APA Reference Page Entries

Contents

See also the Purdue OWL’s APA page.

On the References page

  • Insert the word “References” at the top of the page.
  • citations are listed in alphabetical order, listed by the last name of the first author.
  • Do not change the order of authors from the original listing. In the original source, the authors are listed in a particular order or hierarchy for a reason.
  • Any line after the first line for each entry is indented (even though that practice may not show on this webpage).
  • Insert one full blank line between entries.
  • Do not number entries.
  • Follow punctuation patterns closely.
  • See other specialized instructions below.

Understand that if a specific example is not given here, you can infer how to move ahead. For example, if you have a book with five authors, there is no example of a book with five authors offered in this guide.  However, you can look at how other listings handle five (or more) authors and apply it to your needs.

Journal Articles (print)

Lastname, I. (Date). Title of article and pay attention to caps. Abbrev J. Name in Italics, Vol(number), 1-111.

Notes

  • Use only the first initial of the first name.
  • The date can include the month. Follow with a period.
  • Article titles only use caps for the first word; the first word after a colon; and for proper nouns. No quote marks. End with a period.
  • Journal titles are abbreviated and in italics, followed by a comma.
  • Italicize the volume. No italics are used for the issue number, which is also in parentheses. Follow with a comma.
  • The last element is the page numbers, alone. End with a period.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.

Examples
Harries, M. (2002). Disseminating wind pumps in rural Kenya—Meeting rural water needs using locally manufactured wind pumps. Energy Policy, 30 (11-12), 1087-94.

Hwang, L. S. & Tuck, E. O. (1970). On the oscillations of harbours of arbitrary shape.  J. Fluid Mechanics, 42, 447–464.

Kelly-Zion, P.L., Pursell, C.J., Hasbamrer, N., Cardozo, B., Gaughan, K., & Nickels, K. (2013). Vapor distribution above an evaporating sessile drop. Intl J. Heat Mass Transfer, 65, 165–172.

Journal Articles (online)

Lastname, I. (Date). Title of article and pay attention to caps. Abbrev J. Name in Italics, Vol(number), 1-111. e-indicator.

Notes

  • Use only the first initial of the first name.
  • The date, parentheses, can include the month. Follow with a period outside of the parens.
  • Article titles only use capitaliztation in four instances:
    • the first word
    • the first word after a colon
    • proper nouns
    • acronyms
  • Article titles do not use quote marks. End with a period.
  • Journal titles can abbreviated and in italics (be consistent!).
  • Journal titles use capitalization on all “significant” words. Follow the journal title with a comma.
  • Italicize the volume number.
  • Do not italicize the issue number; rather, but it in parentheses. Follow with a comma outside of the parens.
  • The last element is the page numbers, alone.  Do not use any version of “pp” or “pgs.” End with a period.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.
  • Insert DOI (if available) with no period following.
  • When inserting URLs, break them where a slash or period occurs.

Example when online article has a DOI
Harries, M. (2002). Disseminating wind pumps in rural Kenya—Meeting rural water needs using locally manufactured wind pumps. Energy Policy, 30 (11-12), 1087-1094. doi:10.1016/S0301-4215(02)00060-5

Example when online article does not have a DOI
Hwang, L.S. & Tuck, E. O. (1970). On the oscillations of harbours of arbitrary shape. J. Fluid Mechanics. 42(3), 447–464. Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=FLM

Books

Lastname, I. (year published). Title of book in italics, edition. Place: Publisher.

Notes

  • Use only the first initial of the author’s first name.
  • The date is year only, in parentheses. Follow with a period.
  • Book title should have caps only in these four instances:
    • the first word
    • the first word after a colon
    • proper nouns,
    • acronyms
  • Use italics for the book title. Do not abbreviate. Include edition, if relevant. Follow with a period.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.
  • There is need to mention URLs for e-books.

Examples

Dieter, G. E. & Schmidt, L.D. (2013). Engineering design, 5th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Kamkwamba, W. & Mealer, B. (2010). The boy who harnessed the wind: Creating currents of electricity and hope. New York: William Morrow.

Chapters in Anthologies/Collections

Lastname, I. (pub year). Title of the chapter. In Editors listed (Eds.), Title of book in italics (pages of chapter). Place: Publisher.

Notes

  • Use only the first initial of the first name for the chapter authors and/or editors.
  • The date is year only in parentheses. Follow with a period.
  • Chapter title uses only caps in these instances:
    • for the first word
    • the first word after a colon
    • proper nouns
    • acronyms
  • No quote marks are needed. Follow the chapter title with a period.
  • If there are editors, inside parentheses, the book’s editors are listed with first name initials first, then the last name. At the end, include (Eds.) for multiple editors and (Ed.) for one editor. Follow with a comma after the parens.
  • Book title, in italics, should uses only caps for the first word; the first word after a colon; and for proper nouns. Follow with a period if there are no editors.
  • Pages of chapter listed in parentheses.
  • Place and publisher are listed last.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.
  • No need to mention URLs for e-books.

