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Citation and Bibliographies

Learn how to cite and format your papers according to APA.

APA Citation Style

The APA Style originated with the American Psychological Association. They style uses a bibliography at the end of a project listing every source that was consulted, and in-text notes io indicate when a phrase has been directly quoted or paraphrased. Quotations and borrowed phrases are immediately followed by the in-text note with the author's name and page number from which the borrowed material came cited in parentheses. This pattern is used instead of footnotes or endnotes.

See the tabs on this page for rules, samples, and more assistance for citing and formatting in the APA Style. 

These general rules apply to APA formatted notes and bibliographies:

  • Double-space all content on the page. 
  • Author names are presented using the last name followed by the initials of the first and any middle names. Authors' first and middle names are not spelled out in APA Style.
  • Capitalize the first letter of the first word of a book chapter title or article title. The first letter of a word that appears immediately after a colon for a chapter or article subtitle is also capitalized.  
  • The first letter of the first word and the first letter of all subsequent words in titles of books and journals are capitalized except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (in, of, to), and conjunctions (and, but, or).
  • The titles of books and journals are italicized.
  • A Document Object Identifier (DOI) is required for all articles that have one.

The APA Style uses in-text citations to indicate that text has been quoted or paraphrased. The in-text note acknowledge when you are quoting, paraphrasing, or otherwise referring to information found in another source. A sample from an article using in-text citations is shown below:

Click image to enlarge.

In the APA Style, the note takes the form of brief acknowledgement in parentheses immediately following each direct quote in quotation marks or paraphrased statement within the body of the work. (Other styles you may find in academic works may use footnotes, or endnotes.) The APA in-text citation includes:

  • text that is directly quoted exactly as it appears in the original source is enclosed in quotation marks or a paraphrased statement
  • the author/s last name(s)
  • the year of publication
  • the page or paragraph number on which the borrowed text appears.

There are a few ways in which the in-text citation can be presented. (All samples are adapted from quotes in: Manprisio, et.al. (2024). Redefining learning paradigms: Integrating artificial intelligence into modern classrooms. Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal, 17(2), 157-177, //doi.org/10.18848/1835-9795/CGP/v17i02/157-177).

All required information in parentheses: 

It is this approach that more education needs to embrace, looking beyond the primary use of AI for merely writing an article and exploring its broader applications. AI can help when looking for new ways to teach a subject or problematic area (Dietz and Keys, 2023, p. 156). Educators know how challenging some of the material can be.

Author introduced ("signaled") in sentence, other required information in parentheses:

It is this approach that more education needs to embrace, looking beyond the primary use of AI for merely writing an article and exploring its broader applications. Dietz and Keys (2023, p. 156) discuss how using AI can help when looking for new ways to teach a subject or problematic area. Educators know how challenging some of the material can be.


Page number only in parentheses:

It is this approach that more education needs to embrace, looking beyond the primary use of AI for merely writing an article and exploring its broader applications. In a landmark article published in 2023, Dietz and Keys (p. 156) discuss how using AI can help when looking for new ways to teach a subject or problematic area. Educators know how challenging some of the material can be.

Page versus Paragraph

When citing a book, journal article, or other paged source, use the page number of the borrowed material.

  • For one page, use p. 
  • For more than one page, use pp. 

When citing a source without page numbers (such as websites), use the paragraph number.

  • Regardless of how many paragraphs you are citing, use para.

Quoting vs. Paraphrasing

In-text Citation with Direct Quotes

Spencer (2006) notes that it is acceptable "to state the author's name at the beginning of the sentence, rather than always putting it in the parenthetical citation" (pp. 5-6). 

OR

Many students still refuse to "separate the author from the citation at the end of the quoted material" (Spencer, 2006, pp. 5-6).


In-text Citation with Summaries or Paraphrased Text
NOTE: Page numbers are not necessary when the summary of an entire work or large section of text over multiple pages is cited.

Jones and Senoj (2007) explain that citing sources does not have to be as difficult as students seem to believe (p. 54).

OR

Citing sources becomes easier the more frequently one tries to do it (Jones & Senoj, 2007).

Unknown Elements

No Publication Date
Check the source thoroughly for a publication date. It may be at the end of an item, appear on a special publication page or in a URL, or be buried within introductory text. If a date cannot be found, se the abbreviation n.d. for "no date" as shown:

"Not every source, especially web sources, provide a concrete publication date (Smith, n.d., p. 3)."

No Author
If no individual or corporate author is listed, use the first word or two of the work's title for the in-text citation, for example:

Acquiring effective study habits is the most important indicator of first-year college student success ("Students," 2002, para. 3).

If Anonymous is ever listed as author, treat that the same as if a name was given. 

Organization as the Author

Name the organization in text or include the whole name in parentheses at the end.

  • Example: According to the World Health Organization (2016), 5-10% of all cancer-related deaths in Bangladesh stem from arsenic poisoning that pollutes the region (para. 9-10).
  • Example: "In Bangladesh, 5–10% of all cancer deaths in an arsenic-contaminated region were attributable to arsenic exposure" (as cited in World Health Organization, 2016, para. 9-10).

Below you will find different ways to introduce a citation. You can read more about using in-text citations, quotations, and paraphrasing from APA.

