The American Psychological Association (APA) style of documentation is widely used in behavioral, health and social sciences. This guide provides examples for citing common types of sources and identifying them in the text of your essay.
APA Style has two citation components. The reference list is found at the end of your essay. It lists all the sources cited in the text of your paper, described with 4 basic elements: the author, date, title, and source (where the work can be retrieved).
In-text citations appear in the body of your paper as your sources are cited and use a brief author-date format.
You may not always find guidelines or examples specific to the kind of source you want to cite. Keep in mind that the intent of the reference list is to give enough information for the reader to locate the works. If there is not an example that corresponds with the type of resource you wish to cite, you can use a similar example, consult the APA guide, or ask library staff for help.
For help beyond the scope of this guide, three sources from the APA provide in-depth information:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association