Updated July 2016

APA STYLE GUIDE

BCIT Library Services
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 APA Style Guide | 3

When writing a research paper, it is important to cite any sources that you have
consulted in your research. Acknowledge any ideas, information or arguments
of others, whether they are directly quoted, paraphrased or summarized. Citing
sources gives credit to authors for the works you used, provides evidence to make
your argument strong and enables the reader to check your sources. Failure to do so
may be construed as plagiarism. Plagiarism is the presentation of the ideas of others
as one’s own and is a serious academic offence.

Citation information must appear in two places.

„„ First, it must appear in the text of your paper at the point where the borrowed fact or idea appears. These are
known as in-text citations.
„„ Secondly, you are required to include a complete list of sources at the end of the paper. These will appear in
your reference list.

Overview of in-text citations

For in-text citations in APA, provide at least the author’s name and the year of publication. For direct quotations
and some paraphrases, give a page number as well. For online sources without page numbers, indicate the
paragraph number. Use the abbreviation para.

Short quotations

Incorporate quotations that are fewer than 40 words in the text of your paper. Enclose the quotation in quotation
marks.

Frisch (2008) has stated that “teams should continue to reframe their options in ways that preserve their original

intent, be it a higher return on net assets or greater growth” (p. 126).

Long quotations

Quotations that are longer than 40 words should be displayed in a freestanding double-spaced block of text without
quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented five to seven spaces from the left margin.

Frisch (2008) stated the following:

Teams should continue to reframe their options in ways that preserve their original intent, be it a

higher return on net assets or greater growth. When they feel the impulse to shoehorn decisions into

an either/or framework, they should step back and generate a broader range of options (p. 126).

Based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed.
For more detailed and up-to-date information, refer to the online guide at http://libguides.bcit.ca/apa
4 | British Columbia Institute of Technology

Indirect quotations

You should always try to access the original source of quotations. When this is not possible, use “as cited in” to
identify the source you accessed that contains the quotation.

Certainly there is a perception, as described by one employee (Evans & Bartolome, 1980), that the “price one has
to pay [to be company president] is too high. I’ve seen those guys on the sixth floor, and the stress that they are
under. God help them.” (as cited in Handy, 1999, p. 251).

Note 1: In the above example, the writer accessed the quote from Handy, although the original source was Evans
and Bartolome.

Note 2: The information provided in square brackets ‘[ ]’ in the above example is added by the writer to give
clarification of what the quotation is about. In other cases, a word or phrase might be inserted to make the
sentence grammatical. This should be done sparingly, and in all cases the meaning of the original should remain.

Note 3: Handy would be cited in the Reference List.

Paraphrases

Paraphrasing   –  putting someone else’s ideas into your own words   –  is an important writing tool. In APA, the in-
text citation format is the same as with quotations except that the page number is not required. When paraphrasing,
be sure to reword the original as much as you can. Paraphrasing that is too close to the original might be
considered plagiarism. Below is an example of an effective and of an ineffective paraphrase.

Original excerpt: When decision failures occur, many executives focus on the issues involved, and they seek to
identify the mistaken judgements and flawed assumptions that they made. However, many leaders do not push
further to investigate why they made these errors.
Source: Roberto, M. A. (2013). Why great leaders don’t take yes for an answer: Managing for conflict and consensus
(2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River: FT Press.

Incomplete paraphrase: When decision errors happen, plenty of executives look at the issues, and they try to
identify the mistaken judgements and assumptions that they made. However, many do not go deeper to investigate
why they made these mistakes (Roberto, 2013).

Note: The above example might be considered plagiarism, as it retains too much of the original’s words and
structure.

Complete paraphrase: Roberto (2013) has argued that business leaders frequently avoid analysis of the ultimate
causes of bad decision-making, and are instead too often satisfied with an understanding of proximate factors.

Overview of reference list

The reference list should be on a separate page at the end of the paper. This sheet will be called References
(or Reference if there is only one citation.) Do not bold, underline or use quotation marks around the heading,
References. APA recommends using 12 pt. Times New Roman font. All entries must be double-spaced. The first
line of each reference is set flush left and subsequent lines are indented. List references in alphabetical order by
the author’s name or by title if there is no author. Italicize book and journal titles. Include all of the information
needed to identify and retrieve the source. For the titles of books, articles, and chapters, capitalize only the first
letter of the title and the subtitle. Always capitalize proper nouns and journal titles.
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A Note on Electronic Sources

For electronic resources, the 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual (2010) suggests using the DOI in reference
list citations. When this is not possible, APA suggests writers should add a retrieval note that includes the following
(in order of preference):

„„ the homepage URL for the journal, or for the eBook publisher.

