many authors wrote
the text:
•One
•Two
•3, 4 or 5
•Six or more
•Group author
•No author
Citing a work by 2 authors
Citing a work by 3, 4 or 5 authors
Citing by 6 or more
authors

• If a source is written by 6 or more authors,

only use the family name of the first author
followed by ‘et al.’

• …. (Smith, et al., 2007)

Group authors

The entry in the reference list is under National Health and Medical
Research Council.
No author
(1) If the author is designated as ‘Anonymous’, use the word
‘Anonymous’ in the in-text citation and in the related reference
list entry.

Health-care systems are in need of….. ………. …….

(Anonymous, 2001).

(2) If no author is designated, cite in text the first few words of

the reference list entry (which is usually the title) and the year.
Full title details are provided in the reference list entry.
•
Magazine & Newspaper articles
• If the author is known, then in-text citations are the
same as with books (surname and year)

• Johnson (2004) argues that…

• If the author is unknown, use the title of the article

(not the name of the magazine or newspaper)

• (“Gaming Revenues Bounce Back”, 2009)

Put the article title If the article title is very

inside quotation marks long, just use the first 2 or
““ 3 words, or key words
Citing from a Website - Known
Author
• If the website indicates the name of the author, then
quoting from the website is exactly the same as citing
from a book (Surname, year)

• If the online article indicates page numbers, use these

page numbers when you write your citation.

• If the online article does not have page numbers, use

paragraph numbers if possible. You can also use the
paragraph symbol ¶

• According to Smith (2003) “…..” (para. 2)

• “…” (Smith, 2003, para. 2)
Citing from a website –
Unknown Author
• For short web pages, list the web page title.

• “…..” (“Teens Health”, 2011, para. 3)

• For longer web pages with subheadings, list the heading of

the section and then the number of the paragraph following
it.

• “…….” (World Health Organisation [WHO], News Releases,

2012, para.2)
Website articles no date

• It is always best to try to determine the date that the

information on the website was posted

• However if this is not possible, use n.d., (no date)

• Hopkins (n.d.) says “….” (para. 6)

• According to Hopkins (n.d) “…..” (para. 6)
• “….” (Hopkins, n.d. para.6)
 Citing from secondary sources
• That is, you read one author (secondary) who cites another
(primary). In the example that follows, you have read Savage
who referred to a 1998 publication by Lupton, but you did not
read Lupton yourself.
Quotes
• When we quote a source, we use the author’s words
exactly

• We always need to use quotation marks “ ”

• We also need to include the page number in the in-text

citation

• According to Wang (2012) “……..” (p.6)

• Wang (2012) says “…..” (p.6)

• “…….” (Wang, 2012, p.6)

Short Quotes
• Short quote (fewer than 40 words) should run on as part
of your sentence with double quotation marks to signal
where the quote starts and finishes. The page where the
quote comes from must be included.
Long Quotes
Long quotes or ‘block quotes’ (more than 40 words) should:

• start on a new line

• be indented about 5 spaces from the left hand margin
• be single- line spacing
• omit quotation marks.
An important stage in assignment writing is planning. Clay (2003) comments
that:

Some students are tempted to plunge into writing their assignment,

beginning with the introduction, but soon find that they experience
“writer’s block” and cannot decide what to write next. The problem
occurs because they have not given sufficient thought to reviewing
course content and developing their ideas about relating the theory to
their practice. (p. 47)

There are a variety of ways that students can plan…

APA Citations Review
• You should now know how to cite from:

- An article or book with one author, two authors, 3-5

authors, or 6 authors
- An article or book by a group author
- An article of book with no author
- A magazine or newspaper (author and no author)
- A website (author and no author)

• You should know how to cite from a secondary

source.

• And you should also know how to write a citation for a

short quote and a long quote
APA Rules - Reference
Lists
• The Reference List always appears at the
end of the paper on a new page

• The list is arranged in alphabetical order

according to the family name of the
author
APA Reference List
When learning the rules for writing an APA style
reference list, it is important to consider what
type of document or publication you are
reading:
•Book
•Journal
•Magazine
•Newspaper
•Website
•Gov’t or NGO report
Books

Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of book. City:

Publisher.

Crawford, P., Brown, B., & Nolan, P. (1998).

Communicating care: The language of nursing.
Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.

The title of the book is

always written in italics
Chapter or article in an edited book

Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of chapter.

In C. Editor, & D. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp.
xx-xx). City: Publisher.

Naidoo, B. (2000). Evaluating the use of public health

risk factor simulation models. In M. Thorogood, & Y.
Coombes (Eds.), Evaluating health promotion: Practice
and methods (pp. 99-109). Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Journal article

Author, A., & Author, B. (Year). Title of article.

