Referencing Guide:

APA Style
2012
This document has been prepared as an introductory guide only and in all
cases, further inquiry needs to be made directly to:
APA (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association,
(6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Style notes for APA at Tabor Adelaide

Assignments must be double spaced

It is a requirement that all assignments meet the word count

10% over the word count is acceptable

No more than 10% of your word count is to be direct quotations

All quotations are considered part of the word count

Appendices are not to be used to add extra references but for extra information
that is not included in the body of your assignment; appendices are not included
in the word count

Paragraphs should be indented. Do not leave a blank line between paragraphs

For any queries that have not been covered by this introductory guide, please
refer to American Psychological Association (APA, 2010)
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association, 6th ed. Washington, DC.: APA.
(Available in Tabor Adelaide library: call number 808.06615 AME)

What needs to be referenced?

All direct quotations

All indirect quotations

All specific information that would not be considered general knowledge within
the field

Style notes for citations

Always use double inverted commas for direct quotations

Do not use italics for quotations

p. (single) or pp. (two or more pages) are used to denote page numbers for in-text
citations of book pages

Punctuation comes after the final bracket of the reference, except in the cases of
a question mark or an exclamation mark

In-text quotes of less than 40 words should be integrated into the paragraph

Block quotations are required for quotations of 40 words or more and should
follow the criteria below:
o

No quotation marks

Single spaced

Whole block indented (left aligned)

Same size font as the body of the text, no italics

Style notes for reference list layout

Do not use dot points or enumeration in your reference list

Begin the entry at the left margin

Indent the second, third and subsequent lines of any entry by five spaces
(this is called a hanging indent)

Entries are to be double spaced

Entries are to be listed in alphabetical order by authors surname

When there is no author the entry should be listed alphabetically by title

Book titles are listed in sentence case (an initial capital letter followed by words in
all lower case except for proper nouns and acronyms) and in italics

Journal titles are presented in italics, with normal capitalisation; journal article
titles are presented in roman type and in sentence case

Where no date can be found, use n.d.

When recording the place of publication include the location, and add the state
and/or country if the location is not obvious, e.g.
Newtown, N.S.W.: PETAA. OR Cheltenham, U.K.: Hawker Brownlow Education

When recording URL, the APA Publication manual (2010) does not mention date
retrieved. In a rapidly changing online environment, it is appropriate (though not
required) to adapt the APA template to: Retrieved on date, URL. Example:
ACARA Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). The
Australian curriculum: English. Retrieved on 15th January 2012 from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/

For more crucial information on referencing, on Tabor assignment guidelines and

also on inclusive language, please look at Appendix 3 in the online Student
Handbook.

For a useful tutorial on how to use referencing,

see http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/tutorials/citing/

APA 6th edition style examples

APA style is an author-date citation style. It was developed mainly for use in psychology,
but has also been adopted by other disciplines.
There are two major components to the APA author-date style - the in-text author-date
citation at the appropriate place within the text of the document, e.g. (Smith, 2010) OR
(Smith, 2010, p. 6), and the detailed reference list at the end of the document. All in-text
citations must have a corresponding reference list entry, and the converse applies for
reference list entries.
Use the following instructions and examples as guide for your own referencing using the
APA style. This guide is based on more detailed information in:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington D.C.: Author
American Psychological Association. (2010). Concise rules of APA style (6th
ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

In text citing: General notes

Insert an in-text citation:

o when your work has been influenced by someone else's work, for
example:
when you directly quote someone else's work
when you paraphrase someone else's work
The in-text citation consists of:
o author surname(s) (in the order that they appear on the actual publication),
followed by the year of publication of the source that you are citing.
o include page or paragraph numbers for direct quotes, and for
paraphrasing where appropriate
The in-text citation is placed immediately after the text which refers to the source
being cited
If quoting or citing a source which is cited within another, secondary reference,
mention the source with the secondary reference details: e.g. Smith (as cited in
Jones, 2010). Only the secondary reference should be included in the reference
list.