Articles

Journal articles from the Library’s online databases usually list a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). You should include
this information at the end of a citation. (The reader can enter the DOI in the search box at crossref.org to get
article information.) The DOI is usually shown prominently in detailed records.

No DOI? For articles retrieved from a library database, create a retrieval note with one of the following:

„„ The URL of the journal homepage. To find the journal’s homepage URL, identify the publisher in the detailed
record or copyright page of the article, and do a web search.

Journal article with one author

In-text citation ... although observers such as Percival (2011) have questioned this model.

OR: One researcher (Percival, 2011) questions the symbiosis model ...
Reference list Percival, J. (2011). Music radio and the record industry: Songs, sounds, and power.

Popular Music & Society, 34(4), 455-473. doi:10.1080/03007766.2011.601598

Note: Italicize the volume number. Include the issue number if each issue starts with page 1 but do not italicize
the issue.
Journal article with one author (print)
In-text citation ... another method for carbon estimation (Giarma, 2011).

OR: The method proposed by Giarma (2011) ...

Reference list Giarma, C. (2011). Estimation of carbonization method based on hygrothermal

calculations. ACI Materials Journal, 108(2), 209-218.

Journal article with two authors
In-text citation Carder and Gunter (2001) found that dissatisfied customers …

OR: … in their letters to American companies (Carder & Gunter, 2001).

Reference list Carder, S., & Gunter, L. (2001). Can you hear me? Corporate America’s

communication with dissatisfied customers. Journal of American and Comparative

Cultures, 24(3/4), 109-112. doi:10.1111/j.1537-4726.2001.2403_109.x

6 | British Columbia Institute of Technology

Journal article with two authors (no DOI)

In-text citation ... these fractures can go undetected in imaging reports (Piper & DeGraauw, 2012).

OR: According to Piper and DeGraauw (2012), lower back injuries in young athletes...
Reference list Piper, S., & DeGraauw, C. (2012). A 14-year-old competitive, high-level athlete with

unilateral low back pain: Case report. Journal Of The Canadian Chiropractic

Association, 56(4), 283-291. Retrieved from http://www.jcca-online.org

Journal article with three to five authors (no DOI)
In-text citation Johnson, Christensen, and Kagermann (2008) concluded that …

OR: … several business models (Johnson, Christensen, & Kagermann, 2008).

Note: If an article has three to five authors, you will mention all the authors the first time only. Then, you will refer
to the authors as [first author] et al. every other time you cite the article. After the first citation, the article above
would appear for subsequent in-text citations as Johnson et al. (2008). (Yes, the period after “al” is supposed to
be there.) If a journal article has six or more authors, include only the first author’s name followed by et al. and
the year for in-text citation.
Reference list Johnson, M. W., Christensen, C. M., & Kagermann, H. (2008). Reinventing your

business model. Harvard Business Review, 86(12), 50-59. Retrieved from

http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org
Journal article with six or more authors
In-text citation Few et al. (2016, p. 46) concluded that ...
Reference list Few, L. R., Miller, J. D., Grant, J. D., Maples, J., Trull, T. J., Nelson, E. C., ...

& Agrawal, A. (2016). Trait-based assessment of borderline personality

disorder using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory: Phenotypic and genetic support.

Psychological Assessment. 28(1)39-50. doi:10.1037/pas0000142

Note: In the Reference List, include all authors names up to 6. For 7 or more authors include the first 6, then use
3 ellipses, followed by an ampersand sign and then the last author's name.
Journal article with organization as its author (no DOI)
Note: When there is no author specifically listed, there is usually an organization responsible for the content;
in these cases, treat the organization as the author, as with this example. Dictionary and encyclopedia entries,
as well as unattributed web content (e.g., wiki entries), are the most common examples of works with truly no
author. See ‘Miscellaneous Web Sources’ for examples.
In-text citation Physicians identify six different kinds of heart attacks (Harvard Medical School, 2013).

