Citing Sources - APA 7th Edition

APA stands for American Psychological Association. The APA citation style is most commonly used for citing sources in the behavioral and social sciences, such as Psychology, Linguistics, Sociology, Economics, and Criminology. It is also used in Business and Nursing. Before diving into this topic, take another look at your assignment to verify APA is the citation style your instructor has asked you to use, and not MLA or Chicago.

What does "citing sources" mean?

Citing sources is the practice of giving credit to the creators of:

• Direct quotes
• Paraphrases
• Ideas
• Facts that are not common knowledge
• Images, video, or audio

that you have used in your own work.

Why do I need to cite sources?

• To avoid plagiarism
• Because it is ethical
• To demonstrate the credibility of your work
• So readers of your work can find and read more about the ideas, facts, and research you have referenced

Where in my paper do I cite sources?

The two parts of your citation will appear:

• Within the text of your paper, wherever you have referenced work from someone else ("in-text citations")
• As a list at the end of your paper ("References" page)

Some ways to format in-text citations

1. Paraphrase with author's name at the beginning of the sentence, and the year at the end.
   • Accordingly, Bennet and Vale specify the statistical parameters that are considered when identifying a hot spot (2023).
2. Paraphrase with author's name and year at the beginning of the sentence.
   • Bennet and Vale (2023) describe the importance of analyzing a statistical hot spot when determining spatial clusters.
3. Direct quote with author's name at the beginning of the sentence, and the year and page number at the end.
   • Bennet and Vale specify a "hot spot analysis is looking for statistically significant spatial clusters" (2023, p.98).
4. Direct quote with author's name, year, and page number at the end of the sentence.
   • A "hot spot analysis is looking for statistically significant spatial clusters" (Bennett & Vale, 2023, p.98).

Bennett, L., & Vale, F. (2023). Spatial statistics illustrated. Esri Press.

A note on paraphrasing

In general, it is best to paraphrase rather than directly quote. Doing so ensures that the ideas or facts you are referencing are woven into your own writing, and more easily allows you to demonstrate the significance of the source to the argument or analysis you are making. Quote directly when the exact wording is notable or striking.

Quoting

• Use quotation marks when you are repeating something from a source exactly, word for word.
  • Do this even if you are only taking a few words from a sentence.
• Quotes can and should be used when the original author’s wording is striking, unusual, or unique.

Paraphrasing

• Paraphrasing is taking the idea of a sentence or passage and putting it into your own words.
• Paraphrasing is NOT copying the sentence and replacing or changing a few words to be different from the original. 
• You should paraphrase when the idea or point is more important than the actual words used.

Summarizing

• Summarizing is condensing an entire book or article to its main point.
• As with paraphrasing, summarize when the idea or point is more important than the actual words used.

Paraphrasing or summarizing ensures that the ideas or facts you are referencing are woven into your own writing, and more easily allow you to demonstrate the significance of the source to the argument or analysis you are making. 

• Author: The number of listed authors per work referenced will determine the required style.
  • Single author: Last name, First initial. Middle initial (if applicable).
    • i.e. for Brené Brown = Brown, B.
  • Two authors: Last name, First initial. Middle initial (if applicable)., & Last name, First initial. Middle initial (if applicable).
    • i.e. John K. Howat and Edwin Frederic Church = Howat, J. K., & Church, F. E.
  • Two and up to twenty authors: Last name, First initial. Middle initial (if applicable). Last name, First initial. Middle initial (if applicable)., & Last name, First initial. Middle initial (if applicable).
    • Before the last listed author add the ampersand (&) after the comma.
    • i.e. Lee Harris; Daniel Bell; Irving Kristol = Harris, L., Bell, D., & Kristol, I.
  • Twenty-one or more authors: First 19 authors as Last name, First initial. Middle initial (if applicable)., ... final Last name, First initial. Middle initial (if applicable).
    • After the first 19 authors place an ellipsis (...) after the comma and list the final author. The ampersand (&) is not needed as it is being replaced by (...)
    • i.e. Lee Harris; Daniel Bell; [17 authors]; Irving Kristol = Harris, L., Bell, D., [17 authors]., ... Kristol, I.
• Date: State when the work was published.
  • A single reference uses only the year within parentheses and followed by a period. i.e. (2024).
  • References that have multiple categories are specified with a comma after the year and list the date.
    • i.e. (2024, October). or (2024, October 10). or (2024, Fall).
  • Sources that have updates like websites, databases, and social media content require a retrieved date.
    • i.e. Retrieved October 12, 2024, from https://www.sccollege.edu
• Title: There are three variations to consider; singular piece (book or website), writings that are presented in journals and compilations, and documents that have numerical reference.
  • Singular piece use regular sentence grammar and italicize the whole title.
    • i.e. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck = Of mice and men.
  • Writings presented in journals and compilations use regular sentence grammar and NO italics.
    • i.e.  An eco‐social approach to healthy eating in children. 
  • Documents with numerical reference use regular sentence grammar and italicize the whole title. Then place the edition and/or volume in parenthesis NOT italicized.
    • i.e. Kids’ Author Meg Medina Inspires Readers by Vaughan, Don from Writer's digest, 2024-09, Vol.104 (5), p.8

Vaughan, D. (2024). Kids’ Author Meg Medina Inspires Readers. In Writer’s digest (Vol. 104, Number 5, pp. 8-). F & W Publications, Inc.

• Source is how the cited information can be accessed by anyone. If they are from within a journal or a book with many works then you will italicize the title and if an online source state the DOI or URL.
  • i.e. URL

Grassroots by Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Grassroots. Britannica Academic. Retrieved October 17, 2024, from https://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/grassroots/627487

• i.e. for a DOI

Data Sharing by Longo, Dan L ; Drazen, Jeffrey M in The New England journal of medicine, 2016-01, Vol.374 (3), p.276-277

Longo, D. L., & Drazen, J. M. (2016). Data Sharing. The New England Journal of Medicine, 374(3), 276–277. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe1516564

For more details go to https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/elements-list-entry

We also have a guide to library research - check it out!