Reference list: General notes

Begin your reference list on a new page and title it 'References'. Centre the title
on the page.
Double-space your reference list and have a hanging indent
A hanging indent is where the first line of each reference is fully left
justified while subsequent lines are indented to the right. The width of the
hanging indent should be 5-7 spaces or 1.25 cm. Hanging indents and
double spacing are set by the word processors.
All of the references in the reference list must also be cited in the text.
5

All references cited in text must also be included in the reference list (exceptions
are unpublished items such as correspondence).
List the references in alphabetical order by author surname/family name.
Where there are two articles with the same authors and date, order the
references alphabetically by article title and add a letter suffix to the year of
publication (e.g. 2003a, 2003b...).
Provide organisation names in full, unless they are obviously recognisable as
abbreviations (e.g. APA for American Psychological Association).
Do not add full stops to URLs (e.g. http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/)
Check the reference details against the actual source - you are indicating that you
have read a source when you cite it.
Be consistent with your referencing style across the document.

Author layout guidance

Where a publication has:

List authors in the reference list as:

one author

Author, A. A.

two authors

Author, A. A., & Author B. B.

three to seven authors

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C.,

Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., &
Author, G. G.

eight or more authors - list first six

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C.,
authors, add three ellipses and the last Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F.
author
F.,...Author, Z. Z.
no author

Transfer the title to the author space

a group author

Spell the name out

Digital Object Identification (doi) and URLs:

The digital object identifier (doi) is a unique identifier, and should be provided in
the reference where it is available. This alphanumeric string is usually located on
the first page with other referencing elements in both print and electronic articles.
If no doi is available for an electronic article, provide the URL information in the
reference.
Some other resources, such as books, may also have dois, which should be used
where available.

In text citations
Type of
citation

Example and comments

Citing specific
parts of a
source

For a direct or indirect quote the page number(s) must be given.

Indicate page, chapter, figure, table, etc. as specifically as possible. Use
accepted abbreviations, i.e. chap. or para.
As one writer put it, "the darkest days were still ahead" (Weston, 1988, p. 45).
Weston (1988) argued that "the darkest days were still ahead" (p. 45).
This theory was put forward by Smith (2005, chap. 7)

1 author

...This was seen in an Australian study (Conger, 1979).

OR
Conger (1979) has argued that...
OR
In 1979, Conger conducted a study which showed that...

2 authors

...(Davidson & Harrington, 2002).

OR
Davidson and Harrington (2002)...

3 to 5 authors

Cite all names and publication year the first time, thereafter only the first name
followed by et al.
The first time cited:
...(Brown, Smith, & Jones, 1990).
Brown, Smith, and Jones (1990)...
thereafter:
...(Brown et al., 1990).
Brown et al. (1990)...

6 or more
authors

Cite only the surname of the first author followed by et al. and the year from
the first citation.
Provide all six author names (followed by et al. if more authors) in the
reference list.
.... (Jones et al., 2003).
Jones et al. (2003)...

Different
authors:
same surname

Add initials to the authors names to distinguish them

Multiple
authors:
ambiguous
citations

If a multiple (3+) author citation abbreviated with et al. looks the same as
another in text citation similarly shortened, add enough surnames to make a
distinction.

P.R. Smith (1923) to distinguish from S. Smith (1945) ...

(Jones & S.A. Brown, 1961) to distinguish from (W.O. Brown & Smith, 1985).

...(Brown, Smith, et al., 1998) to distinguish from (Brown, Taylor, et al., 1998).
Multiple works: When cited together give the author's surname once followed by the years of
by same author each publication, which are separated by a comma.
... (Stairs, 1992, 1993).
Stairs (1992, 1993)...
Multiple works
by same author
AND same year

If there is more than one reference by an author in the same year, suffixes (a,
b, c, etc.) are added to the year.
Allocation of the suffixes is determined by the order of the references in the
reference list.
Suffixes are also included in the reference list, and these references are listed
alphabetically by title. If cited together, list by suffix as shown over the page.
7

Stairs (1992b)... later in the text ... (Stairs, 1992a).

...(Stairs, 1992a, 1992b).
If author name
is given as
'anonymous'

Use Anonymous as the author's name.

Unknown
author

Give the first few words of the title.

