Tools

Referencing guides

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

The American Psychological Association has established a style that it uses in all of the books and journals that it publishes.

For further information on APA style, the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association" can be found in the Main Library at BF76.7.P83 2001

Citing in the Text of the Assignment

When you cite a reference in the text of the assignment, use the name of the author and the year of publication.
For example:

Example:

Walker (2000) compared the reaction times of athletes and the general public to various stimuli.
In a recent study of reaction times ( Walker, 2000), there were findings in favour of repetitive testing of subjects.
Reaction times were significantly better for athletes ( Walker, 2000).


When you directly quote from another source, you must also give the page numbers(s).

Example:

Brown, Wienckowski and Bivens (1977, p. 257) stated that "the answers to the issues of psychosurgery will depend heavily upon specific advances". 

Walker states that “the use of reaction times can be advantageous” (2000, p. 19).

 

Works with no Author

When a work has no author, use a shortened version of the title and the year. An example of this is An Introduction to Philosophy: Theories, Ideas andBeliefs which could be shortened to An Introduction to Philosophy. Use quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and use italics for the title of a journal, book or report.

Example:

On free care ("Study Finds", 1982) there are a number of opinions.
The book College Bound Seniors (1979) discusses the issues facing seniors today.

 

When a work has an anonymous author, cite in the text the word ‘Anonymous’ and the year.

Example:

There were various recommendations made at the annual conference for tax agents regarding procedure and policy (Anonymous, 1998).

 

Works with Multiple Authors

When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the work is referenced in the text.

Example:

Smith and Jones (1999) refer to the use of illicit drugs by teens in Victoria.
The number of teens regularly using illicit drugs has fallen in recent years (Smith & Jones, 1999).


When a work has three, four, five or six authors, cite all the authors the first time the reference occurs. For all subsequent references, only use the surname of the first author followed by et al. and the year.

Example:

Wasserstein, Zappulla, Rosen, Gerstman, and Rock (1994) found that livestock prefer regular changes to new pastures.
Wasserstein et al. (1994) found that livestock tend to have a ‘herd’ mentality.


When a work has more than six authors, cite only the surname of the first author followed by et al. and the year in all references to the work.

Refer to the APA Publication Guide section 3.95 for more information and examples.

Creating a Reference List

A reference list uses hanging indents where the first line starts at the left margin and subsequent lines are indented 4 spaces.

Books

Books with one author:

Author name. (Year). Title of the book: Subtitle of the book. Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:

Singer, M. C. (1990). Human resource management. Boston: PWS-Kent Pub. Co.

For books with only an editor listed, include (Ed.) after the editor’s name and before the year of publication. For example: Smith, John (Ed.). (1995).

Books with two or more authors:

Author name, & Author name. (Year). Title of the book: Subtitle of the book. Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:

Jason, P., & Eldridge, M. (2001). Relationships and feelings. London: Smith and Johnson Publishers.

Smith, A. B. E., Jones, A. C., & Larson, J. (2000). Life as movie: Movie as life. New York: Benson Press.

For books with two or more editors, include (Eds.) after the final editor’s name and before the year of publication as demonstrated above.

Refer to the APA Publication Guide section 4.16 Part B for more information and examples.

Article or a Chapter within a book:

Author name. (Year). Title of the chapter. In Editor (Ed.), Title of the book (pages). Place of publication: Publisher.

Example:

Heath, S. B. (1989). The learner as culture member. In M. L. Rice & R. L. Schiefelbusch (Eds.), The teachability
    of language (pp. 333-350). Toronto: Paul H Brookes.

Refer to the APA Publication Guide section 4.16 Part B for more information and examples.


Journals

Author name. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Pages.

Example:

Doyle, W. (1977). Learning the classroom environment: An ecological analysis. Journal of Teacher Education,
    28, 51-55.

Refer to the APA Publication Guide section 4.16 Part A for more information and examples.


Audio-Visual Media

Motion picture references include information about the significant contributors (director, producer) and their function, the release date, the title of the film (and in brackets after the title, identify resource as a motion picture), country of origin and the name of the distributor. The format is:

Producer name (Producer), & Director name (Director). (Year). Title of film [Motion Picture]. Country of Origin:
    Distributors name (and address for motion pictures with limited circulation).

Example:

Scorsese, M. (Producer), & Lonergan, K. (Writer/Director). (2000). You can count on me [Motion Picture].
    United States: Paramount Pictures.

Refer to the APA Publication Guide section 4.16 Part H for more information and examples.


Electronic Information

Web pages:

Author(s) name(s). (Year). Title of web page. Retrieved month date, year, from webpage address.

Example:

Golman, J. & Northwest University. (2002). History and politics out loud. Retrieved July 8, 2002,  from
    http://www.hpol.org/.

 

Web pages with no author:

Title of Web Page. (Year). Retrieved month date, year, from webpage address.

Example:

Picture Australia . (2002). Retrieved July 9, 2002, from http://www.pictureaustralia.org/.

  

Journal articles:

Author name. (Year) Title of article [Electronic version]. Journal Title, volume(issue), page(s).
    Retrieved month date, year, from URL.

Example:

Marks, R., & Foley, P. (2002) Updates in medicine: Dermatology [Electronic version]. EMJA,
    176(1), 10. Retrieved July 8, 2002, from
     http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/176_01_070102/mar10683_fm.html

 

Newspaper article:

Author name. (Date). Title of article. Name of Newspaper. Retrieved date, from URL.

Example:

Reed, D. (2000, July 26). Top judge gets tough on killers. The West Australian. Retrieved July 26, 2000,
    from http://www.thewest.com.au/.

 

Articles from electronic databases:

Author(s) name(s). (year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), page(s). Retrieved month
    date, year, from name of database.

Example:

Judge, Timothy A., Heller, D., & Mount, M. (2002). Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction:
    A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), 530-541. Retrieved July 12, 2002, from
     PsycARTICLES database.

Refer to the APA Publication Guide section 4.16 Part I for more information and examples.