OR: Harvard Medical School (2013) notes the growing importance of troponin levels in
diagnosing and even predicting heart attacks.
Reference list Harvard Medical School. (2013). Our concept of heart attack is changing. Harvard

Heart Letter. 23(6). Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/

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Newspaper article (no DOI)

In-text citation As Zacharkiw (2015) notes, Canadians “seem to be finally getting off the ‘red wine or
nothing kick’” (para. 10).
Reference list Zacharkiw, B. (2015, March 3). By the numbers: Quebecers top wine drinkers in

Canada. The Gazette. Retrieved from http://www.montrealgazette.com

Note: For articles in large commercial websites such as newspapers, direct links can be subject to change and a
fee may be required for access to the specific article. It is therefore recommended that the link to the homepage
of the resource be used instead of the direct link, as in the example above.

Books and Ebooks

Book with one author

In-text citation Settle-Murphy (2013) has noted that cultural differences are an important
consideration in project planning.

OR: According to one observer (Settle-Murphy, 2013), virtual meetings differ in

important ways from their face-to-face counterparts.
Reference list Settle-Murphy, N.M. (2013). Leading effective virtual teams. Boca Raton, FL: CRC

Press.
Book with two authors
In-text citation Barkin and DeSombre (2013) have argued for a macroregulatory approach to the
industry.

OR: A global regulator is needed to ensure the survival of the fishing industry (Barkin &
DeSombre, 2013).
Reference list Barkin, J., & DeSombre, E. (2013). Saving global fisheries. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Book with three or more authors
First in-text citation Grant, Trautims, and Wong (2013) have noted that legislation warehouse location …

OR: A recent work (Grant, Trautims, & Wong, 2013) has noted that legislation may
limit choices for warehouse location …
Subsequent in-text Grant et al. (2013) also present these principles in managing warehouse equipment:...
citations
OR: There are specific principles to guide management of warehouse equipment
(Grant et al., 2013).
Note: If a book has three to five authors, you will mention all the authors the first time only. If a book has six or
more authors, include only the first author’s name followed by et al. and the year.
Reference list Grant, D.B., Trautims, A., & Wong, C.Y. (2013). Sustainable logistics and supply chain

management. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page.

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Note: If a book has seven authors or less, spell out all their names in the reference list. If a book has more than
seven authors, spell out the first six, followed by an ellipsis (...), and then the final name listed.
Book with no author
Note: When there is no author specifically listed, there is usually an organization responsible for the content;
in these cases, treat the organization as the author. (See ‘Book with organization as its author’ box below.)
Dictionary and encyclopedia entries, as well as unattributed web content (e.g., wiki entries), are the most
common examples of works with truly no author.
In-text citation One definition (“Entropy,” 2005) concentrates on the communication aspect ...
Reference list Entropy. (2005). In K. Barber (Ed.), The concise Canadian Oxford dictionary.
Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Book with an organization as its author
In-text citation According to Environment Canada (2013), …

OR: … Projects that take place, for example, on the coastal areas of the Great Lakes
“can be technically challenging for their size and complexity” (Environment Canada,
2013, p. 42).
Reference list Environment Canada. (2013). How much habitat is enough? (3rd ed.). Toronto, ON:

Environment Canada.
Book that is not the first edition
In-text citation According to Associations Canada: The Directory of Associations in Canada (2005), …

OR: … seven cricket associations in Canada (Associations Canada, 2005, p. 25).

Reference list Associations Canada: The directory of associations in Canada (26th ed.). (2005).

Toronto, ON: Micromedia ProQuest.

Article or chapter in an edited book
In-text citation Resano and Vanhaecke (2012) discussed other applications of forensic sciences …

OR: Even given the effectiveness of these methods, they “hardly match that attainable
with solution-based methods” (Resano & Vanhaecke, 2012, p. 397).
Reference list Resano, M., & Vanhaecke, F. (2012). Forensic applications. In F. Vanhaecke and

P. Degryse (Eds.), Isotopic analysis (pp. 391-418). Weinheim, Germany:

Wiley-VCH.
Note: In this example, Vanhaecke is both co-editor of the book and co-author of this particular article.
eBook with DOI
In-text citation Kelly and Silverstein (2005) found that ...

OR: ... is typical of great brands (Kelly & Silverstein, 2005).

Reference list Kelly, F., & Silverstein, B. (2005). The breakaway brand: How great brands stand out.

doi:10.1036/0072262370
eBook without DOI (e.g., MyiLibrary, Books 24x7, EBSCOhost)
In-text citation According to Theobald, “the ultimate in short messaging is the modern-day brand”
(2013, p. 73).
Reference list Theobald, T. (2013). On message: Precision communication for the digital age.

