Fillable Printable APA Format Sample Reference List

APA Format Sample Reference List

APA Format – Sample Entries for Reference List

Part I: In-print Periodicals, Reports, and Media not Online

Journal Article (if page numbers in annual volume are reset with each issue)

Napoli, P. M. (1999). The marketplace of ideas metaphor in communications regulation. Journal

of Communication, 49(4), 151-169.

Journal Article (if page numbers throughout annual volume are continuous)

Brekke, T. (1999). The religious motivation of the early Buddhists. Journal of the American

Academy of Religion, 67, 849-866.

Article in a Monthly or Bimonthly Magazine

Nilsson, G. E. (1999, October/November). The cost of a brain. Natural History, 108, 66-72.

Article in a Weekly or Biweekly Magazine

Lacayo, R. (2000, January 31). Health care: A litmus test. Time, 155, 38-40.

Newspaper Article, Author Indicated

Goozner, M. (2000, January 29). Economy races toward rate hike. Chicago Tribune, pp. 1, 14.

Newspaper Article, Author Not Indicated

Russia plans to increase its arms budget by 50%. (2000, January 28). Wall Street Journal,

p. A16.

Editorial in a Newspaper, Author Not Indicated

Fear and ignorance and biotech. [Editorial]. (2000, January 31). Chicago Tribune, p. 14.

Book, Report, Catalog, or Pamphlet Authored by a Group or Organization

Aurora University. (2009). Aurora University graduate catalog 2009-2011. Aurora, IL: Author.

[Note: Use the word “Author” in the position of the publisher’s name if the group or organization is also the publisher.]

Corporate Author / Government Report

National Institute of Mental Health. (1969). Volunteer services in mental health (Publication

No. 1002). Chevy Chase, MD: National Clearing House for Mental Health Information.

Recording, Film, or Broadcast

The Canadian Brass. (1995). I found love. On Swingtime [CD]. New York, NY: BMG Music.

Kurtz, G. (Producer), & Lucas, G. (Director). (1977). Star wars [Motion picture]. United States:

20th Century Fox.

York, J. (Producer). (1991, July 26). CNN crossfire [Television broadcast]. New York, NY:

Cable News Network.

Part II: Books

Book - Single Author

Kocher, P. H. (1972). Master of Middle-earth: The fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien. Boston, MA:

Houghton Mifflin.

Multiple Books – by the Same Author (should be arranged chronologically)

Morson, G. S. (1988). Boundaries of genre. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.

Morson, G. S. (1994). Narrative and freedom: The shadows of time. New Haven, CT: Yale

University Press.

Book - Multiple Authors (for six or fewer authors)

Freeman, L., & Strean, H. S. (1987). Freud and women. New York, NY: Continuum.

Schlossberg, N. K., Lynch, A. Q., & Chickering, A. W. (1989). Improving higher education

environments for adults. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Book – Edited

D’Angelo, R., & Douglas, H. (Eds.). (2008). Taking sides: Clashing views in race and ethnicity

(6th ed.). Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill.

Klemke, E. D. (Ed.). (1970). Essays on Bertrand Russell. Urbana: University of Illinois

Press.

[Note: In the above entry, the “IL” is dropped in the location name, as the state of Illinois is part of the university press name.]

Article or Chapter in an Edited Book or Textbook

Frank, J. (1974). The world of Raskolnikov. In R. L. Jackson (Ed.), Twentieth century

interpretations of Crime and Punishment (pp. 81-90). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice-Hall.

Work in an Anthology or Textbook if the Work Was Originally Published Elsewhere

Lipstadt, D. E. (2004). The Holocaust. In H. Bloom (Ed.), Literature of the Holocaust (pp. 109-

127). Broomall, PA: Chelsea House. (Reprinted from The Shocken guide to Jewish

books: Where to start reading about Jewish history, literature, culture, and religion, pp.

129-148, by B. W. Holtz, Ed., 1992, New York, NY: Shocken Books)

[Note: In the paper, use the following parenthetical citation: (Lipstadt, 1992/2004).]

Entry in a Reference Work, Author Indicated

Hussey, J. M. (1996). Byzantine Empire. In Collier’s encyclopedia (Vol. 5, pp. 72-83). New

York, NY: Collier’s.

