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Rosen Research Guides

APA Citation Style

Sections

  1. Using Parenthetical References 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, 6th ed. (2010) (commonly called the "APA Manual")—which is available in the Universal Orlando Foundation Library at: Rosen Reference BF76.7 .P83 2010. Please keep in mind that APA guidelines are intended for articles published in scientific journals. You may need to check with your professor about applying these guidelines to your class papers. For more assistance, please Ask a Rosen Librarian.

A shorter, printable version of this guide is also available:
APA PDF (53 KB).

Corrections to First Printing of APA Manual

APA has issued a list of corrections to the first printing of its 6th edition published in July 2009. All content in this Rosen Library Research Guide has been checked against this list and updated where necessary; however, you will want to check the list of corrections if you are citing a source not covered here or if you use the APA Manual's sample paper as a guide. To see the list of the corrections, see APA's Corrections to First Printing.

For future clarifications or updates to the print APA Manual, consult a librarian or check the APA Style Blog.

Using Parenthetical References in the Text

  • APA style recommends that you use parenthetical references (notes that appear in parentheses) throughout the text of your paper, along with a References list at the end of your paper.
  • There are several important rules to keep in mind when creating your parenthetical references:
  • 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 refer to 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).
  • Referencing the Author

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

    • Hall (2005) discovered a correlation between sleep deprivation and job performance (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, use 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).
  • For more assistance with in-text parenthetical references, refer to pages 169-178 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. ("APA Manual").

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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 41-59 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th 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.).
      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.

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

  • Line Breaks
    • When citing electronic resources, do not insert a hyphen if you need to break a URL across lines; instead, break the URL before 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. 41-59 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 (53 KB).

To cite a source type not listed below, or for more information, refer to pages 193-224 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. ("APA Manual").

JOURNAL OR MAGAZINE ARTICLE

Print version:

Electronic versions:

APA style calls 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.
  • You can retrieve an article or its abstract at www.crossref.org or www.doi.org by typing the known DOI in the DOI resolver.

Electronic version – accessed through a library database, DOI assigned

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

  • General Form:

    Last, F.M. (Year). Article title. Journal Title, volume(number), pages. Retrieved from URL of journal or magazine home page

    * APA guidelines state it is unnecessary to include database information; instead, provide the home page URL of the journal or magazine. You will have to do a web search to find this information. You may want to check with your professor about this guideline.

    * Note: be sure to pay close attention to APA's rules regarding author names, capitalization, date of publication, and place of publication.

  • Example:

    Thorn, B. (2008, November). Restaurants face fresh competition from supermarket meals. Nation's Restaurant News, 42(44), 64. Retrieved from http://www.nrn.com/index.aspx

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

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BOOK

Print version:

  • General Form:

    Last, F.M. (Year). Book title: Book subtitle if given (edition if other than first). Place: Publisher.

    * Note: be sure to pay close attention to APA's rules regarding author names, capitalization, date of publication, and place of publication.

  • Example:

    Mansfeld, Y., & Pizam, A. (2006). Tourism, security and safety: From theory to practice. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

  • Example:

    Parker, R.M., Jr. (2003). Bordeaux: A consumer’s guide to the world’s finest wines (4th rev. ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

  • Example:

    O'Halloran, R.M., Jarvis, K., & Allen-Chabot, A. (Eds.). (2006). Cases in hospitality and tourism management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Electronic version:

  • General Form:

    Last, F.M. (Date). Book title (edition, if other than first). Retrieved from home page URL of the book or Database Title database.

    * Note: be sure to pay close attention to APA's rules regarding author names, capitalization, date of publication, and place of publication.

  • Example:

    Ransley, J., & Ingram, H. (Eds.). (2004). Developing hospitality properties and facilities (2nd ed.). Retrieved from the NetLibrary database.

  • Example:

    Levitt, S.D., & Dubner, S.J. (2005). Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books

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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:

  • General Form:

    Last, F.M. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Newspaper, pages. Retrieved from home page URL of newspaper.

    * APA guidelines state it is unnecessary to include database information; instead, provide the home page URL of the newspaper. You will have to do a web search to find this information. You may want to check with your professor about this guideline.

    * Note: be sure to pay close attention to APA's rules regarding author names, capitalization, date of publication, and place of publication.

  • Example:

    Clarke, S.K. (2006, October 12). Disney unveils new time shares. Orlando Sentinel, p. C1. Retrieved from http://www.orlandosentinel.com

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. 205-206 and 216-224 in the APA Manual.

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

  • General Form:

    Last, F.M. (Producer), & Last, F.M. (Writer/Director). (Year). Title of film [Motion picture]. Place: Publisher.

    * Note: be sure to pay close attention to APA's rules regarding author names, capitalization, date of publication, and place of publication.

  • Examples:

    Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Motel Association (Producer). (1997). Supervisory skill builders: Leadership [Motion picture]. East Lansing, MI: The Institute.

    McCallum, R. (Producer), Lucas, G. (Director), & Lucas, G., Hales, J. (Writers). (2002). Star wars II: Attack of the clones [Motion picture]. Beverly Hills, CA: Twentieth Century Fox.

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WEBPAGE

  • General Form:

    Last, F.M. (Date). Webpage title [Document type, if other than a standard website]. Retrieved from URL

    * Note: be sure to pay close attention to APA's rules regarding author names, capitalization, date of publication, and place of publication.

  • Examples:

    Cope, J. (2003). Towards a dynamic learning perspective of entrepreneurship [White paper]. Retrieved from http://www.lums.co.uk/publications/viewpdf/224/

    Note: in reality, many webpages do not provide as much information as the general form calls for. In such cases, give as much information as you can, follow the general form as closely as possible, and provide any clarifying information in brackets. In all cases, provide at least the page title and URL. If the web page is undated or likely to change, include the retrieval date:

    Convention Industry Council. (2004). CIC facts. Retrieved June 10, 2005, from http://www.conventionindustry.org/aboutcic/about_cic.htm

    How do we dwell in Orlando? (n.d.). Retrieved June 14, 2005, from http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~janzb/life@ucf/
    dwellorlando.htm

    U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Miami city, Florida [American FactFinder Fact Sheet for Miami, Florida]. Retrieved from http://factfinder.census.gov

  • Entire websites (as opposed to specific documents or sections of the website) are not cited in the reference list, but are cited within text:

    The Ritz Carlton website features panoramic images of their hotels (http:// www.ritzcarlton.com).

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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. 179 of the APA Manual or speak with your professor.

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OTHER

To cite a source type not listed above, refer to pages 193-224 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. ("APA Manual").

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A printable version of this guide is also available: APA PDF (53 KB)

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

Last Updated: October 2009 SV/TB/JC