If the title is from an article or a chapter use double quotation marks. If the title
is from a periodical, book brochure or report then use italics.

... (Anonymous, 1997).

...the worst election loss in the party's history ("This is the end," 1968).
Unknown date
Write n.d. where
date would
normally be
placed
Corporate or
group of
authors

...This was seen in an Australian study (Conger, n.d).

OR
Conger (n.d.) has argued that...
If organization is recognized by abbreviation, cite the first time as follows:
... (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2005)
thereafter
... (AIHW, 2005).
If abbreviation not widely known, give the name in full every time:
... (Australian Research Council, 1996).

Multiple
references

List the citations in alphabetical order and separate with semicolons.

... (Burst, 1995; Turner & Hooch, 1982; Zane, 1976).

Quote from an
electronic
source (e.g.
Kindle)

Where page numbers are not provided, use Kindle location numbers or
paragraph numbers, as provided.
...(Sturt, 2001, K.157)
OR
...(Sturt, 2001, para. 2)

Personal
communication: Personal communications are not included in the reference list.
for email and
other
... (R. Smith, personal communication, January 28, 2002).
'unrecoverable'
R. Smith (personal communication, January 28, 2002)...
data
Citation of a
secondary
source (i.e. a
source referred
to in another
publication)

In the reference list you ONLY include the details of the source you actually
read - not the original source.
In the example below, the original source would be Farrow (1968), which you
saw cited in a paper by Ward and Decan (1988).
... (Farrow, 1968, as cited in Ward & Decan, 1988).
Farrow (1968, as cited in Ward & Decan, 1988) ...
Ward and Decan (1988) cited Farrow (1968) as finding...

Reference list

Scholarly articles
Type of article

Reference list example

Where a doi is
available:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of article. Journal

Title, volume number (issue number), page-page. doi:xxxx

Single author

Mellers, B. A. (2000). Choice and the relative pleasure of consequences.

Psychological Bulletin, 126(6), 910-924. doi:
10.1037//0033-2909.126.6.910

Two to seven authors Bechara, A., Damasio, H., & Damasio A. R. (2000). Emotion, decision
making and the orbitofrontal cortex. Cerebral Cortex, 10(3),
295-307. doi:10.1093/cercor/10.3.295
More than eight
authors

Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J., Coatsworth, D.,
Lengua, L., ...Griffin, W. A. (2000). An experimental evaluation of
theory-based mother and mother-child programs for children of
divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(5),
843-856. doi:10.1037//0022-006X.68.5.843

Where no doi is
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of article.
available for an
Journal Title, volume number (issue number), page-page.
online article:
Retrieved from URL.
provide the URL of the
journal homepage
Trankle, S. A., & Haw, J. (2009). Predicting Australian health behaviour
from health beliefs. Electronic Journal of Applied Psychology,
5(2), 9-17. Retrieved from
http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap/
Where no doi is
available for a print
article

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of article. Journal

Title, volume number(issue number), page-page.
Crowden, A. (2008). Professional boundaries and the ethics of dual and
multiple overlapping relationships in psychotherapy. Monash
Bioethics Review, 27(4), 10-27.

Books and book chapters

Editions: No edition information is required for first editions.
When recording the place of publication include the location, and add the state and/or
country if the location is not obvious. Where more than one location is provided, use the
first location listed. (APA guidelines are written for USA; this is a local adaptation.)

Type of book

Reference list example

Print book

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of book. Location

of publication: Publisher.

Show all authors or

editors

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of book (edition).

Location of publication: Publisher.
Mook, D. (2004). Classic experiments in psychology. Westport, CT:
Greenwood.
9

Edited book

Editor, A. A., & Editor, B. B. (Eds.). (year of publication). Title of book

Use the author rules as

(edition). Location of publication: Publisher.
listed above. Where
there is an editor instead Williams, J. M. (Ed.). (2006). Applied sport psychology: personal growth
of an author, follow the
to peak performance (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
author rules, but also
include the abbreviation
Lee-Chai, A. Y., & Bargh, J. A. (Eds.). (2001). The use and abuse of
'Ed.' or 'Eds.' in
power: multiple perspectives on the causes of corruption. New
parentheses following
the editor names: e.g.
York: Psychology Press.
Editor, A. A., & Editor, B.
B. (Eds.).

