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Elements of APA 7th edition formatting and style.

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APA APA 7 in large orange and white text

 

References are covered in Chapters 9 and 10 of the APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition

Click the tabs above related to the content list below to learn more about the related APA formatting. 

Find video tutorials and more APA 7 resources in the complete APA guide.

Reference List Entries

Religious works, e.g., Holy Bible
Basic Citation Elements Citing Course Resources
Citing articles from databases Citing Tests or Instruments, see the tab above
Understanding DOI or URL use In-Text Citations/Quotations
For dissertation format, see the tab above

eResources APA 7 (websites)
What to do when citation elements (e.g., date, page numbers) are missing? APA Student Paper Format Checklist

From Chapter 8, "Works Credited in the Text", p.253, APA 7th Ed. Publication Manual.

  • Cite works that have influenced your work, whether you use direct words, paraphrases, or point to their research and ideas.
  • Choose to cite primary sources rather than secondary sources whenever possible.
  • If you use facts and statistics, identify your source unless they are common knowledge.
  • You may need to secure copyright permission to use lengthy quotations or complete tables
  • Generally, all of the citations used in your text will point to an item listed on your reference page. Exceptions to this rule include personal communication, quotations from research participants, and general mentions of websites or periodicals.

APA, 7th ed., uses an author/date style. This attribution includes the author's last name, followed by the date.

Examples: Narrative paraphrase places the author/date in the sentence: 

The hymns of the church, according to Little (2019), ground us in foundational theology.

Example: Parenthetical paraphrased citation places the author/date at the end of the sentence within parentheses ( ).: 

The hymns of the church ground us in foundational theology (Little, 2019).

Both examples point to the full citation in the reference list which is shown below:

Little, D. A. (2019). Why sing hymns? One Magazine, 16(1), 54-55. https://doi.org/11.20873.edu00002000

Short quotation: 

  • Fewer than 40 words.
  • Double quotation marks.
  • The period follows the parentheses.
  • Parenthetical or embedded citation including page number(s). A parenthetical citation will be included within the punctuation.
  • Ex. taken from the APA Style Blog:

Effective teams can be difficult to describe because “high performance along one domain does not translate to high performance along another” (Ervin et al., 2018, p. 470).

Long [block] quotation:

  • 40 words or more.
  • Set off in block - indented five spaces.
  • No quotation marks.
  • The period comes after the quote and not after the parentheses.
  • Ex. taken from the APA Style Blog:

Researchers have studied how people talk to themselves:

Inner speech is a paradoxical phenomenon. It is an experience that is central to many people’s everyday lives, and yet it presents considerable challenges to any effort to study it scientifically. Nevertheless, a wide range of methodologies and approaches have combined to shed light on the subjective experience of inner speech and its cognitive and neural underpinnings. (Alderson-Day & Fernyhough, 2015, p. 957)

DOI or URLs

This page addresses when to include digital object identifiers (DOIs) and uniform resource locators (URLs) in APA 7th ed. references. The information below comes from the APA 7th Ed. Style Blog

What is the DOI or URL?

The DOI or URL is the final component of a reference list entry. 

  • A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies content and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet. DOIs can be found in database records and reference lists of published works.
  • A URL specifies the location of digital information on the internet and can be found in the address bar of your internet browser. URLs in references should link directly to the cited work when possible.
When should you use the DOI?
  • Include a DOI for all works that have a DOI, regardless of whether you used the online version or the print version.
  • If a print work does not have a DOI, do NOT include any DOI or URL in the reference.
  • If you have both a DOI and an URL, only use the doi number. 
  • If an online work has a URL but no DOI, include the URL in the reference as follows:
  • For works without DOIs from most academic research databases (library databases), do not include a URL or database information in the reference because these works are widely available. The reference should be the same as the reference for a print version of the work.
How do you find a DOI number?

Most citations include the DOI, but in many cases, you will need to investigate whether there is a DOI associated with the article. Here are some ways you can do that. 

