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APA referencing

APA is one of two approved referencing styles at ¼. Learn how it works and how to cite sources correctly
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How to use the APA referencing style?

The American Psychological Association (APA) style requires two elements: in-text citations throughout your assignment, and a reference list at the end.

¼ assessment requirements may vary, so it is recommended to check with yourcourse convenor or academics for specific formatting and referencing guidelines.

In-text references are brief information about a source within the text of your assignment, including the following:

  • the name of the author or authors

  • the year of publication

  • the page number (see below for further information).

In-text citations have two formats: parenthetical and narrative. In parenthetical citations, the author name and publication date appear between parentheses, while in narrative citations, this information is included in the sentence.

When to include page numbers

When you quote from a source (reproduce material word for word), page numbers are required. When paraphrasing, the APA publications manual 7th edn. (p. 269) suggests it can be useful to provide page numbers, to help the reader locate the information in a long text. However, this is not an essential requirement. Check with your lecturer about their preferences on the inclusion or exclusion of page numbers for paraphrased information in your assignments.

Examples

  • Encouraging students to memorise information and then testing their memory has been a consistent criterion of pedagogy (Broudy, 1998).

    Broudy (1998, p. 8) explains that memorisation does not result in an ability to solve problems.

  • The case study demonstrates that “on the common criteria for schooling, our sample citizen has failed because he cannot replicate the necessary skill or apply the relevant principles” (Broudy, 1998, p. 9).

    Broudy (1998, p. 9) argues that “on the common criteria for schooling, our sample citizen has failed because he cannot replicate the necessary skill or apply the relevant principles”.

    Citations placed at the end of a sentence sit before the concluding punctuation.

At the end of the text, you will need to include a list of references; a single list of all the sources of information you have cited in your assignment. Begin the reference list on a new page and title it “References”. Centre the title on the page. Each entry should have a hanging indent.

Each list item requires specific bibliographic information(see an example from one of the sources below).

  • In the case of a book,‘bibliographical details’ refers to: author/editor, year of publication, title, edition, and publisher, as found in the title pages (some details will vary).

    List each item on the reference list in alphabetical order (by author surname). Titles should be in italics. All the references included in the list must also be cited in the text.

See more

Citing different sources with APA referencing

Explore the examples below to learn how to cite different kinds of sources using the APA referencing method.

    • In-text citations

      A page number is required if you are quoting. When paraphrasing, or if the information you are citing can be found on a particular page the APA publications manual 6th edn (p. 171) encourages you to provide page numbers to help the reader locate the information.

      (Karskens, 1997, p. 23)

      Ward (1966, p. 12) suggests that ...

      If you are summarising, or only citing the main idea of the book:

      (Willis, 1990)

      Reference list

      Include information in the following order:

      • author’s surname, and initial(s).
      • year of publication (between parentheses).
      • book title (in italics, capitalise first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns).
      • edition (if other than the first), (between parentheses, after the title, but before the full stop).
      • publisher.

      Examples

      Karskens, G. (1997). The Rocks: Life in early Sydney. Melbourne University Press.

      Yaffe, D. (2006). Fascinating rhythm: Reading jazz in American writing. Princeton University Press.

    • In-text citations

      Follow the author-date format for standard books.

      Reference list

      If a Digital Object Identifier is available, it should be used. If it is not available, include a URL.

      Examples

      Hunt, L. (1998). British low culture: From safari suits to sexploitation. Taylor & Francis Group. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

      Fu-Lai, T. Y. & Kwan, D. S. (2019). Contemporary issues in international political economy. Palgrave Macmillan.

      Audiobook

      It's not necessary to note when an audiobook is used if the content is the same, even if the format is different. If necessary, note that the work is an audiobook in the title element.

      Example

      Smith, C. (2021). How the word is passed: A reckoning with the history of slavery across America [Audiobook]. Little, Brown & Company.

  • An edited collection consists of a collection of articles or chapters, each by different authors, but compiled by editor(s).

    In-text citations

    A book collection consists of a collection of articles or chapters, each by different authors, but compiled by editor(s). If you want to cite a particular article/chapter, cite the author(s) of the article or chapter in the text:

    (Curthoys, 1997, p. 25)

    Reference list

    Include information in the following order:

    • author’s surname and initial(s).
    • year of publication (between parentheses).
    • name of chapter/ article (capitalise first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns).
    • In
    • initial(s) and surname(s) of editor(s)
    • (Ed.). for a single editor; (Eds). for more than one.
    • collection title (in italics, capitalise first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns).
    • page range (between parentheses, after the title, but before the full stop).
    • publisher.