Electronic book
The URL provided
should be the website of
the main publisher or
provider. If you
accessed the e-book via
the catalogue, check the
catalogue record to find
the publisher or provider
(where the full text is
available from).
Tip: conduct a web
search - provide a URL
that your readers will be
able to find the book
from, e.g. via
psycBOOKS:
http://www.apa.org/pubs
/databases/psycbooks/i
ndex.aspx
Googlebooks:
http://www.google.com.
au/

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of book (edition).

Retrieved from URL
OR
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of book (edition).
doi:xxxx
OR
Editor, A. A., & Editor, B. B. (Eds.). (year of publication). Title of book
(edition). Retrieved from URL
OR
Editor, A. A., & Editor, B. B. (Eds.). (year of publication). Title of book
(edition). doi:xxxx
OR for Kindle edition of books
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of book (Kindle
ed.). Location: Original Publisher.
Bennett, P. (2006). Abnormal and clinical psychology: an introductory
textbook (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com/
Marlatt, G. A., & Witkiewitz, K. (Eds.). (2009). Addictive behaviors: new
readings on etiology, prevention, and treatment. Retrieved
from http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/psycbooks/index.aspx
Bennett, P. (2006). Abnormal and clinical psychology: an introductory
textbook (Kindle ed.). Maidenhead, England: Open University
Press.

Chapter in a print
book

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of chapter. In A.

Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Location of
publication: Publisher.
Ramsey, J. K., & McGrew, W. C. (2005). Object play in great apes:
studies in nature and captivity. In A. D. Pellegrini & P. K. Smith
(Eds.), The nature of play: great apes and humans (pp. 89-112).
New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Chapter in an
electronic book

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of chapter. In A.

Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Retrieved from
URL
OR
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year of publication). Title of chapter. In A.
Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). doi:xxxx
10

Branch, S., Ramsay, S., & Barker, M. (2008). The bullied boss: a
conceptual exploration of upwards bullying. In A. Glendon, B. M.
Thompson, & B. Myors (Eds.), Advances in organisational
psychology (pp. 93-112). Retrieved from
http://www.informit.com.au/humanities.html

Magazine articles
Type of article

Reference list example

Online

Author, A. A. (year, month of publication). Title of article. Magazine Title,

volume number(issue number), page-page. Retrieved from URL
Novotney, A. (2010, January). Integrated care is nothing new for these
psychologists. Monitor on Psychology, 41(1). Retrieved from
www.apa.org/monitor

Print

Author, A. A. (year, month of publication). Title of article. Magazine Title,

volume number(issue number), page-page.
Wilson, D. S., & Wilson, E. O. (2007, November 3). Survival of the
selfless. NewScientist, 196(2628), 42-46.

Newspaper articles
Type of article

Reference list example

Online

Author, A. A. (year, month date of publication). Title of article.

Newspaper Title. Retrieved from URL
Gadher, D. (2007, September 2). Leap in gambling addiction forecast.
The Sunday Times. Retrieved from http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Print

Author, A. A. (year, month of publication). Title of article. Magazine Title,

volume number(issue number), page-page.
Packham, B. (2010, January 18). Bullies to show concern: schools to try
Euro method that lets thugs off the hook. Herald-Sun. p. 6.

Generic webpage
Notes:

Use n.d. (no date) where no publication date is available.

Where no author is available, transfer the organisation behind the website, or the
title, to the author space.

Type of webpage

Reference list example

Generic webpage

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of work.

Retrieved from URL

Webpage:
association as
author

Australian Psychological Society. (2010). Bushfire resources:

psychological preparedness and recovery. Retrieved from
http://www.psychology.org.au/bushfires/
11

Other resources
Type of resource

Reference list example

Audiovisual (videos,
DVDs, music
recordings)

Producer, A. A. (Producer), & Director, B. B. (Director). (Year of

publication). Title of work [type of material]. Location: Publisher/
Studio/ Label.
Cohen, A., Starbuck, S., Roberts, S., Schreuders, T., & Heron, Z.
(Producers & Directors) (2001). Brain story [videorecording].
U.K.: BBC.