Format of DOIs and URLs

Follow these APA 7 guidelines to format DOIs and URLs:

  • Present both DOIs and URLs as hyperlinks (i.e., beginning with “http:” or “https:”).
  • Because a hyperlink leads readers directly to the content, it is not necessary to include the words “Retrieved from” or “Accessed from” before a DOI or URL.
  • It is acceptable to use either the default display settings for hyperlinks in your word-processing program (e.g., usually blue font, underlined) or plain text that is not underlined.
  • Leave links live if the work is to be published or read online.
  • Follow the current recommendations of the International DOI Foundation to format DOIs in the reference list, which as of this publication, is as follows:
    • https://doi.org/xxxxx
  • The string “https://doi.org/” is a way of presenting a DOI as a link, and “xxxxx” refers to the DOI number.
  • The preferred format of the DOI has changed over time. Although older works use previous formats (e.g., “http:/dx.doi.org/” or “doi:” or “DOI:” before the DOI number), in your reference list, standardize DOIs into the currently preferred format for all entries. For example, use https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040251 in your reference even though that article, published in 2016, presented the number in an older format.
  • Copy and paste the DOI or URL from your web browser directly into your reference list to avoid transcription errors. Do not change the capitalization or punctuation of the DOI or URL. Do not add line breaks manually to the hyperlink; it is acceptable if your word-processing program automatically adds a break or moves the hyperlink to its own line.
  • Do not add a period after the DOI or URL because this may interfere with link functionality
DOI and URL shorteners

When a DOI or URL is long or complex, you may use short DOIs or shortened URLs if desired.

  • Use the short DOI service provided by the International DOI Foundation to create short DOIs. A work can have only one DOI and only one short DOI; the short DOI service will either produce a new short DOI for a work that has never had one or retrieve an existing short DOI.
  • Some websites provide their own branded shortened URLs, and independent URL shortening services are available as well. Any shortened URL is acceptable in a reference as long as you check the link to ensure that it takes you to the correct location.
The correct format for the DOI 

Includes the http:// or https:// and should be hyperlinked.

 

Citing Faculty Created Course Resources: 

Course Video Lesson or Overview

Elements of the citation:

Professor's name (last name, first initial). (year). Title of video italicized followed by [Video] then a period. The publisher would be TNU  Canvas—lastly, the Panopto URL.

Speer, P. (2021). EDD 8603O Week 2 Overview [Video]. Trevecca Nazarene University Canvas.. https://trevecca.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=0fa7e73e-e478-495a-988e-ad7a0016786

Narrated PowerPoint 
Elements of the citation. Only the format in the [ ] changes. 

Professor's name (last name, first initial). (year). Title of PowerPoint italicized followed by [Narrated PowerPoint slides] then a period. The publisher would be TNU Canvas—lastly, the Panopto URL.

Speer, P. (2021). EDD 8603O Week 2 Overview [Narrated PowerPoint slides]. Trevecca Nazarene University Blackboard. https://trevecca.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=0fa7e73e-e478-495a-988e-ad7a0016786

PowerPoint Not Narrated

Follow the format above, except delete the word 'Narrated' from the brackets [ ]. 

Quick, easy-to-access online APA 7th edition guides - bookmark these!
What is an Annotated Bibliography?

A reference list contains works that specifically support the ideas, claims, and concepts in a paper; in contrast, a bibliography provides works for background or further reading and may include descriptive notes (e.g., an annotated bibliography). - https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/lists-vs-bibliographies

APA 7th provides simple guidelines for the format of an annotated bibliography. Things like length, number of sources, or date ranges are the purview of the professor's assignment instructions. The list below was taken from pp.307-8, Sec. 9.51 in the APA 7th Ed. Publication Manual. 

  • Put into alphabetical order just as done on the References list
  • Each annotation should be a new paragraph below its reference entry. 
  • Indent the entire annotation 0.5 in from the left margin, the same format as a block quote (see Section 8.27 in the 7th edition APA Manual). 

Sample APA 7th Annotation

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/annotated_bibliographies/annotated_bibliography_samples.html

Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America. Henry Holt and Company.

In this book of nonfiction based on the journalist's experiential research, Ehrenreich attempts to ascertain whether it is currently possible for an individual to live on a minimum-wage in America. Taking jobs as a waitress, a maid in a cleaning service, and a Walmart sales employee, the author summarizes and reflects on her work, her relationships with fellow workers, and her financial struggles in each situation.