Example
Worster, M. G. (1992). The dynamics of mushy layers. In S. H. Davis, H. E. Huppert, W. Muller & M. G. Worster (Eds.).   Interactive Dynamics of Convection and Solidification (113–138), Dorcrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer.

 

Conference Papers/Proceedings

 Lastname, I. (2016). Name of the conference paper. Name of the conference abbreviated and in italics. Volume. pages. Place: Publisher. DOI

 Notes

  • Use only the first initial of the first name.
  • The date can include the month. Follow with a period.
  • Talk/conf titles only use caps in these instances:
    • for the first word
    • the first word after a colon
    • proper nouns
    • acronyms
  • Conference name is abbreviated and in italics. Follow with a period.
  • If available, use just the volume and issue number (no wording) in bold. Follow with a period.
  • The last element is the page numbers, alone, if available. Follow with a period.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.
  • No need to mention URLs, but a DOI can be inserted.

Examples
Moore, D.R., Phelps, J., Wood, D., Vaccaro, M.V., Kanner, H. S., Freeland, & D.M.

Olson, D.T. (Sept. 2011). The reusable solid rocket booster (RSRB) – An booster system. AIAA SPACE Conference and Exposition 2011.Long Beach, CA: AIAA, Inc. http://dx.doi.org/10.2514/6.2011-7156

Omer, A.M. (March 2009). Wind energy for water pumping in rural areas of Sudan. Euro. Wind Energy Conf. and Ex. 2009, EWEC 2009, 7. 4649-4658. Marseille, France: European Wind and Energy Association.

 

Technical Reports/Papers

Author, I. (Year). Title. Publication and Number. Sponsoring body with document numbers.

Notes

  • Use only the first initial of the first name.
  • Use the year for the date, in parentheses. Follow with a period.
  • Italicized titles, using only caps in these instances:
    • for the first word
    • the first word after a colon
    • proper nouns
    • acronyms
  • Include the report’s Identification or Funding Number, if applicable. Follow with a period.
  • The US Government Printing Office is often the publisher, but not always.
  • The last element is the page numbers, alone, if a particular section is noted. Follow with a period.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.
  • No need to mention URLs.

Examples

Brownell, C. J. & Su, L. K. (2004). Planar measurements of differential diffusion in turbulent jets. AIAA Paper, 2004-2335.

Rogallo, R. S. (1981). Numerical experiments in homogeneous turbulence. Tech. Rep. 81835. NASA Technical Memo.

 

Government Technical Reports

Author or Organization. (Year). Title. Number. Sponsoring Agencies. Printing Office.

Notes

  • For the author, use the organization, in full, if no person is listed.
  • Use only the first initial of the first name (for a person).
  • Use the year for the date. Follow with a period.
  • Italicized titles with significant words in caps. No quote marks. Follow with a period.
  • Include the report’s Identification or Funding Number, if applicable. Follow with a period.
  • Include all applicable agencies contributing to the project.
  • The US Government Printing Office is often the publisher, but not always. Follow with a period.
  • The last element is the pages numbers, alone, if a particular section is noted. Follow with a period.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.
  • No need to mention URLs.

Examples

Gordon, G., Paker, N. Tittman, P., Hart, Q., & Lay, M. (2008). Strategic assessment ofbioenergy development in the West: Spatial analysis and supply curve development. PB2010105226. US Forest Service, Western Governors’ Association, California University at Davis. U.S. Government Printing Office.

Muljadi, E., Wang, C., & Nehrir, M.H. 2004. Parallel Operation of Wind Turbine, Fuel Cell, and Diesel Generation Sources. NTIS 200506. Technical Information Center, Oak Ridge, TN. National Renewable Energy Lab, Golden, CO. Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Division of Energy and Mineral Development. 2010. Native American Wind Resource Atlas. U.S. Government Printing Office.

Standards

Author or Organization. (Year). Title. Number.

Notes

  • Use the organization if no person is listed for authorship.
  • Use only the first initial of the first name for any author names. For the organization, the abbreviation can be use, followed by a full rendering of the name in parens.
  • Use the year for the date, in parens. Follow with a period.
  • Titles only use caps for the first word; the first word after a colon; and for proper nouns. No quote marks. Follow with a period.
  • Include the standard’s Identification Number. Follow with a period.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.
  • No need to mention URLs.

Example
ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineering). (2015). Balance lifting units. B3028.2015.

Specifications

Company/Organization Name. (Year). Name of document. ID number.

Notes

  • Use the company or organization’s name
  • Use the year for the date, in parens. Follow with a period.
  • Titles only use caps for the first word; the first word after a colon; and for proper nouns. No quote marks. Follow with a period.
  • Include the standard’s Identification Number. Follow with a period.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.

Examples

Government of India, Ministry of Railways. (2010). Technical specification for design and development of natural gas based Alco engine for diesel locomotives of Indian Railways. TS/ED/2010/47.

U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Standardization Program. (2009). Guide for performance specifications. SD-15.

Note

Many companies now only publish their in-house spec sheets online so they can be updated easily. If this is the case, include the URL with the (date) it was accessed last. There is no period at the end because it can be mistaken as part of the URL.