    Example

    Curthoys, A. (1997). History and identity. In W. Hudson & G. Bolton (Eds). Creating Australia: Changing Australian history (pp. 23-38). Allen & Unwin.

    • A DOI (digital object identifier) is an assigned number that acts as a form of persistent identification for online publications. When you are citing a journal article, provide the DOI, if one has been assigned. When a DOI is used, no further retrieval information is necessary.

      In-text citations

      Author, date, page number (if required):

      (Tucker, 1998, p. 257)

      (Tucker, 1998)

      Reference list

      Include information in the following order:

      • author’s surname and initial.
      • year of publication (between parentheses).
      • article title (capitalise first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns).
      • journal or periodical title (in italics, maximum capitalisation),
      • volume number (in italics)
      • issue number (between parentheses),
      • page range.
      • Digital Object Identifier (in lowercase, followed by a colon. Provide the alphanumeric string exactly as published in the article in the format https://doi.org/10.xxxx).

      Example

      Tucker, S. (1998). Nobody's sweethearts: Gender, race, jazz, and the Darlings of Rhythm. American Music, 16(3), 255-288. https://doi.org/10.2307/3052637.

    • In-text citations

      If the page number is required:

      (Tucker, 1998, p. 257)

      Reference list

      If no DOI has been assigned, and you retrieved the article online, provide the URL of the journal home page (if access is provided to the article there).

      Example

      Curtis, S. (2009). Come in and hear the truth: Jazz and race on 52nd street. The Journal of American History, 96(1), 264-265.

      If the article was retrieved from a library database the article can be presented as though it were a print article.

      Example

      Nairne, D. C., & Wilkinson, H. (2018). What's love got to do with it? Vermont Connection, 39(1), 106-112.

    • In addition to their regular publications, some journals offer individual articles online as soon as they are finalised. The content is assigned a DOI before it is assigned a volume, issue or page number. If there is no DOI assigned, provide the URL of the journal home page.

      In-text citations

      If there are no page numbers, cite the paragraph number:

      (Jureidini, 2016, para. 2)

      Reference list

      Identify the article as an Advance online publication after the journal title:

      Jureidini, J. (2016). Antidepressants fail, but no cause for therapeutic gloom. The Lancet. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30585-2

  • In-text citations

    For articles with no identified author, use a shortened title between double quotation marks:

    (“¼ gains top ranking”, 1994, February 30).

    If there is an author, cite as for a journal article:

    (Donaghy, 1994, p. 3)

    Precede page numbers for newspaper articles with p. (single page) or pp. (page range).

    Reference list

    A newspaper article with no identified author:

    Alphabetise works with no author by the first significant word in the title:

    ¼ gains top ranking from quality team. (1994, February 30). Sydney Morning Herald, p. 21.

    An article with a named author:

    Donaghy, B. (1994, March 3-9). National meeting set to review tertiary admissions. Campus News. p. 3.

    An online article:

    Provide the URL of the homepage where the online version of the article is available via search.

    Poniewozik, J. (2015, November 17). When TV turns itself off. The New York Times.

  • Personal communication may be unpublished lecture notes, letters, memos, personal interviews, telephone conversations, emails, photographs or images.

    In-text citations

    Cite personal correspondence in text only. Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible:

    (B. Daly, personal communication, August 7, 2010)

    (P. Gregory, personal photograph, May 2, 1987)

    Note that the initial(s) precede the surname.

    Reference list

    • Details of a personal communication do not usually need to be included in the list of references as it cannot be traced by the reader.
    • Before using personal communications, ensure you have the permission of the person with whom you communicated.

    • In-text citations

      Cite as you would with a book, including author, date, and page number:

      (Oldsberg & Winters, 2005, p. 17)

      Reference list

      List research reports as you would a book:

      Olsberg, D. & Winters, M. (2005). Ageing in place: Intergenerational and intrafamilial housing transfers and shifts in later life. (Report No. 127). Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

    • In-text citations

      (Ballard, 2003, p. 132)

      Reference list

      • Put the type of thesis between parenthesis after the title
      • Acknowledge the university where the thesis was undertaken
      • If a URL is available, provide it in full at the end of the reference.

      Example

      Ballard, B.A. (2003). The seeing machine: Photography and the visualisation of culture in Australia, 1890-1930 [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Melbourne]. University of Melbourne Research Repository.

