APA 7 Citations: Text: Print and Online
This guide replaces the APA Citations guide for the 6th edition.
APA Style: Basics
Text: Print and Online
Audiovisual Media
Legal and Government Documents
Data Sets, Software, and Tests
Format Your Paper
What Does the APA Mean by Textual Works?
Periodicals include journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and blogs, and other online platforms that publish articles.
Books, ebooks, and reference works including authored and edited books, anthologies, religious works, and classical works. Reference works include dictionaries, encyclopedias (including Wikipedia), and diagnostic manuals. For ebooks, the format, platform or device (e.g., Kindle) is not included in reference. For audiobooks, include the narrator and audiobook notation only in specific cases (see examples 22, p. 321 and 29, p. 323).
Note: For a chapter in an authored book, create a reference for the entire book and provide the chapter number with the in-text citation only.
Reports include government, technical, and research reports which usually entail original research but may or may not be peer reviewed. They are sometimes referred to as gray literature. Gray literature includes press releases, codes of ethics, grants, policy briefs, issue briefs, annual reports, and more. It is optional, but often helpful - to describe these less common types of gray literature in square brackets after the title.
Conference sessions and presentations include paper presentations, poster sessions, keynote addresses, and symposium contributions.
Dissertations and theses, including doctoral dissertations and master's and undergraduate theses. How their references are constructed depends on whether each is published or unpublished. See the two templates below to see how these are handled.
Reviews of books, films, TV shows, albums, and other entertainment are published in a variety of outlets, including journals, magazines, newspapers, websites, and blogs. The reference format for a review should be the same as the format for that type of content appearing in that source, with the addition of information about the item being reviewed. Place this information inside square brackets [Review of the...] after the review title.
Unpublished works and informally published works include work that is in progress, has been completed but not yet submitted for publication, or has been submitted but not yet accepted for publication. Informally published works include work that is available from a preprint archive or a repository, an electronic archive such as ERIC, an institutional archive, a government archive, a personal website or other sources. Try to work with the final published version of your source. The date should be the year it was completed or the year the draft was written. After the title, describe the status of the work in square brackets. When the source of the unpublished work is known, include it in the source part of the reference. Include a DOI or URL when available for informally published works.
Miscellaneous Citation Examples
Book with one author
Koontz, D. R. (2000). Tick tock. Bantam Books.
Book with 2-20 authors
Preston, D. J, & Child, L. (2003). The cabinet of curiosities. Warner Books.
Group author
American Heart Association. (1996). American Heart Association guide to heart attack: Treatment, recovery and prevention. Times Books.
Doezema, M. & Milroy, E. (Eds.). (1998). Reading American art. Yale University Press.
Article/chapter in edited book
Welty, E. (2012). Clamorous to learn. In L. H. Peterson, et al. (Eds.), The Norton reader: An anthology of nonfiction (13th ed., pp. 350-355). Norton.
Entry in a dictionary
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Self-report. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved May 5, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-report
Entry in an encyclopedia
Graham, G. (2019). Behaviorism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2019 ed.). Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/behaviorism/
Girish, D. (2020, May 29). A black woman's #metoo quest entails added tensions. The New York Times.
NOTE: - no URL – see sec. 9.34 in APA 7 manual
White, H. E. (2019, April). Making black lives matter: Properly valuing the rights of the marginalized in Constitutional torts. Yale Law Journal, 128(6), 1742-1791.
Wikipedia article – pg. 329
Pack horse library project. (2020, June 15). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pack_Horse_Library_Project&oldid=953745114
DSM-5 and DSM-5 TR (a diagnostic manual)
Recently, a revised edition of the DSM-5 has been published as the DSM-5 TR. Here is the reference citation for the DSM-TR:
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, text revision (5th ed.) https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
Here is the reference citation for the DSM-5:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Note: When the author and the publisher are the same, omit the publisher from the source element.
In-text citations for the DSM-5 (the In-Text Citations for the DSM-5 TR, would change to include the "Text Revision" and date of "2022" where applicable):
Note: Identify the title and the edition of a diagnostic manual in the text and include a citation the first time it is mentioned. If the first mention appears in a heading, cite it within the first paragraph of that section. Repeat a citation when it directly supports a statement but do not repeat the citation for other general mentions of a manual.
Parenthetical citation with abbreviation included: (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
Narrative citation with abbreviation included: American Psychiatric Association's (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5)
Note: After you define an abbreviation, as in the citations above, use only the abbreviation in your text.
Subsequent parenthetical citations: (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
Subsequent narrative citations: American Psychiatric Association (2013)
See information about how to cite from the DSM-5 on p. 324 and how to use abbreviations on p. 173, section 6.25 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. See other examples at https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/diagnostic-manual-references.
OER Textbook Citation Questions?
Go to the Online Media page to find an example of how to cite open educational resources (OER).
Citing Business Resources
Citing a Variety of Different Business Resources
Here are examples of several different kinds of business resources showing how they may be cited using APA 7.
