APA STYLE OF CITATION AND REFERENCING
APA is one of many referencing styles used in academic writing. APA stands for American
Psychological Association. The “APA style” is an author-date style for citing and referencing
information in assignments and publications. This guide is based on the "Publication Manual of
the American Psychological Association" 6th edition (2010).
Basic format to reference journal articles:
A basic reference list entry for a journal article in APA must include:
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.
Year of publication of the article (in round brackets).
Article title.
Journal title (in italics).
Volume of journal (in italics).
Issue number of journal in round brackets (no italics).
Page range of article.
DOI.
The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7
spaces.
Example: Ruxton, C. (2016). Tea: Hydration and other health benefits. Primary Health Care, 26(8),
34-42. doi:10.7748/phc.2016.e1162
Reference format for Book
A basic reference list entry for a book (print version) in APA must include:
Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.
Year of publication of the book (in round brackets).
Book title (in italics).
Edition (in round brackets), if other than first edition.
Place of publication.
Publisher.
The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7
spaces.
Example: Arnott, G. D. (2017). The disability support worker (2nd ed.). South Melbourne,
VIC: Cengage Learning.
In-Text and Parenthetical Citation Styles
One Author:
First In-Text Citation Johnson (2019)
Subsequent In-Text Citations Johnson (2019)
First Parenthetical Citation (Johnson, 2019)
Subsequent Parenthetical Citations (Johnson, 2019)
Two Authors:
First In-Text Citation Smith and Jones (2019)
Subsequent In-Text Citations Smith and Jones (2019)
First Parenthetical Citation (Smith & Jones, 2019)
Subsequent Parenthetical Citations (Smith & Jones, 2019)
Three to Five Authors:
Carlson, Rodriguez, and Inez
First In-Text Citation
(2019)
Subsequent In-Text Citations Carlson et al. (2019)
(Carlson, Rodriguez, & Inez,
First Parenthetical Citation
2019)
Subsequent Parenthetical Citations (Carlson et al., 2019)
Six + Authors: First In-Text Citation Walsh et al. (2019)
Subsequent In-Text Citations Walsh et al. (2019)
First Parenthetical Citation (Walsh et al., 2019)
Subsequent Parenthetical Citations (Walsh et al., 2019)
Group Authors with Identifiable
Abbreviations:
The College of St. Scholastica
First In-Text Citation
(CSS, 2019)
Subsequent In-Text Citations CSS (2019)
(The College of St.
First Parenthetical Citation
Scholastica [CSS], 2019)
Subsequent Parenthetical Citations (CSS, 2019)
Group Authors without
Identifiable Abbreviations:
University of Wisconsin
First In-Text Citation
(2019)
University of Wisconsin
Subsequent In-Text Citations
(2019)
(University of Wisconsin,
First Parenthetical Citation
2019)
Subsequent Parenthetical Citations (University of Wisconsin,
2019)
Reference format for Edited Book
Reference list entry:
Sykes, P., & Potts, A. (Eds.). (2008). Researching education from the inside: Investigations from
within. London, England: Routledge.
Chapter from an edited book
Reference list entry:
Easton, B. (2008). Does poverty affect health? In K. Dew & A. Matheson (Eds.), Understanding
health inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 97–106). Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago
University Press.
The author(s) of the chapter is the main entry in your reference list and in your in text
citation.
Reference format for websites:
Author, A. (date). Title of document [Format description]. Retrieved from http://xxx
Webpage with an author
HealthTimes. (2015). The future of aged care nursing in Australia. Retrieved from
https://healthtimes.com.au/hub/aged-care/2/news/nc1/the-future-of-aged-care-nursing-in-
australia/495/
Webpage with no author
$250m funding boost for malaria vaccine. (2003). Retrieved from
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-09-22/250m-funding-boost-for-malaria-vaccine/1482220
Reference format for Conference papers and proceedings - published
If conference proceedings are published:
Regularly (in a journal) - treat like a journal article
As a book - treat like a book or book chapter
Conference paper online - in regularly published proceedings or retrieved from a library database
Reference list entry:
Herculano-Houzel, S., Collins, C. E., Wong, P., Kaas, J. H. & Lent, R. (2008). The basic
nonuniformity of the cerebral cortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105,
12593–12598. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0805417105
If a DOI is available, include the DOI in the citation
If there isn't a DOI, and the paper is online open access, include the URL of the conference paper
in the citation
Most conference papers from a database will have a DOI. For those without a DOI, use the URL
of the database homepage and remove the expoxy.aut.ac.nz and onwards from the URL. For
example, https://ieeexplore-ieee-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/document/6184167
Theses and dissertations from online sources:
Reference format for a thesis from a commercial database:
Author, A. A. (date). Title of doctoral dissertation or master's thesis (Doctoral dissertation or
Master's thesis). Available from Name of database. (Accession or Order No.)
Example:
Pflieger, J. C. (2009). Adolescents' parent and peer relations and romantic outcomes in young
adulthood (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database. (UMI No. 3371229)
Reference format for a thesis from an institutional repository:
Author, A. A. (date). Title of doctoral dissertation or master's thesis (Doctoral dissertation or
Master's thesis, the name of the University, city, country). Retrieved from http://xxxxx
Example:
Thomas, R. (2009). The making of a journalist: The New Zealand way (Doctoral thesis,
Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand). Retrieved from
http://hdl.handle.net/10292/466
Theses and dissertations in hardcopy format
Reference format for unpublished thesis/dissertation:
Author, A. A. (date). TItle of doctoral dissertation or master's thesis (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation or master's thesis). Name of Institution, Location.
Example:
Knight, A. (2001). Exercise and osteoarthritis of the knee (Unpublished master's dissertation).
Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Reference format for Newspaper article
A basic reference list entry for a Newspaper article in APA must include:
Author
Date of the article
Title and subtitle of the article
Title and subtitle are separated by a colon
Title and subtitle of newspaper
Page Numbers
Example
Ashenmacher, W. (2015, May 31). Reversing the sands of time: After years of neglect and abuse,
Park Point's dune ecosystem is making a comeback thanks to the work of volunteers. Duluth
News Tribune, p. A1.