  • In-text citations

    Refer to the work in the text, then include book author, date, and page number:

    De Kooning's 1952 painting "Woman and Bicycle" (Hughes, 1980, p. 295) is an example of ...'

    Reference list

    List the book containing the image:

    Hughes, R. (1980). The shock of the new: Art and the century of change. British Broadcasting Corporation.

  • The format for audiovisual media references follows a pattern based on whether the work stands alone (films, entire series, albums) or is part of a greater whole (Series episodes, podcast episodes, songs from an album).

    Describe the format in square brackets - for example [Film], [Audio podcast episode] - in the title element of the citation.

    • In-text citations

      Name the title in the text and put the primary contributors as authors in the parenthetical citation:

      The motion picture The Godfather (Coppola & Ruddy, 1972) examines themes of good and evil ...

      Reference list

      For a film:

      • list the primary contributors in the author position and identify their contributions between parentheses
      • date, between parentheses
      • title, in italics
      • format, between square brackets
      • studio name.

      Example

      Coppola, F. F. (Director), & Ruddy, A. S. (Producer). (1972). The Godfather [Film]. Paramount.

    • In-text citations

      For music recordings, the text citation consists of the songwriter(s) and date, along with the track number (or side and band, for vinyl records):

      Lehrer (1990, side 2, track 3) wrote parody of the official songs in use by the various branches of the United States military.

      If the copyright date and recording date are different, use both dates in the text citation:

      Carter and Cash's version of “It ain't me, babe” (Dylan, 1964/2002, track 3) was also considered ...

      Reference list

      The bibliographic details are the same as those required for films, videos, DVDs, television and radio programs:

      • Writer name and initials
      • copyright year
      • Title of song
      • [Recorded by artist name if different from writer].
      • On title of album, in italics
      • [format of recording]
      • label
      • (date of recording if different from song copyright date).

      Examples

      Lehrer, T. (1959). It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier. On Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer [vinyl record]. Warner Brothers.

      Dylan, B. (1964). It ain't me, babe [Recorded by J. Cash and J. Carter]. On Orange Blossom Special [CD]. Sony Music. (2002).

    • In-text citations

      Another television series that explored the dysfunctional family was The Sopranos (Chase & Van Patten, 1999)

      Reference list

      When the series run spans multiple years, separate the years with a dash. If the series is still being produced, replace the second year with the word 'present'.

      Example

      Chase, D., Grey, B., Green, R., Burgess, M., & Weiner, M. (Executive Producers). (1999-2007). The Sopranos [TV series]. Chase Films.

    • Citing an episode in a series

      In-text citations

      Include author name(s) and year:

      (McEvoy & Whitmont, 2001)

      Reference list

      Include information in the following order:

      • author names (producer, director, writer etc.)
      • broadcast date
      • the title of the episode
      • format [between square brackets]
      • In
      • executive producer name
      • series name
      • production company.

      Examples

      McEvoy, P. (Producer) & Whitmont, D. (Reporter). (2001, August 13). The inside story [TV series episode]. In B. Belsham (Executive producer) Four Corners. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

      Hubbard, M. (Writer), & McCarthy, B. (Director). (2007). The rural juror (Season 1, Episode 10) [TV series episode]. In T. Fey (Executive producer), 30 Rock. National Broadcasting Company.

    • In-text citations

      (Gilmour, Attenborough & Goodman, 1999)

      Reference list

      Gilmour, D. (Executive producer) Attenborough, D (Writer) & Goodman, J. (Writer). (1999). Island of the vampire birds [Television documentary]. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

    • In-text citations

      Cite by the author name and date:

      (poyani, 2012)

      To cite a direct quotation from an audio-visual source, include a timestamp in the in-text citation alongside the author and date indicating the point at which the quotation begins:

      Darren Bloomfield emphasised the embassy's importance as "a front line for Aboriginal people to give their views to the government" (Overlander.tv, 2007, 1:40).

      Reference list

      Include information in the following order:

      • author. This is whoever posted the video. Use the screen name as it appears online.
      • date (year, month day).
      • title of video, in italics
      • format, between square brackets. [Video file].
      • Retrieved from URL

      Examples

      Overlander.tv. (2007, July 24). Aboriginal tent embassy, Canberra [online video]. Retrieved from

      poyani. (2012, December 29). George Carlin - Euphemisms [Video file]. Retrieved from

    • In-text citations

      (Adler-Gillies & Williams, 2016)

      As with video, a timestamp can be used if you want to point readers to a particular section of the podcast.

