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SOCW 5395 Integrative Seminar: APA

When to cite

To avoid plagiarism, you should cite a source when:

  • You use another author's words, which should be included in quotation marks
  • You paraphrase an author's ideas in your own words
  • You summarize a study or paper
  • You include an author's name/talk about a researcher or particular study
  • You refer to an idea or concept that is not original to you

Remember, it's not just words that can be plagiarized, but thoughts and ideas too. If in doubt, err on the side of citation.

How to cite in APA

In-text Citations

APA 7th edition requires in-text citations that include the author's last name and publication year in parenthesis. If the you are directly quoting a work, you should also include the page number. See examples below.

  • 1 author: (Willingham, 2018)
  • 2 authors: (Pachankis & Goldfried, 2013)
  • 3 or more authors: (Hopkinson et al., 2016)*
  • Direct quote: (Hopkinson et al., 2016, p. 1657)

Bibliography

For the APA style bibliography, citations should be placed in alphabetical order by the last name of the first author. If you are citing an article without a specified author, use the Article Title. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word, proper names, and acronyms in the article title. Use only initials for authors' first and middle names. Write out all author names up to 20 authors.* For more than 20 authors, use ellipses.

Template:

1st author last name, first initial, 2nd author last name, first initial. (year). Article title. Journal title, volume (issue), page #s. DOI

Example:

Miller, A., Hess, J., Bybee, D., & Goodkind, J. (2018). Understanding the mental health consequences of family separation for refugees: Implications for policy and practice. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 88(1),26-37. doi:10.1037/ort0000272

Note: * indicates 7th edition updates

Quick reference

The following examples of the most commons types of citations are adapted from the 7th edition (2019) of the APA manual. For additional information browse the APA Style online guide at https://ereserves.uta.edu/2020/spring/APAWILL101.pdf

Book, Single Author Ball, P. (2001). Bright earth: Art and the invention of color. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 
Book, Multiple Authors Bird, K., & Martin, J. S. (2005). American prometheus: The triumph and tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Book, Editor Silverstein, T. (Ed). (1974). Sir Gawain and the green knight. University of Chicago Press.
Chapter in a Book Demos, J. (2001). Real lives and other fictions: Reconsidering Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose. In Carnes, M. (Ed.), Novel history: Historians and novelists confront America's past (and each other), (pp. 132-145).Simon and Schuster.
Journal Article without DOI Burns, S. (2005). Ordering the artist's body: Thomas Eakins' acts of self-portrayal. American Art, 19(1), 90-102.
Website Florida Department of Education. (2010). Next generation sunshine state standards: Grade two, social  studies.  http://www.floridastandards.org/Standards/FLStandardSearch.aspx

Citation Style Guides

Librarian

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Elle Covington
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Using Sources Effectively

Citation Managers

Citation managers are very helpful for keeping your research organized and for citing sources in your papers. There are a few different ones out there, but I recommend Zotero, which is a free, open-source citation management software.