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APA Citing and Referencing Guide

Citations
1. When you take the authors words and change them to your own words, it is called paraphrasing.
You still have to give credit to the author because the idea(s) did not originate from your head.
Examples:
1) Smith (1999) reported that.
2) Research (e.g. Yancey, 2001) shows that
3) According to Johnson and Frank (2002)
4) (Sedgewick & Adams, 1993).
2. You should cite using surnames. Do not use authors first names in the text. However, in the case of
authors of Malay or Indian ethnicities where there is no surname, the first name of the author
should be used in the citation. Note that this should only be done in instances where it is clear
that the last name is the authors fathers name (as with the use of bin, binti, d/o and s/o)
Examples:
1) Smith (2008) found that. (Full name: Robert M. Smith)
2) Mohd. Ali (2010) found that. (Full name: Mohd. Ali bin Mohd. Imran)
3) Research by Shamini (2011) showed that. (Full name: Shamini d/o Manikam)
3. Do not state authors university affiliations or designations (e.g. Professor, PhD)
4. Direct quotes:
i.
When you copy the authors words verbatim (word for word) that is called a direct quotation.
Direct quotations need to be put in quotation marks ( ). Citations for direct quotations also
require page numbers.
i. Examples:
1) Smith (1999, p.2) reported there is a correlation between violence in
television and aggression in children.
Note that in this direct quote, the period (full stop) comes before you
close the quotation.
2) There is a correlation between violence in television and aggression in
children (Smith, 1999, p.2).
ii.
If you omit material in the middle of your direct quote, use three ellipsis points to indicate
that there is omitted material.
a. Example
1) Children who watch televisionappear more aggressive (Frank, 2002,
p.3).
The three ellipsis points show that there is actually some text in between
these two statements, but that you have excluded these words (or
sentences) in your quotation.
iii.
Try to avoid having direct quotations that are longer than 40 words. If you have a direct
quotation that is longer than 40 words, you do not need to have any quotation marks, but the
direct quote needs to be indented (2 tab spaces).
a. Example:
Doe (2008) mentioned try to avoid having direct quotations that are longer than 40
words. If you have a direct quotation that is longer than 40 words, you do not need to
have any quotation marks, but the direct quote needs to be indented. (p. 1).
5. Primary and secondary citations
i.
A primary citation (paraphrased or directly quoted) is when you read the article/book and
use what you read in your paper. The examples given above are primary citations.

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ii.

A secondary citation (paraphrased or directly quoted) is when you read 1 author who
quotes a second author and you want to use this second authors information in your
paper. You did not personally read this second authors work you read the first
authors work. Therefore you cannot cite this second author like a primary citation.
a. Examples:
1) Children who watch more than 2 hours of television a day appear to be more
aggressive than children who watch less than 2 hours of television a day
(Smith, 2002, as cited in Frank, 2003).
2) There is a correlation between violence in television and aggression in
children (Smith, 2002, as cited in Frank, 2003, p. 3).
6. Try to avoid tertiary citations i.e. you want to cite what Author 1 said Author 2 said that Author 3
said. So what you really want to cite is Author 3, but Author 3s work was in Author 2, and Author
2s work was in Author 1, whom you read. It becomes too confusing.
7. You need to have secondary citations but you do not need to have secondary references. For
example: Smith, 2002, as cited in Johnson, 2003. You will reference Johnson, but not Smith.
Refer to the following section on how to reference.
8. Multiple authors and multiple citations of the same source in a paragraph
i.
If there are 1-2 author(s), cite both names every time the reference occurs in text. If you wish
to cite the same source within the same paragraph, you will need to include the year every
time the authors name is mentioned.
ii.
If there are between 3-5 authors, the first time you use this citation, list all the authors.
Subsequently, state the 1st author & then write et al. (not italicized and with a period
after al) If you wish to cite the same source within the same paragraph, you will need
to include the year every time the authors name is mentioned.
Example
o [1st time] Johnson, Smith, Duvall and Autry (2003) stated
o [Subsequent citations in new paragraphs] Johnson et al. (2003) stated...
o [Citing in same paragraph] Johnson et al. (2003) found...
iii.
If there are 6 or more authors, you can use Johnson et al. all the time.
iv.
However, in the references section, ALL authors need to be listed.
9. Listing two or more works by different authors:
i.
The works must be listed in alphabetical order by the first authors surname. Citations should
be separated with semicolons
o Example:
Several studies (Frank, 2003; Johnson, 2001; Smith, 2008) have shown that...
ii.
Exceptions are only when one major citation is separate from the rest. Insert the word see
also, after the major citation and before the rest of the citations
o Example:
Past research on this area (Johnson, 2001; see also Frank 2003; Smith, 2008)...
iii.
Identify works by the same author(s) with the same publication date by suffixes a,b,c, and so
forth, after the year. The suffixes are assigned in the reference list, and in alphabetically
ordered by title (of the article)
a. Example: Several studies (Derryberry & Reed, 2005a, 2005b)
10. Citing a definition obtained from a dictionary (Please note that ONLY reputable dictionaries will be
accepted (Merriam-Webster, Oxford, etc.):
If the dictionary has an editor/author, cite the dictionary as you would any other book.
If there is no clear editor/author or it is an online dictionary, state the name of the dictionary used:
o Merriam-Websters online dictionary defines abortion as.
11. In the reference list, all references MUST be stated alphabetically.
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References
1. The following is a list of the more commonly used references. For more information, refer to the
APA Publication Manual (6th edition) in the library.
1) Journal reference:
Author, A. (date). Title of article. Title of Journal, vol (issue), pp.-pp. doi: xxxxxxxx
Note: DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier. It is usually printed on top of each journal article. You
may use this website (http://www.doi.org/) to locate the particular journal article using DOI.
Example of a print screen:

