Apa Style: General Rules
Apa Style: General Rules
Apa Style: General Rules
Research Methodology
This guide outlines some of the more common information sources.
General Rules
Order of references in the reference list alphabetically, by the last name of the first author of each work, or if
there is no known author, by title.
List authors’ last names, followed by initials. For works with two authors, use an ambers and “&” instead of
“and” to separate the authors’ names: 'Taylor, P.', not 'Taylor, Peter'.
If your reference list contains more than one item by the same author(s), list works in chronological order (oldest
first) and add a lower case letter (a, b, c, etc...) after the year.
The URLs associated with many articles found online and through article indexes and databases change, as they are based
on a specific search session. To solve this problem, APA recommends providing the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for
articles whenever possible. DOI’s are unique codes used to provide a stable URL for online articles. DOI's may be located on
the search results page in a database, the full display information for an article, or on the PDF version of an article.
Reference List:
Elliott, R. (2009). The same distant places: Bob Dylan's poetics of place and displacement. Popular Music & Society,
32 (2), 249-270. doi:10.1080/03007760802700936
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Elliot, 2009, p. 251)
Paraphrase: (Elliot, 2009)
Reference List:
Kostic, B., & Cleary, A. M. (2009). Song recognition without identification: When people cannot "name that tune" but
can recognize it as familiar. Journal of Experimental Psychology / General, 138, 146-159. doi:
10.1037/a0014584
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Kostic & Cleary, 2009, p. 148)
Paraphrase: (Kostic & Cleary, 2009)
Journal article, 3 - 7 Authors: retrieved online with a DOI
Reference List:
Black, A. M., Pandya, S., Clark, D., Armstrong, E. A., & Yager, J. Y. (2008). Effect of caffeine and morphine on the
developing pre-mature brain. Brain Research, 1219, 136-142. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2008.04.066
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Black et al., 2008, p. 140)
Paraphrase: (Black et al., 2008)
Reference List:
Park, K. S., Kim, Y. S., Kim, J. H., Choi, B. K., Kim, S. H., Oh, S. H., ... Kim, S. J. (2009). Influence of human
allogenic bone marrow and cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cell secreting trophic factors on ATP
(adenosine-5 '- triphosphate)/ADP (adenosine- 5'-diphosphate) ratio and insulin secretory function of
isolated human islets
from cadaveric donor. Transplantation Proceedings, 41(9), 3813-3818.
doi:10.1016/j.transproceed.2009.06.193
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Park et al., 2009, p. 3815)
Paraphrase: (Park et al., 2009)
Reference List:
Mathieson, C. M., Bailey, N., & Gurevich, M. (2002). Health care services for lesbian and bisexual women: Some
Canadian data. Health Care for Women International, 23, 185-196. Retrieved from
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/07399332.asp
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Mathieson et al, 2002, p. 186)
Paraphrase: (Mathieson et al, 2002)
Reference List:
Snaphaan, L., van der Werf, S., Kanselaar, K., & de Leeuw, F. (2009). Post-Stroke Depressive Symptoms Are Associated with
Post-Stroke Characteristics. Cerebrovascular Diseases, 28(6), 551-557. doi:10.1159/000247598
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Snaphaan et al., 2009, p. 555)
Paraphrase: (Snaphann et al., 2009)
Reference List:
Pitkänen-Pulkkinen, L. (1981). Concurrent and Predictive Validity of Self-Reported Aggressiveness. Aggressive
Behavior, 7(2), 97-110.
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Pitkänen-Pulkkinen, 1981, p. 99)
Paraphrase: (Pitkänen-Pulkkinen, 1981)
Reference List:
Taylor, P. S. (2008, July 21). The drink for the rich and uneducated. Maclean's, 121, 29-29. Retrieved from
http://www2.macleans.ca
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Taylor, 2008, p. 29)
Paraphrase: (Taylor, 2008)
Reference List:
Father and son arrested in beating. (2009, May 26). Kamloops Daily News, pp. A.5. Retrieved from
http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: ("Father and son", 2009, pp. A.5)
Paraphrase: ("Father and son", 2009)
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Lewontin & Levins, 2007, p.292)
Paraphrase: (Lewontin & Levins, 2007)
Reference List:
Henning, J. E., Stone, J. M., & Kelly, J. L. (2009). Using action research to improve instruction : An interactive guide
for teachers. New York: Routledge.
In-text Citation:
Direct quote, first citation: (Henning, Stone, Kelly, 2009, p. 73)
Direct quote, subsequent citations: (Henning et al., 2009, p. 73)
Paraphrase, first citation: (Henning, Stone, & Kelly, 2009)
Paraphrase, subsequent citations: (Henning et al., 2009)
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (National Council of Welfare, 2001, p.22)
Paraphrase: (National Council of Welfare, 2001)
Edited book
Reference List:
Story, J. (Ed.). (2005). Charlemagne : Empire and society. New York: Manchester University Press.