      Reference list

      Adler-Gillies, M. (Producer) & Williams, M. (Presenter). (2016, June 18). The great social experiment - public housing [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from

    • In-text citations

      Include the author name and date assigned to the painting. The title of the work can also be mentioned in the text:

      As an example of Australian painting during the inter-war years, The Laquer Room (Cossington Smith, 1936) demonstrates ...

      Reference list

      Cossington Smith, G. (1936). The Laquer Room [Painting]. Retrieved from

  • Referencing electronic resources can be confusing—it's difficult to know which information to include or where to find it. Electronic citations require many of the same elements, in the same order, as fixed-media sources.

    As a general rule, provide as much information as possible concerning authorship, location and availability. Also, determine the type of content so the format can be identified.

    For the reference list, provide the following pieces of information:

    • author or authoring body name(s)
    • date (published or last updated)
    • title
    • format description (where necessary, identify that you accessed the source in an electronic format, between square brackets [ ])
    • as much electronic retrieval information as needed to locate the source, for example, a web page URL (Retrieved from http://xxxxxxxxx), or a DOI (Digital Object Identifier).

    Electronic publishing is now a standard form of accessing information, but many sources are published in both paper and electronic formats. You should cite according to the format you accessed. Unlike fixed-media sources, online materials can easily be changed, or disappear altogether, so full and accurate citation information is essential.

    • To refer to an entire website:

      For a passing reference to a website in text, the URL is sufficient; no reference list entry is needed:

      These United Nations policies are outlined on The International Narcotics Control board website ()

    • In-text citations

      Cite the name of the author/authoring body and the date created or last revised:

      (International Narcotics Control Board, 1999)

      Reference list

      Include information in the following order:

      • author (name of group)
      • date (created or last updated), between parentheses
      • title of document
      • web page URL (If possible, ensure that the URL is included without a line-break).

      Example

      International Narcotics Control Board. (2019). Psychotropic Substances. International Narcotics Control Board

    • In-text citations

      (Hay, 2014)

      Hay (2014)

      Reference list

      Include information in the following order:

      • author (the person responsible for the page)
      • date (created or last updated), between parentheses
      • title of document
      • website name
      • web page URL (If possible, ensure that the URL is included without a line-break).

      Example

      Hay, R. (2014, June 23). Diego Costa, Spain and problems of identity in world football. The Conversation.

    • In-text citations

      If the author's name is unknown, cite the website/page title and date. If the title is long, cite the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title or abbreviated title:

      ("Land for sale on moon", 2007)

      Reference list

      Land for sale on moon. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.moonlandregistry.com

    • In-text citations

      If there is no date on the page, use the abbreviation n.d. (no date):

      (ArtsNSW, n.d.)

      Reference list

      ArtsNSW. (n.d.). New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards. Retrieved from http://www.arts.nsw.gov.au/awards/LiteraryAwards/litawards.htm

    • To refer to an entire blog:

      As with a website, mentioning it in text, along with the URL is sufficient; no reference list entry is needed:

      Aspects of the postgraduate experience are discussed at The Thesis Whisperer blog () ...

      A Blog Post:

      Use the screen name of the author as written.

      In-text citations

      PZ Myers (2014) points out that ...

      Reference list

      Include information in the following order:

      • author name
      • date (year, month day)
      • post name
      • format, between square brackets
      • retrieved from URL of post

      Examples

      PZ Myers. (2014, August 25). Crusaders against GMOs [Web log post]. Retrieved from

      A blog comment:

      proximity1. (2014, August 26). Re: Crusaders against GMOs [Web log comment]. Retrieved from

    • In-text citations

      Davison (2003, para. 1) defines Australian national identity as "is the most recent and popular of the concepts by which Australians have defined their selfhood as a people."

      Davison (2003) suggests that national identity has become deeply embedded in Australian public discourse.

      Reference list

      Davison, G. (2003). National Identity. In G. Davison, J. Hirst, & S. Macintyre (Eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian History. Retrieved from

      Entry in an online reference work, no author or editor:

      Put the name of the entry in place of the author name.

      Hegemeny. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. Retrieved from

      When listing a frequently updated source, note that the retrieval date is needed in this case because, as true for any wiki entry, the source material may change over time.

      Science fiction. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 14, 2009, from

    • Format for an APA citation for AI in the following order:

      • Name of Company/creator of generative AI Tool
      • Year
      • Name of generative AI tool
      • Month Date version
      • Large language model
      • URL

      OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (June 16 version) [Large language model].