Author Type First Signal Phrase Subsequent Signal Phrases First In-Text Subsequent In-Text
Single author Hatch (2017) Hatch (2017) (in same paragraph, exclude date*) (Hatch, 2017) (Hatch, 2017)
Two authors Hatch and Wesson (2017) Hatch and Wesson (2017) (in same paragraph, exclude date*) (Hatch & Wesson, 2017) (Hatch & Wesson, 2017)
3 or more authors Hatch et al. (2017) Hatch et al. (2017) (in same paragraph, exclude date*) (Hatch et al., 2017) (Hatch et al., 2017)
Two authors with same last name

R. Mariano (2011)

A. Mariano (2004)

R. Mariano (2011)

A. Mariano (2004)

(R. Mariano, 2011)

(A. Mariano, 2004)

(R. Mariano, 2011)

(A. Mariano, 2004)
Two works by same author

Diaz (2003)

Diaz (2010)

Diaz (2003)

Diaz (2010)

(Diaz, 2003)

(Diaz, 2010)

(Diaz, 2003)

(Diaz, 2010)
Two works by same author in same year

Probst (2016a)

Probst (2016b)

Probst (2016a)

Probst (2016b)

(Probst, 2016a)

(Probst, 2016b)

(Probst, 2016a)

(Probst, 2016b)
Different works in same citation Hatch (2017) and Diaz (2010) Hatch (2017) and Diaz (2010) (in same paragraph, exclude dates*) (Hatch, 2017; Diaz, 2010) (Hatch, 2017; Diaz, 2010)

*Note: Date can only be excluded if there are no other works by the same author(s) cited in the paper.

The bibliography, or reference page, is a list of all the resources you consulted for your project. It normally appears at the end of your project, allowing your readers to locate and independently consult sources that were cited as part of a work. Each source you use in your project must be included in your reference list, whether you directly quote from it, paraphrase it, or are merely informed by it.

Below is a sample of a professional bibliography from the journal The Reference Librarian:

Click image to enlarge.

Bibliography Rules:

  • Entries are alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work 
  • Include up to 20 authors in the citation. If more are named, include up to 19 names followed by an ellipsis (...) and the final author's name.
  • Second and all subsequent lines of each entry are always indented using a half-inch hanging indent. This means that the first line of each reference entry is flush with the left margins and subsequent lines are indented by 0.5 inch. Consult the help in your word processor (Word or Google Docs) to learn how to create hanging indents.
  • Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title and any subtitles (indicated by a colon) and all proper nouns.
  • Do not number or bullet bibliographies, and do not use headings or separate the entries by source type. 

The following elements are typical parts of a citation in any style, though not all elements are always used.: 

  • Author/creator and/or editor(s) of the work. May be an organization or a platform instead of a person.
  • Title of the source. May be a single book chapter; an article from a journal, magazine, newspaper, or website; the chat title of material generated with artificial intelligence; or the entire first line of a social media post.
  • Title of container. The work is included within, such as a book (containing book chapters), or journals, magazines, and newspapers (containing articles).
  • Date of publication or creation. May show as the year only, or may include months and days, or seasons..
  • Volume and issue numbers for journal or magazine articles
  • Page numbers for journal articles and book chapters.
  • Location such as a DOI or URL (only for online sources that do not have a DOI).

Book Rules: 

  • A book citation must always include author(s), title (and subtitle), publisher, and date of publication. Other necessary elements, if applicable, include editor, translator, edition, revision, and volume number.
  • Titles of books are always italicized.
  • Publisher is included following the book's title

Article Rules:

  • An article citation must always include author, title (and subtitle), title of journal/magazine, date of publication, volume/issue number, and page numbers.
  • Titles of journals and the volume number are always italicized.

This sample citation shows a journal article published in a nursing journal.

Click image to enlarge.

 

For more information about formatting and citing sources in APA format, see:

The APA Style Manual has extensive rules for formatting a project in order to maintain consistency among scientific and technical works. This page will help you get started formatting your project. All rules are based on the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association but always check with your instructor for any specific formatting instructions required for your course!

Page Contents:

General Formatting

  • Margins: 1 inch on every side
  • Font style and size: 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Calibri are two fonts recommended by APA. 
  • Line spacing: Double (2.0)
  • Page numbers (top right corner of the page)

Title Page
APA Style includes a title page with the following elements:

  • The project title centered horizontally and vertically
  • Your full name
  • Your institution: Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
  • Your course name
  • Your instructor's name
  • Due date or date of submission

Abstract and Keywords Page
An abstract is a short summary of your work, not more than 250 words long. An abstract receives its own page and should be page 2 of your paper.  Also include 5 - 10 keywords that capture the main ideas of your work and that would help someone find your work using a database such as Harrisburg University's Digital Commons.

Bibliography/References Formatting

The references page should begin at the top of a new page immediately after the body of the work essay has ended.

  • Citations should be listed in alphabetical order by first author's last name (NOT the order that you referenced them in your paper.
  • Citations should use a hanging indent (the second and subsequent lines are positioned a half inch from the top line's margin) as shown in the sample of an APA-style bibliography below.

Click image to enlarge.