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Story, 2005, p. 117)
Paraphrase: (Story, 2005)
Reference List:
Dube, O. P., & Sekhwela, M. B. M. (2008). Indigenous knowledge, institutions and practices for coping with variable
climate in the Limpopo Basin of Botswana. In N. Leary, J. Adejuwon, V. Barros, I. Burton, J. Kulkarni & R.
Lasco (Eds.), Climate change and adaptation (pp. 71-89). London: Earthscan.
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Dube & Sekhwela, 2008, p. 75)
Paraphrase: (Dube & Sekhwela, 2008)
Reference List:
Meehan, E. R., & Riordan, E. (Eds.). (2002). Sex & money : Feminism and political economy in the media. [Ebrary
version]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com.
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Meehan & Riordan, 2002, p. 44)
Paraphrase: (Meehan & Riordan, 2002)
Encyclopedia article
Reference List:
Mizrahi, T. & Davis, L. E. (Ed.). (2008). Hospice. In Encyclopedia of social work (20th ed.). (Vol. 2, pp. 383-388).
Washing, DC: National Association of Social Workers.
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Mizrahi & Davis, 2008, p. 384-385)
Paraphrase: (Mizrahi & Davis, 2008)
Reference List:
The encyclopedic dictionary of psychology. (3rd ed.). (1986). Guilford, Conn.: Dushkin Publishing Group.
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (The encyclopedic dictionary of psychology,
1986, p. 20) Paraphrase: (The encyclopedic dictionary of
psychology, 1986)
Reference List:
France, J. (Ed.). (2008). Mercenaries and paid men : The mercenary identity in the Middle Ages : Proceedings of a
conference held at University of Wales, Swansea, 7th-9th July 2005. Boston: Brill.
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (France, 2008, p. 55)
Paraphrase: (France, 2008)
Multi-volume work
Reference List:
Parkman, F. (1915). The conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the conquest of Canada (Vol. 1-2). New York:
Scribners.
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Parkman, 1915, Vol. 1, pp. 37)
Paraphrase: (Parkman, 1915)
Web Documents
Basic Format:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year of last update). Title of webpage. Retrieved from URL
Webpages
NOTE: Do not include retrieval dates unless the source material may change over time (e.g., Wikis)
Reference List:
Mulhauser, G. (2009). An introduction to cognitive therapy & cognitive behavioural approaches. Retrieved from
http://counsellingresource.com/types/cognitive-therapy
In-text Citation:
(Mulhauser, 2009)
Reference List:
School of Psychology. University of Aberdeen. (2009). Industrial psychology research centre. Retrieved
from http://www.abdn.ac.uk/iprc/
In-text Citation:
(School of Psychology. University of Aberdeen, 2009)
Reference List:
Goldberg, S. (2004). You say "to-may-to(e)" and I say "to-mah-to(e)" : bridging the communications gap between
researchers and policy-makers : CPHI report on moving from research to policy : improving the health of
Canada's youth : a workshop held in Toronto, Ontario, February 19 and 20, 2004. Retrieved from website
Canadian Institute for Health Information:http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/products/ CPHI_ Bridging _Gap
_e.pdf
In-text Citation:
Direct quote: (Goldberg, 2004, p.15)
Paraphrase: (Goldberg, 2004)
Google Maps
Note: For untitled works, put a descriptive title in square brackets. Google Maps is used to represent the map’s corporate
author, rather than the name of the web site.
Reference List:
Google Maps. (2011). [La Fonda Hotel. Santa Fe, New Mexico] [Street Map]. Retrieved from
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=100+E.+San+Francisco+Santa+Fe,+NM+
87501,+United+States&aq=&sll=49.891235,-
97.15369&sspn=40.447838,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=100+E+San+Francisco+St,+Santa+Fe,+New+M
exico+87501,+United+States&z=16
In-text Citation:
(Google Maps, 2011)
In-text Citation:
(Kriebel, 2008)
Reference List:
MacDonald, A. (Producer). (2009, March 9). What's the difference between pressed and burned CDs? [Audio podcast].
Retrieved: http://www.redshiftnow.ca/report/90.RedShiftReport.mp3
In-text Citation:
(MacDonald, 2009)
Motion Picture
Reference List:
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. (Producer). (2006). Postpartum care. [Motion picture]. Philadelphia, Pa. : Lippincott,
Williams & Wilkins.
In-text Citation:
(Lippencott Williams & Wilkins, 2006)
Personal communication
Example: letters, phone calls, text messages, emails, and interviews. Since they are considered "unrecoverable data",
these sources are NOT included on a reference list.
Reference List:
not included on a reference list
In-text Citation:
R. Bradbury (personal communication, March 15, 2008)
Class handouts
Reference List:
Gaynor, K. (2009). SOCW 455 - Finding statistical information for small communities [Class handout]. Department of
Librarians. Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, Canada.
In-text Citation:
(Gaynor, 2009)
Adapted from: