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(ECC) Citation Guide

This Research Guide connects you with resources to assist with citing your sources. Click on the navigation tabs to explore style-specific resources.

APA 7

APA (American Psychological Association) Style is the most widely used citation style in academics. It's used in fields like psychology, nursing, social work, communications, education, business, engineering, etc. 

Every source you used must be included in your References page at the end of your paper.

Each source format has its own citation format. In addition to the author(last name, first initial) and title:

  • a book will require the city of publication, the publisher and copyright date.
  • a magazine article will require the date of publication, volume, issue number and page numbers. 
  • Online articles require the DOI or digital object identifier, if available. If not, the URL must be included.
  • Articles from databases do not require the name of the database.
  • Titles of books and journals are italicized.
  • Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of an article or chapter title.

 

In APA style, indicate the source of your information within the sentence or paragraph. This is known as in-text citation.

Direct Quote with Author's Name

Include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

  • Maria Smith (2010) has found  "Rates of obesity among men have caused an increased risk of heart disease" (p. 42).

Paraphrase with Author's Name

When paraphrasing another's ideas, include the author and year of publication.

  • Smith (2010) noted a correlation between obesity and heart disease.

Citation with no Author

When there is no author, use the first word or two of the title in the sentence or at the end of the quote. Titles of books and reports are italicized or underlined; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks.

  • "Cases of obesity-related diabetes have increased 20 percent  in the last ten years" (Diabetes Statistics).

Citation with an Organization as Author

 If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization at the beginning of the sentence or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.

  • According to the Centers for Disease Control [CDC], (2011) obesity increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

When referring to the organization again in a later quote, you may use the abbreviation.

  • "Research  trials have shown that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed in people at high risk for the disease who make lifestyle changes" (CDC, 2011).

All references must appear in your References list at the end of your paper!