APA Citation Guide

If you're quoting the exact words of someone else, introduce the quote with an in-text citation in parentheses. Any sentence punctuation goes after the closing parenthesis.

• According to Shavers (2007), "Direct quote" (p. #).
• Shavers (2007) found that "Direct quote" (p. #).
• [Some other introduction] "Direct quote" (Shavers, 2007, p. 1021).

If you're directly quoting more than 40 words...

Use a blockquote. Block quotes don't need quotation marks, but are indented 1/2" as a visual cue of a citation. The in-text citation in parentheses goes after the punctuation of the quotation.

Shavers (2007) study found the following:

While research studies have established that socioeconomic status influences disease incidence, severity and access to healthcare, there has been relatively less study of the specific manner in which low SES influences receipt of quality care and consequent morbidity and mortality among patients with similar disease characteristics, particularly among those who have gained access to the healthcare system. (p. 1021)

Toro Tip: Use direct quotes sparingly! Research cited in an APA paper is focused more on the synthesis of findings from a variety of research studies, and less about the exact phrasing or argument of an individual.

Paraphrasing or summarizing the main findings or takeaways from a research article is the preferred method of citing sources in an APA paper. Always include the last name of the author(s) and the year of the article, so your reader can find the full citation in the reference list.

According to Shavers (2007), limitations of studying socioeconomic status in research on health disparities include difficulties in collecting data on socioeconomic status and the complications of classifying women, children, and employment status, among others (p. 1016).

You only need the author's last name and the year.

(Abrams, 2018)

Connect both authors' last names with & (ampersand), and include the year.

(Wegener & Petty, 1994)

If there are 3-5 authors...

In the first in-text citation:
(Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993)

In subsequent in-text citations:
(Kernis et al., 1993)

If there are 6+ authors...

You only need the first author's name, followed by et al., and the year.
(Harris et al., 2018)

1. Author(s) [Last Name, First Initial., Middle Initial., &. If there are more than 8 authors, only list 7 of the authors and include an ellipsis (...) between the sixth author and last author].
2. Year (xxxx).
3. Title of the article [Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized].
4. Title of the journal [Capitalized and in italics],
5. Volume # of the journal [in italics]
6. Issue # (if any),
7. Page range [xx-xx].
8. DOI (Digital Object Identifier) (if any, there is usually a DOI if the article was published online first or not within a volume or issue)

Ashing‐Giwa, K. T., Padilla, G., Tejero, J., Kraemer, J., Wright, K., Coscarelli, A., Clayton, S., ... & Hills, D. (2004). Understanding the breast cancer experience of women: A qualitative study of African American, Asian American, Latina and Caucasian cancer survivors. Psycho‐Oncology: Journal of the Psychological, Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Cancer, 13(6), 408-428. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.750

1. Author(s) [Last Name, First Initial., Middle Initial., &].
2. Year, Month, Date (xxxx, Month xx).
3. Title of the article [Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized].
4. Title of the newspaper or publication [Capitalized and in italics],
5. URL Retrieved from [URL].

Kennedy, M. (2018, October 15). To prevent wildfires, PG&E pre-emptively cuts power to thousands in California. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/10/15/657468903/to-prevent-wildfires-pg-e-preemptively-cuts-power-to-thousands-in-california.

1. Author(s) [Last Name, First Initial., Middle Initial., &].
2. Year (xxxx).
3. Title of the book [Only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized, and in italics].
4. Edition(# ed.). [if any]
5. City, State of Publication [Full name of city, abbreviation of state]:
6. Publisher.

Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird (1st ed.). Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott & Co.

1. Author(s) [Last Name, First Initial., Middle Initial., &].
2. Year (xxxx).
3. Title of the book [Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized, and in italics].
4. E-reader version, if any [Kingle, ePub, HTML. etc].
5. Edition, if any (# ed.).
6. URL Retrieved from [URL or subscription database].

Crouch, A. T., & Meurier, C. (Eds.). (2005). Vital notes for nurses: Health assessment. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com.

1. Author(s) of the chapter [Last Name, First Initial., Middle Initial., &].
2. Year (xxxx).
3. Title of the chapter [Only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized].
4. Editor(s) of the book In [First Initial, Middle Initial, Last Name &...] (Ed.) or (Eds.),
5. Title of the book [Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized, and in italics]
6. Page range (pp. xxx-xxx).
7. City, State of Publication [Full name of city, abbreviation of state]:
8. Publisher.
9. URL, if any Retrieved from [URL or subscription database].

Preheim, G. (2008). Clinical scholar model: Competency development within a caring curriculum. In M. H. Oermann (Ed.), Annual review of nursing education. New York, NY: Springer. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Academic eBook Collection.

1. Author or organization [Full name of organization].
2. Year (xxxx). [or (n.d.). for no date]
3. Title of page, section, or document [Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized].
4. Format description [Web page, blog post, etc].
5. URLRetrieved from [URL].

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Protect yourself with vaccination. [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/features/adultvaccinations/.

1. Author, government agency, or organization [Full name of organization].
2. Year (xxxx). [or (n.d.). for no date]
3. Title of the report or document [Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized, in italics].
4. Report number (Report No. ## ). [if any]
5. URL Retrieved from [URL].

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Health Statistics Reports. (2008). Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007 (Report No. 12). Retrieved from https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/5266.