Metadata Search for DOIs in Crossref
Do a Search for a DOI in Crossref
Search the metadata of a large collection of journal articles, books, standards, datasets & more.
Video - Citing Books and eBooks
Video - Citing Periodicals in APA 7
APA Examples of References and Citations for Textual Works
APA Examples of Textual Works
Each example includes a Reference citation and an in-text parenthetical and narrative example.
Direct Quote Without a Page Number
APA's Newly Published Reference Examples for Textual Works
Here are some new reference and citation examples for text sources published only in APA's March 13th, 2020 blog post and linked here.
Journal article with missing information
Retraction notice for a journal article
Children's book or other illustrated book references
Annotated religious work
ISO standard
Statistical toolbox
Templates and Some Citation Examples for Each Sort of Text (1 of 2)
Each template gives you the order and formatting for each part of a reference citation (author, date,title, and source) for the specific kind of text you have found, whether it is in print or online.
Template for Citing Periodicals
When citing sources published periodically such as newspapers, magazines, and journals:
Periodical Information
DOI or URL
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B.
Name of Group.
Author, C. C. [username].
Username.
(2020, January).
(2020, February 16).
Title of article.
Title of Periodical, 34(2), 5-14.
Title of Periodical, 2(1-2), Article 12.
Title of Periodical.
https://doi.org/xxxx
https://xxxxx
Source: p. 316, Seventh Edition: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Textual Works are described in-depth on pp. 316-321.
Template for Citing Books and Reference Works
When citing books and reference works:
Editor, E.E. (Ed.).
Editor, E.E., & Editor, F.F. (Eds.).
Title of book.
Title of book (2nd ed., Vol. 4).
Title of book [Audiobook].
Title of book (E. E. Editor, Ed.).
Title of book (T. Translator, Trans.; N. Narrator, Narr.).
Publisher Name.
First Publisher Name; Second Publisher Name.
Template for Citing Edited Book Chapters and Entries in Reference Works
When citing chapters of edited books or a work in an anthology or an entry from a dictionary, thesaurus, or an encyclopedia:
Chapter Author
Title of chapter.
In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. 3-13). Publisher Name.
In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 212-255). Publisher Name.
Source: p. 326 of Seventh Edition:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Note: For a chapter from an authored book, create a reference of the whole book and provide the chapter number with the in-text citation only.
(Author, Year, Chapter number)
Example: (Smith, 2020, Chapter 9).
Textual Works (pp. 316-321)
Template for Citing Reports and Gray Literature
When citing government, technical, and research reports:
(2020, May 2).
Title of report.
Title of report, (Report No. 123).
Title of gray literature [Description].
Source: p. 329 of Seventh Edition: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Note: Reports may or may not be peer reviewed and are considered to be gray literature.
Gray literature includes press releases, codes of ethics, grants, policy briefs, issue briefs, and more.
It is optional but helpful to describe less common types of gray literature in square brackets [] after the title.
Template for Conference Sessions and Presentations
When citing conference sessions and presentations, including paper presentations, poster sessions, keynote addresses:
Presenter, A. A., & Presenter, B. B.
(2020, September 18-20).
(2020, October 30-November 1).
Title of contribution [Type of contribution].
Conference Name, Location.
Template for Symposium Contributions
Contribution title
Contributor, A. A., & Contributor, B. B.
Title of contribution.
In C. C. Chairperson (Chair), Title of symposium [Symposium]. Conference Name, Location.
Template for Citing Unpublished Dissertations or Theses
When citing unpublished dissertations or theses, the university name appears in the source.
Create your citations in the following order and formatting:
Author, A. A.
Title of dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation].
Title of thesis [Unpublished master's thesis].
Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.
Template for Citing Published Dissertations or Theses
When citing published dissertations or theses, the university name appears in square brackets [] after the title.
Database or archive name
Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree].
Title of thesis [Master's thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree].
Database Name.
Archive Name.
Template for Citing Reviews
When citing reviews, the reference format should be the same as the format for the type of content appearing within that source, with the addition of information about the item being reviewed in square brackets [ ] after the review title.
Details of reviewed work
Reviewer, A. A.
(2020, February 3).
[Review of the book Book title, by A. A. Author].
[Review of the book Book title, by E. E. Editor, Ed.]
[Review of the film Film title, by D. D. Director, Dir.].
[Review of the TV series episode "Episode title," by W. W. Writer, Writer, & D. D. Director, Dir.].
Periodical Title, 34(2), 14-15.
Blog Title.
Templates for Citing Unpublished or Informally Published Works
For unpublished works
When citing an unpublished work:
Title of the work [Unpublished manuscript].
Title of work [Manuscript in preparation].
Title of work [Manuscript submitted for publication].
Department Name, University Name.
p. 336 of Seventh Edition: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
For informally published works
When citing informally published works:
Database or archive information
Title of the work.
Title of work (Publication No. 123).
Name of Database.
Name of Archive.
https://doi.org/xxxxx
URL: https://library.cscc.edu/apa7