33 APA Referencing

Note: this page is only an introduction to the APA (American Psychological Association) referencing system. For
a comprehensive guide please refer to:

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (5th ed.). Washington DC: APA.

It is very important that you check the assignment guide for your Department or School as some details,
e.g. punctuation, may vary from the guidelines on this page. You may be penalised for not conforming to
your school's requirements.

What is Referencing?

Referencing is a standardised method of acknowledging sources of information and ideas that you have used in
your assignment in a way that uniquely identifies their source. Direct quotations, facts and figures, as well as
ideas and theories, from both published and unpublished works, must be referenced.

There are many acceptable forms of referencing. This information sheet provides a brief guide to the APA
referencing style for in-text citations and for creating the Reference List (examples are below). Within the text of
the assignment the author’s name is given first, followed by the publication date. Include page numbers for direct
quotations and also where it is useful to provide a page number. A reference list at the end of the assignment
contains the full details of all the in-text citations.

Why Reference?

Referencing is necessary to avoid plagiarism, to verify quotations, and to enable readers to follow-up and read
more fully the cited author’s arguments.

Steps Involved in Referencing

1. Note down the full bibliographic details of the source from which the information is taken. Include the relevant
page number(s).

In the case of a book, ‘bibliographical details’ refers to: author/editor, year of publication, title, edition,
volume number, place of publication and publisher as found on the front and back of the title page. (Not
all of these details will necessarily be applicable).

In the case of a journal article the details required include: author of the article, year of publication, title
of the article, title of the journal, volume and issue number of the journal, and page numbers.

For all electronic information, in addition to the above you should note the date that you accessed the
information, and the database name or web address (URL).

2. Insert the citation at the appropriate place within the text of the document (see examples below).

3. Provide a reference list at the end of the document (see examples below).

In-Text Citations

Use the name of the author, followed by the year of publication when citing references within the text of an
assignment. Where authors of different references have the same family name, include the author’s initials in
the in-text citation i.e. (Hamilton, C. L., 1994) or C. L. Hamilton (1994). If two or more authors are cited at the
 same point in the text then they are included in the same in-text citation, separated by a semicolon e.g. (Brown
1991; Smith 2003). They are presented alphabetically by author. When directly quoting from another source,
the relevant page number must be given and double quotation marks placed around the quote. When
paraphrasing or referring to an idea from another source which is a book or lengthy text, include the relevant
page number, as it is useful to provide a page number for the reader.

How to Create a Reference List

A reference list only includes books, articles etc that are cited in the text. In contrast, a bibliography is a list of
relevant sources for background or for further reading.

The reference list is arranged alphabetically by author. Where an item has no author it is cited by its title, and
ordered in the reference list or bibliography alphabetically by the first significant word of the title.

The APA style requires the second and subsequent lines of the reference to be indented, as shown in the
examples below, to highlight the alphabetical order.

2
Examples of referencing:

Books In-Text Example Reference List Example EndNote 9 (which reference type?)

Single author Comfort, A. (1997). A good age. London: Mitchell Beazley. Book
The theory was first propounded in
1993 (Comfort, 1997, p. 58)
OR
Comfort (1997, p. 58) claimed that…

2 authors Madden and Hogan (1997, p.17)…. Madden, R., & Hogan, T. (1997). The definition of disability Book
OR in Australia: Moving towards national consistency.
“… to achieve consistency” (Madden & Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Hogan, 1997, p. 45).

3, 4 or 5 authors Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman, and Guerin, W. L., Labor, E., Morgan, L., Reesman, J. C., & Book
Willingham (2005, p. 6) found … Willingham, J. R. (2005). A handbook of critical
Cite all authors the first time the approaches to literature. New York: Oxford University
reference occurs. Press.

Guerin et al. (2005, p. 6) found …

In subsequent citations, include
only the surname of the first author
followed by et al. (not italicized and
with a fullstop after “al”) and the
year.