      In-text citation example:

      • A common example of a programming language is C++ (OpenAI, 2023).
      • According to OpenAI (2023), when prompted with “Does the human brain have more computational power than the most powerful computer?”, it appears there are …

    • General mentions with a URL:

      As with a website, if you are discussing Facebook or a Facebook page in general, give the site URL in the text inside parentheses, the first time it is mentioned. No reference list entry is needed.

      Many alpaca breeding enthusiasts connect through social media like Facebook ()

      To refer to specific information:

      If you paraphrase or quote specific, retrievable information from social media, provide an in-text citation (with the author and date) and a reference list entry (with the author, date, title, and source URL).

      In-text citations

      Include the author name and date of posting:

      (The Learning Centre ¼ 2015)

      Reference list

      Include information in the following order:

      • author name and initial, or group name.
      • date. Provide the year, month, and day for items that have a specific date associated with them (status updates, photos, and videos. Otherwise, provide only the year.
      • title. Provide the name of the page or the content or caption of the post)
      • format [Facebook post]. Describe the content form e.g. Facebook status update, photograph, timeline, or video file after the title in square brackets.
      • source URL. Provide a retrieval URL that leads as directly and reliably to the cited content as possible. Click a post’s date stamp to access its archived URL.
      • retrieval date. Add if the content may change e.g. whole feeds or pages. Do not provide a retrieval date if the post has a specific date associated with it already e.g. status updates, photos, and videos.

      Example

      The Learning Centre ¼. (2015, October 8). November is AcWriMo (Academic Writing Month) at ¼! [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from

    • General mentions with a URL:

      As with a website, if you are discussing twitter or a twitter account in general, give the site URL in the text, inside parentheses, the first time it is mentioned. No reference list entry is needed.

      President Obama's twitter account is run by numerous staff ()

      To refer to specific information:

      If you paraphrase or quote specific, retrievable information from social media, provide an in-text citation (with the author and date) and a reference list entry (with the author, date, title, and source URL).

      In-text citations

      Include the author name and date of posting:

      (BarackObama 2016)

      Reference list

      Include information in the following order:

      • author name and initial, or group name, followed by social media identity information (provide the author’s screen name in square brackets. If only the screen name is known, provide it without brackets.
      • date. (Provide the year, month, and day for items that have a specific date associated with them. Otherwise, provide only the year.
      • title. Provide the name of the page or the content or caption of the post.
      • format. Describe the content form (e.g. tweet, photograph, video file) after the title in square brackets.
      • source url. Provide a retrieval URL that leads as directly and reliably to the cited content as possible. Click a post’s date stamp to access its archived URL.
      • retrieval date. Add if the content may change e.g. whole feeds or pages. Do not provide a retrieval date if the post has a specific date associated with it already e.g., tweets, photos, and videos.

      Example

      Obama, B. [BarackObama]. (2016, June 9). Watch President Obama Slow Jam the News on @FallonTonight at 11:35 p.m. ET. #POTUSonFallon [tweet]. Retreived from

    • To cite an email:

      E-mails from individuals should be cited as personal communications. Cite them in text only. Provide author initials and surname, and the date. Personal communications are not included in the reference list.

      (J. Smith, personal communication, April 18, 2001)

      To cite electronic mail lists:

      In-text citations

      Include the author name and date of posting:

      (Dushant, 2006)

      Reference list

      If the author's full name is available, list the last name first followed by initials. If only a screen name is available, use that.

      Include information in the following order:

      • author name and initial.
      • exact date of posting (year, month, day).
      • title (subject line of message, do not italicise)
      • format (description, between square brackets).
      • retrieved from URL

      Examples

      Dushant, Y. (2006, June 12). Re: Films depicting rapid socio/economic changes in Asia [Electronic mailing list message]. http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Film&month=0606&week=b&msg=ikL7dQ0uDMUNlBYVep5ySg&user=&pw=

      LatinoEuropa. (2016, June 6). The minute of silence [Online forum post]. Retrieved from http://historum.com/general-history/113744-minute-silence.html

How do I cite...

Explore guidelines for citing special cases, including secondary sources, multiple authors, books with no author, and citing specific parts of a source.

  • In-text citations have two formats: parenthetical and narrative. In parenthetical citations, the author name and publication date appear between parentheses, while in narrative citations, this information is included in the sentence (see some examples below).

    ​​Quotation (exact words from the source)

    ​Reproduce the text word for word and place quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quotation. The author, date and page number should be included.