Title of Journal, volume number (issue number),
page numbers.

Antonakos, C. L., & Kazanis, A. S. (2003). Research

process in the health sciences: A focus on methods.
Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 17, 257-264.

Clay, G. (2003). Assignment writing skills. Nursing

Standard, 17(20), 47-52.
Magazine articles – Known
author
• Author, A. (Year, month) Article title, magazine
title, volume number, page numbers

• Ashley, S. (2001, October) Driving the info Highway,

Scientific American, 285, 44 – 50

• Unknown Author The title of the article is

used when we don’t
know the author’s name
• Driving the info Highway (2001, October) Scientific
American, 285, 44 - 50
Newspaper article - Known author
Author, A. (year, month day). Title of article. Title of
Newspaper, p. x.

Wroe, D. (2004, June 24). Canberra enlists GPs in war on

smoking. The Age, p. 3.
The title of the article is
Unknown author used when we don’t
know the author’s name

Title of article. (year, month day). Title of

Newspaper, p. x.

Embryo study nod, OK say IVF couples. (2004, May 31).

Herald Sun, p.10.
Website – Known author

Author, A. (Year) Title of website, Retrieved from

web address

Chan, P. (2011) Obesity, Retrieved from

www.geocities.com/nutriflip/Diseases/Obesity.html
Website - no author, no date

If a website has no author or date, begin the reference

list entry with the title of the website and use the
abbreviation n.d. - no date.

Title of website. (n.d.). Retrieved from web

address

Obesity. (n.d.). Retrieved from

www.geocities.com/nutriflip/Diseases/Obesity.html
Group author

Organisation Name. (Year). Details of the work as

appropriate to its form.

National Health and Medical Research Council. (1997).

Acting on Australia’s weight: A strategic plan for the
prevention of overweight and obesity. Canberra:
Australian Government Publishing Service.
Six or more authors

(Provide family names and initials of the first six authors

and shorten any remaining authors to ‘et al.’)

Author, A., Author, B., Author, C., Author, D.,

Author, E., Author, F., et al. (Year). Details of the
work as appropriate to its form.

Mahon, S. M., Spies, M. A., Aukamp, V., Barrett, J. T.,

Figgins, M. J., Meyer, G. A., et al. (1997). Presentation
of nursing diagnosis content in fundamentals of nursing
textbooks. Nurse Educator, 22 (1), 17-22.
Article in Internet-only journal,
authored, not from database

(In an Internet-only journal, page numbers may not be

provided and volume and issue numbers are often not
relevant. In the reference list entry, provide the details
you can determine.)

Author, A. (Year, month day). Title of article. Title

of Journal, volume number (issue number),
page numbers. Retrieved from web address

Rego, P. (2003, August). Confronting embodiment.

Nuritinga, 5, 1-6. Retrieved from
http://www.healthsci.utas.edu.au/tson/nuritinga/issue
5/confronting_embodiment.pdf
Electronic copy of a journal
article from database

Author, A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal,

volume number (issue number), page numbers.
Retrieved from database name.

Elder, R., Neal, C., Davis, B. A., Almes, E., Whitledge, L.,
& Littlepage, N. (2004). Patient satisfaction with triage
nursing in a rural hospital emergency department.
Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 19, 263-268. Retrieved
from Academic Search Premier database.
Electronic databases or websites:

Retrieved from Academic Search Premier

database.

OR

Retrieved from www.abcd.org

OR

Retrieved from d.o.i. 12345678

 Creating a reference list
When compiling your APA reference list, you should:

• list references on a new page with a centred heading

titled ‘References’

• include books, journal articles, online sources etc. in one

alphabetical listing

• order entries alphabetically by family name of

author

• list works with no author under the first significant word

of the title

• indent 2nd and subsequent lines of each entry (5-7

spaces)

• use double spacing

 Sample reference list in APA
style
References

Antonakos, C. L., & Kazanis, A. S. (2003). Research process in the

health sciences: A focus on methods. Research and Theory for
Nursing Practice, 17, 257-264.

Clay, G. (2003). Assignment writing skills. Nursing Standard, 17(20),

47-52.

Crawford, P., Brown, B., & Nolan, P. (1998). Communicating care: The
language of nursing. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.

Gagliardi, B. A., Frederickson, K., & Shanley, D. A. (2002). Living with

multiple sclerosis: A Roy Adaptation Model-based study. Nursing
Science Quarterly, 15(3), 230-236.
 APA Style Guide
• A great way to study and learn more about
APA style is to go to the following website:

• http://owll.massey.ac.nz/referencing/apa-interactiv
e.php