6 or more (Rodgers et al., 1996, p. 35) Rodgers, P., Smith, K., Williams, D., Conway, L., Robinson, Book
authors W., Franks, F., et al. (2002). The way forward for
Australian libraries. Perth: Wombat Press.

No author (Employment the Professional Way, Employment the professional way: A guide to Book
2000) understanding the Australian job search process for
OR professionally qualified migrants. (2000). Carlton,
the book Employment the Professional Victoria: Australian Multicultural Foundation.
Way (2000)

3 Semester 1 2006
Multiple works by University research (Brown, 1982, Brown, P. (1982). Corals in the Capricorn group. Book
same author 1988) has indicated that… Rockhampton: Central Queensland University.

Brown, P. (1988). The effects of anchor on corals.

Rockhampton: Central Queensland University.

Order chronologically in the reference list.

Multiple works In recent reports (Napier, 1993a, Napier, A. (1993a). Fatal storm. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Book
published in the 1993b)…
same year by the Napier, A. (1993b). Survival at sea. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
same author
Use a/b etc. to differentiate between
works in same year. Order alphabetically by title in the reference list.

Editor (Kastenbaum, 1993, p. 51) Kastenbaum, R. (Ed.). (1993). Encyclopedia of adult Edited Book
development. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

Different Editions (Renton, 2004, p. 51) Renton, N. (2004). Compendium of good writing (3rd ed.). Book
Milton: John Wiley & Sons.

An edition number is placed after the title of the work -

this is not necessary for a first edition.

Encyclopedia or The new Grove dictionary of music and Sadie, S. (Ed.). (1980). The new Grove dictionary of music Edited Book
Dictionary musicians (1980, p.85) defined it as… and musicians (6th ed., Vols. 1-20). London:
Macmillan.

Article or chapter As discussed by Blaxter (1976)… Blaxter, M. (1976). Social class and health inequalities. In Book Section
in a book C. Carter & J. Peel (Eds.), Equalities and inequalities
in health (pp. 120-135). London: Academic Press.

Article or chapter (“Solving the Y2K Problem,” 1997) Solving the Y2K problem. (1997). In D. Bowd (Ed.), Book Section
in a book – no Technology today and tomorrow (p. 27). New York:
author Van Nostrand Reinhold.
.

4 Semester 1 2006
Brochure (Research and Training Centre, 1993, Research and Training Centre on Independent Living. Book
p. 2) (1993). Guidelines for reporting and writing about
people with disabilities (4th ed.) [Brochure]. Lawrence, (put Author in Publisher)
KS: Author.
You will need to manually type
The word ‘Author’ is used as the publisher when the [Brochure] after the title.
author and publisher are the same.

E-book (Pettinger, 2002, p. 45) Pettinger, R. (2002). Global organizations. Oxford: Electronic Book
Capstone Publishing. Retrieved September 28, 2004,
from NetLibrary database. (put September 28, 2004 in the Date
Accessed field, NetLibrary in Name of
Database.)

Thesis (Jones, 1998, p. 89) Jones, F. (1998). The mechanism of Bayer residue Thesis
flocculation. PhD Thesis. Curtin University of
Technology. Retrieved December 21, 2005, from (put PhD Thesis in Thesis Type,
Curtin University of Technology Digital Theses. December 21, 2005 in Access Date,
Curtin University of Technology Digital
Theses in URL.)

Conference (Cutler, Frolich, & Hanrahan, 1997) Cutler, L. D., Frolich, B., & Hanrahan, P. (1997, January Conference Proceeding
Proceeding OR 16). Two-handed direct manipulation on the
As discussed by Cutler, Frolich and responsive workbench. Paper presented at the 1997 (put 1997, January 16 in Year of
Hanrahan (1997) Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics, Stanford, CA. Conference, Two-handed direct
Retrieved June 12, 2000, from ProQuest 5000 manipulation on the responsive
database. workbench in Title, 1997 Symposium
on Interactive 3D Graphics in
Conference Name, Stanford, CA in
Conference Location, June 12, 2000
in Access Date, ProQuest 5000 in
Name of Database.)

