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Rosen Research Guides

APA Citation Style

Sections

  1. Citing Sources in the Text
  2. Formatting the References List
  3. References List Examples for common source types

Introduction

This guide is designed to get you started with or refresh your memory about the APA citation style. For more information, please consult the official source—the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. (2001) (commonly called the "APA Manual")—which is available in the Universal Orlando Foundation Library at: Rosen Reference BF76.7 .P83 2001. For citing electronic sources, please consult the APA Style Guide to Electronic References (2007), Rosen Reference PN171.F56 A63 2007. For more assistance, please Ask a Rosen Librarian.

A shorter, printable version of this guide is also available:
APA PDF (49 KB).

Citing Sources in the Text

  • General Format

    Parenthetical references generally follow the format: (Author, Date).  For instance:

    • Some industry experts feel the cruise industry is still recovering (Lee, 2003).
    • All survey respondents rated interpersonal skills highly (Koenig, Watson, & Ziff, 2001).
  • Be Specific

    If you cite a specific part of a source (such as when you use a direct quote), you must also indicate the page (or for sources without page numbers the paragraph, section, or other identifiable point) from which you took the information:

    • "Hotel occupancy rates in Orlando rose 2.1% last year" (Butler, 2003, p. 272).
    • "Hospitality is the fastest-growing industry" (Smith, 2000, Conclusion section, para. 3).
  • Citing the Author

    If the name of the author appears in the narrative, then you need not repeat it in the reference:

    • Hall discovered a correlation between sleep deprivation and job performance (2005, p. 8).
      vs.
    • A recent experiment discovered a correlation between sleep deprivation and job performance (Hall, 2005, p. 8).
  • No Author

    If a work has no author, cite the first few words of the references list entry, putting quotes around article or chapter titles and italicizing periodical, book, brochure, or report titles:

    • Most hotel workers lack adequate health care benefits ("Recent Study Finds," 2004).
    • Site selection is only one of many important factors (Convention Tourism, 2002, p. 49).
  • No Date

    If a work has no date, use the abbreviation n.d.:

    • "Malt beverage output in the United States is at an all-time high" (Beer Institute, n.d., Production section, para. 3).

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Formatting the References List

  • General Rules
    • In APA style, the list of sources at the end of the paper is called References (not Bibliography or Works Cited). Start the references list on a new page, with the word References in the top center of the page.
    • Arrange the entries alphabetically by author (or, for works with no author, by the first significant word in the title).
    • Double-space the lines of each entry and double-space between entries. Use a "hanging indent" (indent the second and following lines) for entries longer than one line.
    • Refer to pages 306-320 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. ("APA Manual") for a sample paper done in APA style.
  • Author Names
    • Do not spell out an author’s first or middle name:

      Shock, P.J. (not Shock, Patti J.)

    • Separate two or more authors with an ampersand (&):

      Leko, P., Meyers, J.B., & Kwan, C.
      Peters, S.J., & Young, F.B.

    • If no author is listed, move the title of the work to the first position in the citation:

      Or you can shop! (1994, April). Life, 17(4): 94-95.

  • Capitalization
    • In titles of books, articles, websites, and other major works, only the first words of the title and subtitle are capitalized -- except proper nouns, which are still always capitalized. Examples:

      Conferences and conventions: A global industry
         (not Conferences and Conventions: A Global Industry)
      PassPorter's field guide to the Disney Cruise Line
         (Disney Cruise Line is capitalized because it is a proper noun -- the name of a company)
      Ecotourism development in India
         (India is capitalized because it is a proper noun -- the name of a country)

    • However, significant words in the titles of journals, magazines, & newspapers are capitalized:

      Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research
      New York Times

  • Date of Publication
    • For books, journal articles, and audiovisuals, list the year of publication.

      Clave, S.A. (2007). Global theme park industry. Wallingford, UK: CABI.

    • For monthly magazines, newsletters, and meetings, list the year and month of publication.

      Scott, S. (2009, June). Facts up front. Beverage Industry, 100(4), 43.

    • For daily publications, list the year, month, and day of publication.

      Motoko, R. (2003, March 12). Hotels offer great prices -- sort of. Wall Street Journal, p. D1.

    • If no date of publication is listed, use the abbreviation n.d. (no date).

      United States Sentencing Commission. (n.d.). 1997 sourcebook of
      federal sentencing statistics      . Retrieved March 15, 2006, from
      http://www.ussc.gov/annrpt/1997/sbtoc97.htm

  • Place of Publication
    • If more than one place of publication is listed, use the location listed first.
       
