APA citation style

A guide to citing sources using APA Style, 7th edition

General rules

For more information and examples, see section 10.1 (pages 316-321) of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.

Capitalization

Only capitalize the first letter of all major words in periodical names (names of journals, magazines and newspapers). For the titles of articles, only capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title and subtitle, and any proper nouns (names of people, places, businesses or organizations). See the following examples.

Sample periodical titles:

Research in Higher Education Journal

Psychology Today

Sample article titles:

Student satisfaction with online learning: Lessons from organizational behavior

Drug use among transgender people in Ontario, Canada: Disparities and associations with social exclusion

Articles with multiple authors

For articles with up to and including 20 authors, include the names of all authors in the reference list. For 21 or more authors, use ellipses after the name of the 19th author, and then list the last author named.

Journal articles

Journal articles with a DOI

Include the DOI as a hyperlink if the article has one, regardless of whether or not you used the print or online version. Do not include the database name, with the one exception of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Citation format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume #(issue #), page #s. DOI link

Sample reference list entry:

Kozma, A., & Stones, M. J. (1983). Re-validation of the Memorial University of Newfoundland scale of happiness. Canadian Journal on Aging, 2(1), 27-29. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980800015610

Journal articles with an article number

It's increasingly common for articles published online to have an article number or "eLocator." These articles usually don't have page numbers. Include the article number instead of the page range.

Hudson, A., & Vodden, K. (2020). Decolonizing pathways to sustainability: Lessons learned from three Inuit communities in NunatuKavut, Canada. Sustainability,12(11), Article 4419. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114419

Journal articles with no DOI and a "non-database" URL

For open access journals freely available on the internet, provide the URL as a hyperlink if there is no DOI. You may use a shortened URL generated by a link shortener. Either the long or short URL is acceptable.

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume #(issue #), page #s. Nondatabase URL

Ahmann, E., Tuttle, L. J., Saviet, M., & Wright, S. D. (2018). A descriptive review of ADHD coaching research: Implications for college students. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 31(1),17-37. shorturl.at/kqBSZ

News and magazine articles

Print magazine and newspaper articles

Many newspapers and some magazines have no volume or issue numbers. If so, just leave that out. If no author is listed, begin with the article title, followed by the date.

Citation template:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper/Magazine, volume #(issue #), page #s.

Reference list examples:

Captain spots "sea monster" off Halifax. (1952, May 2). The Western Star, 52(2876), 1.

Jaffe, E. (2012, March/April). What do men really want? Psychology Today, 45(2), 62-87.

Online magazine and newspaper articles

Provide the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) as a hyperlink, or, if the article has no DOI, provide the URL as a hyperlink. Do not include URLs for articles accessed through a library database or include the database name. You may use a shortened URL generated by a link shortener. Either the long or short URL is acceptable. Some articles will not have volume, issue or page numbers. If so, just leave that out.

Citation format:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper/Magazine, volume #(issue #), page #s. DOI link or nondatabase URL

Reference list examples:

Zul, M., Gibbs, K., & Busby, K. (2018, January 29). Mental-health research needs more than private donations. The Globe and Mail, A13.

Orland, K. (2019, October 22). Study casts doubt on value of WHO’s “gaming disorder” diagnoses. Ars Technica. shorturl.at/fgESZ

Article on a news website

Cite like a page on a website. If the author and the website name are the same, leave out the title of website. You may use a shortened URL generated by a link shortener. Either the long or short URL is acceptable.

Citation format:

Author, A. A. (Year, month day). Title of article. Title of Website. URL

Reference list example:

Skinner, R. J. (2019, November 4). Burnout is real and here's how to handle it, according to experts. CBC. shorturl.at/oEMO1