Image in a book The poster “The 3 dark years” (Sexton, Sexton, M. (2005). The great crash: The short life and Book
2005, p. 184) sudden death of the Whitlam government. Melbourne:
Scribe Publications.

5 Semester 1 2006
Print Journals In-Text Example Reference List Example EndNote 9 (which reference type?)

Article As mentioned by Wharton (1996)… Wharton, N. (1996). Health and safety in outdoor activity Journal Article
OR centres. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor
“… when abseiling” (Wharton, 1996, p. Leadership, 12(4), 8-9.
8).

Article – no It’s a growing problem in the U.K. Anorexia nervosa. (1969). British Medical Journal, 1, 529- Journal Article
author (“Anorexia Nervosa,” 1969)… 530.

Newspaper (Towers, 2000) Towers, K. (2000, January 18). Doctor not at fault: Newspaper Article
article Coroner. The Australian, p. 3.

Newspaper (“Rate Rise,” 2005) Rate rise scares new home buyers away. (2005, April 29). Newspaper Article
article – no Sydney Morning Herald, p. 35.
author
Press release (Watersmith, 2000) Watersmith, C. (2000, March 1). BHP enters new era, Report
[Press release]. Melbourne: BHP Limited.
(put 2000, March 1 in the Year field,
Press release in Report Number,
BHP Limited in Institution.)

Electronic In-Text Example Reference List Example EndNote 9 (which reference type?)
Journals
Full text from an (Madden, 2002) Madden, G. (2002). Internet economics and policy: an Journal Article
electronic OR Australian perspective. Economic Record, 78, 343-58.
database As Madden (2002) states… Retrieved October 16, 2002, from ABI/INFORM Global
database.

Full text from an The Internet has had a huge impact on Internet economics and policy: an Australian perspective. Journal Article
electronic the Australian economy (“Internet (2002). Economic Record, 78, 343-58. Retrieved
database – no Economics”, 2002)… October 16, 2002, from ABI/INFORM Global
author database.

6 Semester 1 2006
Full text (“WA Packed,” 2004)
WA packed with overseas appeal. (2004, November 12). Newspaper Article
newspaper, The West Australian, p. 47. Retrieved November 13,
newswire or (put November 13, 2004 in the Access
2004, from Factiva database.
magazine from Date field, Factiva in Name of
an electronic Database.)
database – no
author

Full text from (Sopensky, 2002) Sopensky, E. (2002). Ice rink becomes hot business. Austin Electronic Article
Internet Business Journal. Retrieved October 16, 2002, from
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2002/10/14/ (put October 16, 2002 in the Date
smallb1.html Accessed field,
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stori
es/2002/10/14/smallb1.html in
Database.)

Article from (Davidhizar & Dowd, 1997) Davidhizar, R., & Dowd, S. B. (1997). The art of giving an Journal Article
Curtin E-Reserve effective presentation. Health Care Supervisor, 15(3),
25-31. Retrieved October 16, 2002, from Curtin (put October 16, 2002 in the Access
University of Technology Library & Information Service Date field, Curtin University of
E-Reserve. Technology Library & Information
Service E-Reserve in Database.)

Article from a (La Rosa, 1992)

La Rosa, S. M. (1992). Marketing slays the downsizing Journal Article
database in CD- dragon. Information Today, 9(3), 58-59. Retrieved
ROM format October 16, 2002, from UMI Business Periodicals (put October 16, 2002 in the Access
(BPO) Date field, UMI Business Periodicals
Ondisc database.
Ondisc in Name of Database.)
World Wide In-Text Example Reference List Example EndNote 9 (which reference type?)
Web

Document on “It’s essential you learn how to Dawson, J., Smith, L., Deubert, K., & Grey-Smith, S.
Electronic Source
WWW reference” (Dawson, Smith, Deubert & (2002). ‘S’ Trek 6: Referencing, not plagiarism.
Grey-Smith, 2002). Retrieved October 31, 2002, from (use Access Date & URL fields for
http://studytrekk.lis.curtin.edu.au/ retrieved statement)