Blog entry and online Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of post [description of form].
discussion boards
Retrieved from http://www.xxxx
and lists
Peele, S. (2010, January 10). The most important psychology article of
the 21st century: the U.S. isn't discovering how mental illness
works, it's spreading it worldwide [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/2010
01/the-most-important-psychology-article-the-21st-century
Conference
Proceedings
(unpublished)

Paper presentation or poster session: Presenter, A. A. (Year, Month).

Title of paper or poster. Paper or poster session presented at the
meeting of Organisation Name, Location.

For published conference Jodell, F., Russell, F., Tepper, K., Todd, P. & Zahora, T. (2009,
proceedings: use book
September). Joined at the hip: partnerships between librarians
chapter format for one-off
and learning skills advisers. Poster session presented at the
publications. Cite regular
International Congress of Medical Librarianship, Brisbane.
publications as per
scholarly journal articles.

Lecture notes

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of notes. Unpublished

manuscript, unit code, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia.
McGrath, B. (2007). Lecture 7: Arrays and matrices [PowerPoint
slides]. Unpublished manuscript, ENG1060, Monash University,
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
McGrath, B. (2007). Lecture 7: Arrays and matrices [PowerPoint
slides]. Retrieved from ENG1060, Monash University Studies
Online: http://muso.monash.edu.au

Podcast / vodcast

Producer, A. A. (Producer). (Year, Month Day). Title of podcast. [Audio

podcast]. Retrieved from http://xxxx
Png, V. & Dharmarajah, J. (Presenters). (2008, October/November).
Effective PowerPoint presentations. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved
from
http://mpa.monash.edu.au/compass_online/podcast-index.html

Technical report

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work (Report No. xxx).

Location: Publisher.
Tayama, T. (2006). Velocity influence on detection and prediction of
changes in color and motion direction (Report No. 38, 1-20).
Sapporo, Japan: Psychology Department, Hokkaido University.
Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community
Services and Indigenous Affairs. (2008). The road home: a
national approach to reducing homelessness. Retrieved from
http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/housing/progserv/homelessness/
whitepaper/Documents/default.htm
12

Thesis

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of thesis or dissertation

(Doctoral dissertation or master's thesis). Retrieved from Name
of database. (Accession or Order no.)
Bozeman, A. Jr. (2007). Age of onset as predictor of cognitive
performance in children with seizure disorders. (Doctoral
dissertation). Retrieved from Proquest Dissertations and
Theses. (UMI 3259752)
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of thesis or dissertation
(Unpublished Doctoral dissertation or master's thesis). Name of
Institution, Location.
Imber, A. (2003). Applicant reactions to graduate recruitment and
selection. (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation.) Monash
University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Adapted for Tabor Adelaide by permission of Monash University Library

http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/tutorials/citing/apa.html

13

Sample of In-text Citations and Reference List

Teachers need to understand the theory behind their subject area in order to
interpret curriculum documents appropriately. For example, an understanding of Four
Resources Model, developed by Luke and Freebody (1999), can help a teacher to
interpret the Australian Curriculum: English (ACARA, n.d.) which is based on a similar
but different model of Language, Literature and Literacy. Furthermore, familiarity with
the developmental phases commonly experienced by children learning to read and write
will provide greater depth and suitably targeted planning for particular groups of children.
As stated by the authors of First Steps Second Edition, [it] is only one part of an explicit
and cohesive approach to improving literacy learning. It can be implemented in the
company of other programs, and alongside a variety of resources and personal ideas
(Annandale et al., 2003, pp. 3-4).

Note that References begin on

a new page.

14

References
ACARA Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). The
Australian curriculum: English. Retrieved on 16th January 2012 from
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/
Annandale, K., Bindon, R., Handley, K., Johnston, A., Lockett, L., & Lynch, P. (2003).
Linking assessment, teaching and learning (2nd ed.). Port Melbourne: Rigby
Heinemann.
Luke, A. & Freebody, P. (1999). A map of possible practices: further notes on the four
resources model. Practically Primary,4(2).

15