An experienced journalist, Ehrenreich is aware of the limitations of her experiment and the ethical implications of her experiential research tactics and reflects on these issues in the text. The author is forthcoming about her methods and supplements her experiences with scholarly research on her places of employment, the economy, and the rising cost of living in America. Ehrenreich’s project is timely, descriptive, and well-researched.

Citing a dissertation from Dissertations & Theses Global or Dissertations & Theses@Trevecca databases, published.

Citing Dissertations, APA 7 Ed. Style Blog - more information about dissertation formatting using APA7.

Arthur, P. (2020). Go out and play! A defense of paternalistic policies to promote graduate student well-being (Publication No. 28028480)[Doctoral Dissertation, Arizona State University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

  • Parenthetical citation: (Arthur, 2020)
  • Narrative citation: Arthur (2020)

Citing a dissertation viewed in print, the library reserves, or the reference collection, unpublished.

Citing a Print Dissertation, APA 7 Ed. Style Blog 

McPhee, S. (2021). Success coaching: The examination of the Appreciative Advising Model on second year students in higher education. [Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation]. Trevecca Nazarene University.

  • Parenthetical citation: (McPhee, 2021)
  • Narrative citation: McPhee (2021)

Citing a dissertation from an open-source or institutional repository. 

Zambrano-Vazquez, L. (2016). The interaction of state and trait worry on response monitoring in those with worry and obsessive-compulsive symptoms [Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona]. UA Campus Repository. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/620615

  • Parenthetical citation: (Zambrano-Vazquez, (2016)
  • Narrative citation: Zambrano-Vazquez (2016)

Citing an instrument used for assessment

  • To cite a test, scale, or inventory, provide a citation for its supporting literature (e.g., the manual, which may be an authored or edited book, or the journal article in which it was published).
  • The title of a test, a scale, or an inventory should be capitalized using title case whenever it appears in a paper, even if the test title is italicized in the reference.
  • A test database name is included only for test database records.

Example:

Butcher, J. N., (2006). MMPI-2: A Practitioner's Guide. American Psychological Association.

Parenthetical citation: (Butcher, 2006)

Narrative citation: Butcher (2006)

Example for a test found in a database such as APA PsycTESTS 

Li, S.-C. S., & Huang, W.-C. (2016). Teachers’ Perceptions of Game-Based Learning Attributes Measure. PsycTESTS. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.03.008

Parenthetical citations: (Li & Huang, 2016)

Narrative citations: Li and Huang (2016)

Images: Quick Reference Guide APA 7th

APA 7 - JOURNAL ARTICLE CITATION

A simple diagram of elements for a journal article citation in APA 7th. Section 10.1, pp. 316-321 in the APA 7th Manual has detailed information about formatting journal articles (periodicals), newspapers, blog posts or magazines. 

diagram of elements required for APA journal citation.

APA 7 - BOOK CITATION

A simple diagram of elements for a book citation in APA 7th. Section 10.2, pp. 321-25 in the APA 7th Manual has detailed information about formatting books and reference works. 

diagram of elements for an APA book citation.

APA 7 - CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK

A simple diagram of elements for a chapter in an edited book citation in APA 7th.  Section 10.3, pp. 326-28 of the APA 7th Manual has additional information about correct formatting of chapters in an edited book.  

diagram for chapter in edited book APA citation.

APA 7 - DISSERTATION FROM A DATABASE (e.g., PROQUEST DISSERTATIONS & THESES GLOBAL)

A simple diagram of element for a dissertation citation from a database. Section 10.65, p. 334 in the APA 7th edition has more information about dissertation formatting. 

diagram for dissertation citation in APA 7

APA 7 - DOI or URL? See when to use a doi number in a journal citation.

A simple diagram illustrating the format for an article with a doi number. Section 9.35, p. 299 in the APA 7th edition has the full information about formatting DOI or URLs. 

diagram of doi or URL use in APA citations.

APA 7 - WEBPAGE ON A GOVERNMENT WEBSITE - GROUP AUTHOR

Diagram illustrating the format for a Webpage found on a government website. In this case, the government department or agency is the author, a group author. Section 10.16 of the APA 7th edition has detailed information for citing webpages. This is NEW to APA 7th. 

diagram for apa citation of webpage on government website by group author