7 Semester 1 2006
Document on (Leafy Seadragons, 2001) Leafy seadragons and weedy seadragons. (2001). Electronic Source
WWW – No Retrieved November 13, 2002, from
author http://www.windspeed.net.au/~jenny/seadragons/ (use Access Date & URL fields for
retrieved statement)

Document on (Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Institute of British Architects (n.d.). Shaping the Electronic Source
WWW – No date n.d.) future: Careers in architecture. Retrieved May 31,
2005, from http://www.careersinarchitecture.net/ (put Royal Institute of British Architects
in the Author field, n.d. inYear, use
Access Date & URL fields for retrieved
statement

Image on the The image of the wasp (Wasps, Wasps, hornets and yellowjackets [Image] (n.d.). Electronic Source
web hornets and yellowjackets, n.d.) Retrieved November 28, 2005, from
http://www.laters.com/insects/hornets.htm Type [Image] manually after the
title.

Government In-Text Example Reference List Example EndNote 9 (which reference type?)
Publications
Acts of Enter in-text citation manually
The Commonwealth’s Copyright Act Legislation is included in a list of references only if it is
Parliament 1974….. important to an understanding of the work. Set the list
apart from the main body of the reference under the
(In future references, omit date) subheading 'Legislation'. Essential elements: Short Title
of Act Year (Jurisdiction) eg.

Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth)

If legislation is obtained from an electronic database,

add a retrieved statement as for electronic journal
articles.
Case (The State of New South Wales v. The
The State of New South Wales v. The Commonwealth Case
Commonwealth, 1915)
(1915) 20 CLR 5.
(put 20 CLR 5 in the Abbreviated Case
Name field)

You will need to edit the in-text citation

for it to appear correctly

8 Semester 1 2006
Australian (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999) Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1999). Disability, ageing Report
Bureau of and carers: Summary of findings (No. 4430.0).
Statistics Bulletin Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Author. (put No. 4430.0 in the Accession
Number field, Author in Institution.)
The word ‘Author’ is used as the publisher when the
author and publisher are the same.

Australian (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999) Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1999). Disability, ageing Report
Bureau of and carers: Summary of findings (No.4430.0).
Statistics from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Author. (put No. 4430.0 in the Accession
AusStats Retrieved October 14, 2002, from AusStats database. Number field, October 14, 2002 in
Access Date, AusStats in Name of
Database)

Census (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001) Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2001). Census of Report
Information population and housing: B01 selected characteristics
(First release processing) postal area 6050. Retrieved (use Access Date & Name of
November 20, 2002, from AusStats database. Database fields for retrieved
statement)

Government (Resource Assessment Commission,

Resource Assessment Commission. (1991). Forest and Report
Report 1991) timber enquiry: Draft report (No. 1). Canberra:
Australian Government Publishing Service. (put No. 1 in the Accession Number
field, Australian Government
Publishing Service in Institution)

Patent U.S. Patent No. 4554399 (1985)

Cookson, A. H. (1985). Particle trap for compressed gas Patent
insulated transmission system. U.S. Patent 4554399.
(put Cookson, A. H. in Inventor, U.S.
Patent 4554399 in Patent Number)
Standard (Standards Australia, 1997) Standards Australia. (1997). Size coding scheme for
Report
infants' and children's clothing - Underwear and
outerwear (AS 1182-1997). Retrieved January 10, (put AS 1182-1997 in the Accession
2006, from Standards Australia Online database. Number field, January 10, 2006 in
Access Date, Standards Australia
Online in Name of Database.