    ​For a narrative citation (where the author is named in the text), include the author in the sentence, place the year of publication (between parentheses) after the name, and then place the page number or other location information in parentheses after the quotation:

    ​Broudy (1998) argues that "on the common criteria for schooling, our sample citizen has failed because he cannot replicate the necessary skill or apply the relevant principles." (p. 8)


    ​For a parenthetical citation, include all the citation information in parenthesis at the end of the quotation:

    ​It is then apparent that in this shared educational standard "our sample citizen has failed because he cannot replicate the necessary skill or apply the relevant principles" (Broudy, 1998, p. 8).

    ​A paraphrase of an author's words or ideas

    ​Restate the original in your own words. The author and date must be included. It can also be helpful to provide page or paragraph numbers, particularly if you are citing a longer work. The APA publications manual 7th edn (p. 269) encourages you to provide page numbers to help your reader locate the information.

    ​Encouraging students to memorise information and then testing their memory has been a constant criterion of pedagogy (Broudy, 1998).

    ​Broudy (1998, p. 8) argues that memorisation does not result in an ability to solve problems.

    ​To reference the overall content of a work

    ​No need to include page numbers because it is the entire work you are referring to:

    ​Larsen and Greene (1989) studied the effects of pollution in three major cities...​

  • Secondary sources should be used sparingly, such as when the primary work is unavailable.

    In-text citations

    Acknowledge both sources. In the text, name the primary source and cite the secondary source. Include the words “as cited in” before the secondary source:

    Gibbs suggests that “because students are aware of their tutor’s mastery of the subject matter, it is common for them to assume that their reader has no needs at all” (as cited in Bowden & Marton, 1998, p. 35).

    or:

    Gibbs' study (as cited in Bowden & Marton, 1998) discusses the assumptions students hold concerning the expertise of ...

    Reference list

    Only include the details of the source you actually read, which is the secondary source:

    Bowden, J. & Marton, F. (1998). The university of learning. Kogan Page.

    • In-text citations

      Always include both authors in the order in which they appear. Separate names by using ‘and’ in running text use ‘and’; within parentheses, use an ampersand (&):

      (Gerster & Basset, 1987) or:

      Gerster and Basset (1987) assert that ...

      Reference list

      Gerster, R. & Bassett, J. (1991). Seizures of youth: The sixties and Australia. Hyland House.

    • In-text citations

      Cite the surname of the first author followed by et al.:

      Leeder et al. (1996, p. 78)

      Reference list

      Don’t use et al. in the references. List all authors in the order in which they appear on the title page.

      Leeder, S. R., Dobson, A. J., Patel, N. K., Mathews, P. S. & Mariot, D. L. (1996). The Australian film industry. Dominion Press.

  • In-text citations

    Arrange alphabetically, separated by semicolons:

    (Entwistle, 1977; Haddon, 1969)

    Reference list

    Each source requires a separate reference list entry.

  • In-text citations

    Attach an a, b, c, d etc. after the year:

    Karskens (2003a, 2003b) examines the archeology of ...

    Reference list

    Each source will require a separate reference list entry. Order them alphabetically by title.

    Karskens, G. (2003a). Revisiting the worldview: The archaeology of convict households in Sydney's rocks neighbourhood. Historical Archaeology, 37(1), 34-55.

    Karskens, G. (2003b). Tourists and pilgrims: (Re)visiting the rocks. Journal of Australian Studies, 27(79), 29-38.

  • In-text citations

    Use the author name and the dates in chronological order:

    In both studies, Entwistle (2007, 2010) examined ...

    Reference list

    Each source requires a separate reference list entry.

  • In-text citations

    Use the title (if it is short) in place of an author name in the citation. If the title is long, use a short version:

    (Oxford collocations dictionary, 2009)

    Reference list

    Place the title in the author position.

    Oxford collocations dictionary for students of English (2nd ed.). (2009). Oxford University Press.

  • To cite a specific part of a source, provide a citation for the work plus information about the specific part. This information might include:

    • pages, paragraphs and sections
    • tables, figures, appendices
    • footnotes

    In-text citations

    (Armstrong, 1999, p. 16)

    (Lovell, 2001, Table 8.1)

    (Graff & Berkenstein, 2007, Preface)
The material in this guide is based on:

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.

It is not possible to include examples for every type of source in this guide. For further information and examples, consult the below sources, especially chapters 8, 9 and 10 of the Publication manual.

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