A. Journal article with DOI (hardcopy/printed version, retrieved from a journal database
or URL)
Wine, J. (1971). Test anxiety. Psychological Bulletin, 76, 92-104. doi: 10.1037/078-6133.24.2.225
Mohd. Ali, Shamini & Lee, M.S. (2010). National Identity and Racism. Malaysian Journal of
Psychology, 5(2), 12-20. doi: 10.1041/0234859.23.56
B. Journal article with DOI, more than seven authors
Gilbert, D. G., McClernon, J. F., Rabinovich, N. E., Sugai, C., Plath, L. C., Asgaard, G., . . . Botros,
N. (2004). Effects of quitting smoking on EEG activation and attention. Nicotine and Tobacco
Research, 6, 249-267. doi: 10.1080/14622200410001676305
Note: When reference has up to seven authors, spell out all authors names in the reference list.

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C. Journal article without DOI (when DOI is not available)
Note: If there is no DOI assigned and the reference was retrieved online, give URL of the journal
home page. If the journal is a printed version/hardcopy, end the reference after page number.
Example: Journal article with URL (not from a journal database):
Slick, T. J., & Schutte, N. S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem mediate between
perceived love and adult happiness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38-48. Retrieved from
http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap

Journal article (hard copy/printed version without DOI OR journals retrieved from a journal
database e.g. EBSCO, Sage, PubMed, JSTOR):

Slick, T. J., & Schutte, N. S. (2006). Emotional intelligence and self-esteem mediate between
perceived love and adult happiness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38-48.

2) Book reference:
Author, A. (date). Title of book. Location: Publisher.
Thorndike, E. L., & Lorge, I. (1944). The teachers wordbook of 30,000 words. New York:
Columbia University Teachers College.
3) Chapter in an edited book:
Author, A. (date). Title of chapter. In B. Editor (Ed.). Title of book (pp-pp). Location:
Publisher.
Rachman, S. J. (1976). Observational learning and therapeutic modelling. In M.P. Feldman & A.
Broadhurst (Eds.). Theoretical and experimental bases of behaviour therapies (pp.245-295).
London: John Wiley & Sons.
4) Magazine/Newspaper:
Author, A. A. (year, month date). Title of article. Title of magazine, volume, pp.-pp.
Smith, S. (2000, April 9). Anxiety. Time, 135, 28-31.
5) World Wide Web sources:
Author / Organization. (date). Title of article. Retrieved from URL address.
National Consumers League. (1997). Helping seniors targeted for telemarketing fund. Retrieved
from http://www.fraud.org/elderfraud/helpsen.htm.
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a. If there is no author/organization, then just start with the title of the article. Example:
Helping seniors targeted for telemarketing fund. Retrieved from
http://www.fraud.org/elderfraud/helpsen.htm.
b. If there is no author/organization and no title, then just list the website address. However, it is not
very safe to cite a website that does not list an author/organization and title. Be wary of websites
that do not seem to have legitimate sources.

6) Online newspaper article:

Author (year, month date). Title of article. Title of newspaper. Retrieved from XXX (website).
Vello, J. A., & Cohen, D. (1999, December 1). Patterns of individualism and collectivism across the
United States. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
7) Online magazine article:
Clay, R. (2008, June). Science vs. ideology: Psychologists fight back about the misuse of research.
Monitor on Psychology, 39(6). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/
8) Dictionary (with author/editor):
Author, A. (date). Title of dictionary. Location: Publisher.
Editor, E. (Ed.). (date). Title of dictionary. Location: Publisher.
VandenBos, G.R. (Ed.). (2007). APA dictionary of psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
9) Dictionary (without author/editor OR online dictionary):
Word retrieved. (date). In Title of dictionary. Retrieved from XXX (website)
a) If the online version refers a print edition, include the edition number after the title.
Heuristic. (n.d.). In Merriam-Websters online dictionary (11th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.mw.com/dictionary/heuristic
2. However, a couple of things to note:
a. Alphabetize the list of references.
b. Journal titles should be spelled out fully.
c. The references should be double-spaced.
d. Listing of references should be continuous. Do not press <Enter> twice when you are typing a
new reference.
e. Secondary references are NOT required.
f. The first line is not indented but the rest of the lines (for the same reference) are indented. For
example:

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Nevid, J.S., Spencer, A.R., & Green, B. (2000). Abnormal psychology in a changing
world (4th ed.). NJ: Prentice Hall.
3. A reminder:

a. This is a general guide to the basic citation and references in APA based on the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). For detailed
explanations, refer to this manual.
b. APA is not the same as MLA formatting.

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