9 Semester 1 2006
Secondary In Text Examples Reference List Examples EndNote 9 (which reference type?)
Sources
Book … including neuralgia (Carini and Thibodeau, G. A. & Patton, K. T. (Eds.). (2002).The human Book
Hogan, as cited in Thibodeau & Patton, body in health and disease. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby.
2002, p. 45) Carini and Hogan will need to be
OR Record the book that you actually sourced. added manually in the in-text
Carini and Hogan’s study (as cited in citation.
Thibodeau & Patton, 2002, p. 45)

Journal article Carini and Hogan’s study (as cited in Patton, K. T. (2002). Neuralgia and headaches. Science, Journal Article
Patton, 2002) 400, 2153-55.
OR Carini and Hogan will need to be
“… origins of neuralgia” (Carini and Record the journal that you actually sourced added manually in the in-text
Hogan, as cited in Patton, 2002, p. citation.
2154)

Other Sources In-Text Example Reference List Example EndNote 9 (which reference type?)

Personal It was confirmed that an outbreak Not included in reference list as they cannot be traced Enter in-text citation manually.
communication, occurred in London (S. Savieri, by the reader.
e-mail and personal communication, April 24,
discussion lists 1999).
with no web
archive

Films and (Scorsese & Lonergan, 2000) Scorsese, M. (Producer), & Lonergan, K. (Writer/Director). Film or Broadcast
videorecordings (2000). You can count on me [Motion picture]. United
States: Paramount Pictures. (put Scorsese, M and Lonergan, K in
the Director field, Writer/Director in
Alternate Title, Motion picture in
Medium, United States in Country,
Paramount Pictures in Distributor)
You will need to edit the citation in
your Word document to add
(Producer)

10 Semester 1 2006
Television and (Crystal, 1993) Crystal, L. (Executive Producer). (1993, October 11). The Film or Broadcast
radio MacNeil/Lehrer news hour [Television broadcast].
programmes New York and Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting (put Crystal, L. in the Director field,
Service. Executive Producer in Alternate Title,
October 11 in Date Released,
Television broadcast in Medium, New
York and Washington DC in Country,
Public Broadcasting Service in
Distributor)

Podcast (Seega & Swan, 2005) Seega, B. (Producer) & Swan, N. (Presenter). (2005, Film or Broadcast
November 28). Adult ADHD [Podcast radio
programme]. Sydney: ABC Radio National. Retrieved (put the producer and presenters’
November 29, 2005, from names in Director, 2005, November 28
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/ in Year, Sydney in Country, ABC
Radio National in Distributor, Podcast
radio programme in Medium,
Presenter in Alternative Title,
November 29, 2005 in Access Date,
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helt
hrpt/ in URL.

You will need to edit the citation in

your Word document to add
(Producer)

Computer (Miller, 1993)

Miller, M. E. (1993). The interactive tester (Version 4.0) Computer Program
Software [Computer software]. Westminster, CA: Psytek
Services. (put Miller, M. E. in Programmer, 4.0 in
Version, Computer software in Type)

ERIC document Davis and Lombardi (1996) put forward

Davis, R. K., & Lombardi, T. P. (1996). The quality of life of Generic
(microfiche) the proposal that… rural high school special education graduates. In Rural
goals 2000: Building programs that work [Microfiche]. (put Rural goals 2000: Building
(ERIC Document No. ED394765). programs that work in Secondary Title,
Microfiche in the Type of Work field,
ERIC Document No. ED394765 in
Publisher)

11 Semester 1 2006
E-mail discussion (Little, 2002)
Little, L. (2002, April 16). Two new policy briefs. Message Electronic Source
list – web archive posted to ECPOLICY electronic mailing list, archived
at http://www.askeric.org/ Virtual (put 2002, April 16 in the Year field,
Listserv_Archives/ECPOLICY/2002/Apr_2002/Msg000 Message posted to ECPOLICY
03.html electronic mailing list, archived at
http://www.askeric.org/VirtualListserv_
Archives/ECPOLICY/2002/Apr_2002/
Msg00003.html in Access Year.)

It is very important that you check the assignment guide for your Department or School as some details, e.g. punctuation, may vary from the guidelines on
this page. You may be penalised for not conforming to your school's requirements

12 Semester 1 2006