Entry in a Reference Work, Author Not Indicated

Coptic Orthodox Church. (1995). In Encyclopaedia Britannica (Vol. 3, pp. 615-616). Chicago,

IL: Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Part III: Personal Communications

Personal communications include multiple types of data that are not available for

retrieval. Examples include conversations and discussions, e-mail messages, class

lectures, presentation slides, and personal interviews. Because this data is not available

for someone else to retrieve, the reference is included ONLY in the text; it is NOT

included on the reference page. When including personal communications in the text,

you should list the initials and surname of the person who provided the information and

the date of the communication.

As a Parenthetical Citation

(D. Brooks, personal communication, September 24, 2009)

With the Person as Part of the Sentence

D. Brooks (personal communication, September 24, 2009)

Part IV: Online Materials and Electronic Media

The 6

edition of the manual has placed greater emphasis on retrieval and citation of

electronic sources, as one might expect. In particular, the manual presupposes that the use of a

“digital object identifier” (DOI) is now the norm for journal articles (and electronic books),

although in practice there are electronic sources still lacking a DOI number. In fact, the manual

even recommends using a DOI for an in-print source when available.

Basically, follow the advice of the manual: “we recommend that you include the same

elements, in the same order, as you would for a reference to [an in-print] source and add as much

electronic retrieval information as needed for others to locate the sources you cited” (APA, 2010,

p. 187). In other words, if you are using a journal, after setting the reference up as if it were an

in-print source, add the DOI at the end of the reference (see DOI example on next page). If there

is no DOI, then provide the home page URL for the journal. That means you no longer should

list the name of a database as part of the retrieval information. In other words, if you lack a DOI,

you will either have to go online and locate for yourself the journal’s home page URL, or in rare

circumstances you will have to give the entry page URL for the online archive (such as some

documents in ERIC or JSTOR) if you cannot locate a journal home page.

You also no longer need to include retrieval dates, unless the source is likely to change

over time (e.g., a website using Wiki technology). Make sure when giving a URL for a specific

document (other than a journal article) that it is the full URL, down to the last character. In other

words, someone should be able to cut-and-paste that address into a browser window and get to

the actual document. In any URL, do not add dashes, periods, or any other punctuation on your

own, including at the end of the URL.

Internet Reference Work, Dictionary, or Encyclopedia, Author Not Indicated

Interest. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary (11

ed.). Retrieved from

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interest

Stand-alone Internet Document, Author Indicated

Doyle, D. (n.d.). Reading better and faster. Retrieved from

http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/speed1.html

[Note: The designation (n.d.) can be used when no clear date is available as to when the document was authored or last revised.]

Stand-alone Internet Document, Author Not Indicated

About cancer. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cdh.org/ClinicalServices.aspx?id=121055

Journal Articles Retrieved from a Website or Database (if a DOI is available)

Franzen, P. L., Siegle, G. J., & Buysse, D. J. (2008). Relationships between affect, vigilance, and

sleepiness following sleep deprivation. Journal of Sleep Research, 17(1), 34-41. doi:10.1

111/j.1365-2869.2008.00635.x

Journal Articles Retrieved from a Website or Database (if no DOI is available)

Ackerman, M. J. (2006). Forensic report writing. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(1), 59-72.

Retrieved from http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/31171/home

[Note: The example above uses the journal’s home page, as there is no DOI available.]

Online Newspaper Article

Hart, A. (2009, September 15). Senate to consider limits on carbon dioxide emissions. Los

Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com

Online Report Available on an Organization’s Website

Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., Coca, V., & Moeller, E. (2009, April). From high school to the

future: Making hard work pay off. Retrieved from Consortium on Chicago School

Research website:

http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/Making%20Hard%20Work%20Pay%20Off.pdf

Within the box below is an example of how an actual reference list would look. Note the hanging indent

of each new reference entry. Note also that all items are alphabetized by the first major word of the entry.

Finally, note that everything is double spaced.

An actual reference list would have at least 1-inch margins. The page has a running head in the header

area (i.e., a shortened version of the paper’s title). The reference list comes at the end of the paper, so the

pagination continues (i.e., this would be page 14 of the paper).

THEORY AND PRACTICE 14

References