Example

Allied Tube and Conduit. (2015). Square sign system specification. Retrieved from: http://www.atc-mechanical.com/mechanical-tubing/square-fit-steel-tubing/

Patents

Your choice on the format for patents will depend on whether the patent has an assignee or not.

Notes

  • Use the name of the inventors, if available. Follow with a period.
  • Use the year for the date. Follow with a period.
  • Include the patent number, in italics. Include periods with “U.S” herein.
  • Titles only use caps for the first word; the first word after a colon; and for proper nouns. No quote marks. Follow with a period.
  • Include the patent country of issuance and number. Follow with a period.
  • The last element is the office of origination or filing.
  • Any line after the first for each entry is indented.

Example with Inventor Alone

Neuser, J. (1902).  U.S. Patent 698,409. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Example with Assignee

Garces, L.J., Liu, Y., & Bose, S. (2007). U.S. Patent 7,239,035 B2. Assginee: General Electric Company. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Notes

  • The in-text citation for patents looks a bit different.  Instead of (author, year), do this: (patent #, year).  Here is an example (U.S. Patent No. 698,409, 1902).
  • Regardless of where you obtain or view the patent, the original publisher is still the source of the patent.  For example, if you retrieved a patent from the Google Patent site, you should still list the U.S. Patent Office as the original source.  If you retrieved a patent from a country other than the U.S. from espacenet, cite the originating country’s office.

Ph.D. Thesis

Miller, P. L. 1991. Mixing in high schmidt number turbulent jets. PhD thesis. California Institute of Technology.

Personal Communication (e-mails, etc.)

At times, you may have personal communications with an expert in the field. This may happen via conversation (in person, on the phone, or in a web conference), via email, or even via text. As such, those communications unless they are published for the public, are not retrievable by any other reader/user.  Therefore, they will not have a reference entry on the References page.

Instead, work your acknowledgement of the expert’s commentary into the paragraph itself. APA style prefers to not use footnotes, but an endnote could also be used to explain who your expert is and from what authority that person speaks.

 

ADA Compliance for US-Funded Projects

For any funded project with government money, we recommend that you comply with ADA directives.  To that end, including the DOI for your citations is a good move, when it is available. The DOI is useful for people who need to use a screen reader, as it can help the user track back to the original article more readily in order to read it in full. Understand that this is not necessarily needed,  but it may be a good-will gesture appreciated by many.

Example
Chini, G. P.  (2016). Exact coherent structures at extreme Reynolds number. J. of Fluid Mechanics, (794). doi :10.1017/jfm.2016.154.

 

Multiple Cites from Same Author and Year

At times, you may have multiple sources from the same author during the same year.  This presents an interesting task for sorting.

Start this task on the bibliography page, creating the entries using this process:

  1. Get entries into proper order.  Usually, we would alphabetize by authorship because entries on a bibliography page show in alphabetical order. However, that doesn’t work because we have the same authors.
  2. Thus, the next indicator would normally be the dates, but that also doesn’t help us here because they are the same (2003).
  3. So, we go to the next possible element–the name of the article.  In the example below, entries are shown in the right order because because the article titled “Effect of engine…” would come before “Effect of fuel” for these purposes.
  4. Now that the entries are in the right order, we change the entry just a bit; we alter the date.  Look at the date in parentheses and notice the addition of “a” and “b” to indicate order.

Example 1

Kweon, C.B., Okada, S., Foster, D.E., Bae, M.S., & Schauer, J.J. (2003a). Effect of engine operating conditions on particle-phase organic compounds in engine exhaust of a heavy-duty, direct-injection (D.I.) diesel engine. SAE Paper No. 2003-01-0342.

Kweon, C.B., Okada, S., Stetter, J.C., Christenson, C.G., Shafer, M.M., Schauer, J.J., & Foster, D.E. (2003b).Effect of fuel composition on combustion and detailed chemical/physical characteristics of diesel exhaust. SAE Paper No. 2003-01-1899.

Thus, in the paragraphs of the paper, you would cite (Kweon, Okada, Foster, Bae and Shauer, 2003a) when you mean the first one. Use (2003b) for citing the second article.

Example 2: In-text use

Young, J. H. (1993a). Parameters governing steam-in-place sterilization. Proceedings of the 1993 ASME Winter Annual Meeting, 27,17-18.

Young, J. H. (1993b). Sterilization of various diameter dead-ended tubes. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 42(1), 125-132.

In addition to minimizing L/D, preference should be to orient the dead leg in the vertical position instead of the horizontal.  Mixing of air and steam in a vertically-oriented dead leg is aided by buoyant convective forces as colder, denser air falls with condensate down the inner walls of the pipe and hot, less dense steam rises in the center of the pipe.  This effect is not seen when mixing is reliant upon diffusion, such as for horizontally-oriented dead legs, which inhibits achievement of saturated steam conditions or drastically extends the time needed to achieve saturated steam conditions in that area (Young, 1993a; Young, 1993b).