Library Guide to Citing Information Sources (APA Style)

Print Sources | Citations in Text (Print) | Electronic Sources
Citations in Text (Electronic) | Further Information

When doing any academic research, it is important to fully document any and all information sources. The reason for this documentation is to give appropriate credit to the author, publisher, or creator of the original work and to allow your readers to consult your sources for themselves. Complete and correct citation of information sources is also necessary to avoid plagiarism. Please consult the UMKC General Catalog Policies and Procedures section under "Student Conduct" for further information on the issue of plagiarism. Sources used in preparing this guide include:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (5th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Ready Ref BF76.7 .P83 2001)
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Electronic References. Retrieved August 18, 2003 from http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html.

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Print Sources

According to the Publication Manual of the APA, an accurate and complete reference list enables readers to locate the sources cited. Each entry usually contains the following elements: author, year of publication, title, and publishing data. The list must be double-spaced. Entries should have a hanging indent (not shown here).

Sample Citation - Book, Single author

Brinckerhoff, P.C. (2000). Social entrepreneurship: The art of mission-based venture development. New York: Wiley.

Sample Citation - Book, Second edition

Donceel, J.F. (1967). Philosophical anthropology. (3rd ed.). New York: Sheed and Ward.

Sample Citation - Book, Edited

Arnove, R., McClellan, B.E., & Steiner, E. (Eds.). (1980). Education and American culture. New York: Macmillan.

Sample Citation - Journal Article, Single author

Wark, G. R. (1996). Gender and dilemma differences in real-life moral judgment. Developmental Psychology, 32, 220-230.

Sample Citation - Journal Article, Two authors, Journal paginated by issue

Carroll, P.S. & Pierce, M. (2003). One student, two literacies. Educational Horizons, 81(4), 178-179.

Sample Citation - ERIC Document

Woessmann, L., West, M.R. (2002). Class size effects in school systems around the world: Evidence from between-grade variation in TIMSS (Report No. BBB16920). Cambridge, MA: Kennedy School of Government. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED467039)

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Citations in Text - Print Sources

Citations throughout the text of a paper or manuscript should include the author and date of sources consulted during research. Briefly identifying a work within the text will allow readers to locate the source of information in the alphabetical list of references. This is sometimes known as a parenthetical reference.

Samples: (O'Neil, 2000) (Schoenecke & Rice, 1999) (Aristotle, trans. 1931)

To cite a specific part of a source within the text of a paper or manuscript, indicate the page, chapter, figure, table, or equation at the appropriate point in the text.

Samples: (Callis & Palmer, 1991, p. 332) (McNeir, 1999, chap. 3)

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Electronic Sources

According to the APA Website (http://www.apastyle.org/elecsource.html), electronic sources include aggregated databases, online journals, Websites, newsgroups, Web-based discussion groups, and Web-based newsletters. All references to electronic sources should begin with the same information that would be provided for a print source (or as much of that information as is possible). Information specific to the electronic version should then be appended. Electronic sources in a reference list should be double-spaced and should have a hanging indent (not shown here).

Sample Citations - Articles from Electronic Databases

Andero, A.A. & Stewart, A. (2002). Issue of corporal punishment: Re-examined. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 29(2), 90-96. Retrieved June 23, 2003, from Education Full Text database.

Varney, W. (1998). Barbie australis: The commercial reinvention of national culture. Social Identities, 4, 161-178. Retrieved September 4, 2001, from EBSCOHost databases (Academic Search Elite).

Sample Citations - Articles from Electronic Journals and Newspapers

Viadero, D. (2002). Researcher at center of storm over vouchers [Electronic version]. Education Week, 17, 16-17.

Raspberry, W. (2003). Divided by commonality. The Washington Post, A19. Retrieved August 18, 2003, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7406-2003Aug17.html

Sample Citations - Websites

Kansas State Historical Society. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2003, from http://www.kshs.org/

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2003, August 8). Retrieved August 18, 2003, from http://www.dese.state.mo.us/

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Citations in Text - Electronic Sources

To cite a specific part of a source within the text of a paper or manuscript, indicate the page, chapter, figure, table, or equation at the appropriate point in the text. This is sometimes known as a parenthetical reference.

Samples: (Callis & Palmer, 1991, p. 332) (McNeir, 1999, chap. 3)

For electronic sources that do not provide page numbers, use the paragraph number, if available, preceded by the paragraph symbol or the abbreviation para.

Samples: (Gifford, 2000, ¶ 5) (Butler, 2000, Conclusion section, para. 1)

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Further Information

For more information and specific examples, please consult:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (5th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Ready Ref BF76.7 .P83 2001)
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Electronic References. Retrieved August 18, 2003 from http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

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For further assistance, please contact the
Miller Nichols Library Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534.

Revised by Fu Zhuo

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