    • APA directs you to "give the location (city and state for U.S. publishers; city, state or province if applicable, and country for publishers outside the United States) of the publishers of books, reports, brochures, and other separate, nonperiodical publications." The names of the states should be abbreviated using the two-letter U.S. postal abbreviation (example: use FL for Florida, SC for South Carolina, etc.). In addition, the following cities can be listed without a state or country "because they are major cities that are well known for publishing":
          Amsterdam, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow,
          New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome, San Francisco, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Vienna

      Examples:

      Girard, L.F., & Nijkamp, P. (2009). Cultural tourism and sustainable local
      development      . Farnham, England: Ashgate.

      Harrington, H. (2008). Food and wine pairing: A sensory experience.
      Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

      * Note that the state or country is listed in these examples, because the cities are not well-known for publishing.

      as compared to:

      McInerney, J. (2006). Hedonist in the cellar: Adventures in wine. New
      York: A.A. Knopf.

      Page, S. (1995). Urban tourism. London: Routledge.

      * Note that only the city is listed in these examples, because New York and London are well-known for publishing.

  • Line Breaks
    • When citing electronic resources, do not insert a hyphen if you need to break a URL across lines; instead, break the URL after most punctuation. For example:

      Brinker International. (2007). AnnualReport. Retrieved from http://www.
      brinker.com/company/Brinker2007/annualreport2007.pdf

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References List Examples: Selected Common Source Types

The examples below are intended to approximate APA style citations for common source types, including line spacing and hanging indents. Accordingly, narrow margins have been used in order to accommodate different browser window sizes. In your paper, you should set one inch margins and half inch hanging indents. See p. 306-320 in the APA Manual for a sample paper done in APA style.

For best results, open your browser window as wide as possible, as some of the lines may run together if viewed with a narrow browser window or with a large font size setting. If you experience such difficulties with the lines, then you may wish to view the printable (PDF) version of this guide instead: APA PDF (49 KB).

To cite a source type not listed below, or for more information, refer to pages 215-281 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. ("APA Manual") or pages 7-24 of the APA Style Guide to Electronic References.

JOURNAL OR MAGAZINE ARTICLE

Print version:

Electronic versions:

Recent changes in APA style call for the use of a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) when citing electronic versions of scholarly articles.

  • The DOI (or doi) is an alpha-numeric code used to assign a persistent link to the article.
  • DOIs do not apply to trade, magazine, or newspaper articles.
  • When a DOI is present, you should include it at the end of your APA reference for the article.
  • The DOI replaces the database name and URL in the citation.
  • Because the DOI links to the final version of the article, the citation does not need a retrieval date.
  • Since DOI numbers are complex, it is recommended that you copy and paste the DOI into the citation.

Electronic version – accessed through a library database, DOI assigned

Electronic version – accessed through a library database, no DOI assigned

Electronic version – accessed through a publisher’s website, no DOI assigned

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BOOK

Print version:

Electronic version:

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CHAPTER FROM A BOOK OR AN ENTRY IN A REFERENCE BOOK

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NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Print version:

Electronic version - accessed through a library database:

Electronic version - accessed through a newspaper website:

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GOVERNMENT DOCUMENT

Note: Citations to government documents vary widely depending on the nature of the document. The examples below are not exhaustive. For more examples and details, see pp. 255-259, 274-275, and 279-281 in the APA Manual and pp. 18-20 in the APA Style Guide to Electronic References.

Print version:

Electronic version – accessed through a government website:

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BROCHURE / PAMPHLET

Print version:

Electronic version - accessed from a website:

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FILM / VIDEO / DVD

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WEBPAGE

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WIKI

Because wikis are collaboratively authored and always changing, author and publication date are not included in the citation. Use caution when citing wikis: as APA states, "there is no guarantee that professional or subject experts have contributed to the information found in a wiki."

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INTERVIEW, TELEPHONE CONVERSATION, E-MAIL

APA states: "because they do not provide recoverable data, letters, interviews, telephone conversations, and e-mails are not included in the reference list. Cite these personal communications in the text only":

  D.R. Dickson (personal communication, May 22, 2008) contended that...

  ...attributed to tourism decline (A. Pizam, personal communication, April 1, 2008).

For more information about citing personal communications, see p. 214 of the APA Manual or speak with your instructor.

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OTHER

To cite a source type not listed above, refer to pages 215-281 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. ("APA Manual") or pages 7-24 of the APA Style Guide to Electronic References.

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Go to: Rosen Research Guides page

Go to: UCF Main Library Research Guides page

Questions? Ask a Rosen Librarian!

A printable version of this guide is also available: APA PDF (49 KB)

Rosen Research Guides  •  Hospitality Research: APA Citation Style Guide
Universal Orlando Foundation Library

Last Updated: June 2009 SV/TB