Retrieved from http://www.books24x7.com

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Tables and figures

The following examples relate to tables and figures that you reproduce from another source. Note that if you are
intending to publish your paper, a copyright permission note would usually be necessary.

Tables

Journal article
In-text citation Note. Reprinted from “Effect of Water Table Drawdown on Peatland Nutrient
Dynamics: Implications for Climate Change,” by M. Macrae, K. Devito, M. Strack, and
J. Waddington, 2013, Biogeochemistry, 112(1-3), p. 667. Copyright 2013 by Springer.
Reference list Macrae, M., Devito, K., Strack, M., & Waddington, J. (2013). Effect of water table

drawdown on Peatland nutrient dynamics: Implications for climate change.

Biogeochemistry, 112(1-3), 667.

Book
In-text citation Note. Adapted from Sustainability, Energy and Architecture: Case Studies in Realizing
Green Buildings, by A. Sayigh, 2013, p. 350. Copyright 2013 by Academic Press.
Reference list Sayigh, A. (2013). Sustainability, energy and architecture: Case studies in realizing

green buildings. Amsterdam: Academic Press.

Website
In-text citation Note. Adapted from Canadian Nine-year-olds at School, by E. Thomas, 2009,
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-599-m/89-599-m2009006-eng.pdf, p. 12.
Copyright 2009 by Ministry of Industry.
Reference list Thomas, E. (2009). Canadian nine-year olds at school. Retrieved from

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-599-m/89-599-m2009006-eng.htm

Figures

Journal article
In-text citation Figure 2. Components of community adaptive capacity to environmental degradation.
Adapted from “The Capacity to Adapt?: Communities in a Changing Climate,
Environment, and Economy on the Northern Andaman Coast of Thailand,” by N.J.
Bennett, P. Dearden, G. Murray, and A. Kadfak, 2014, Ecology & Society, 19, p. 241.
Copyright 2014 by Resilience Alliance.
Reference list Bennett, N. J., Dearden, P., Murray, G. and Kadfak, A. (2014). The capacity to adapt?:

Communities in a changing climate, environment, and economy on the northern

Andaman coast of Thailand. Ecology & Society, 19(2), 239-259.

10 | British Columbia Institute of Technology

Book

In-text citation Figure 4. Elements of news production. Adapted from Digital Currents: How
Technology and the Public are Shaping News, by R. Bivens, 2014, p. 79. Copyright
2016 by University of Toronto Press.
Reference list Bivens, R. (2014). Digital currents: How Technology and the Public are Shaping News.

Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Website

In-text citation Figure 6. Mean mathematical scores for nine-year-olds from low income families.
Reprinted from Canadian Nine-year-olds at School, by E. Thomas, 2009,
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-599-m/89-599-m2009006-eng.pdf, p. 21.
Copyright 2009 by Ministry of Industry.
Reference list Thomas, E. (2009). Canadian nine-year olds at school. Retrieved from http://www.

statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-599-m/89-599-m2009006-eng.htm

Class materials

Coursepacks and Courseware

Previously published articles and book chapters: To cite sources presented in a coursepack or courseware (e.g.,
D2L), citation would be the same as if you found them yourself. For example, if your D2L course has a link to a
published journal article from a BCIT Library database, you would use the appropriate citation style described in
the electronic database examples.

Original material: If you are citing original (i.e., unpublished) material presented in a coursepack or on a D2L
course site, you should handle it as if it were an anthology compiled by your instructor and published by BCIT.

The information on the cover or title page indicates the title of the compilation   –  probably the course name and
number, as in the examples below.

Unpublished material in a coursepack / courseware; single author

In-text citation … hardware and software are in a state of logical completeness (Malone, 2013).
Reference list Malone, M. (2013). System parameters. In J. Strong (Comp.), BSYS 2061: Business

Data Management. Burnaby, BC: BCIT.

Note: ‘Comp.’ refers to compiler of the course pack or D2L course site  –  probably the instructor unless
otherwise indicated.
Unpublished material in a coursepack / courseware; no author
In-text citation … are regarded as crucial for maintaining system integrity (“System Parameters,”
2013).
Reference list System parameters. (2013). In J. Strong (Comp.), BSYS 2061: Business Data

Management. Burnaby, BC: BCIT.

 APA Style Guide | 11

Class materials available online

In-text citation … as noted by Roychowdhury (2013).
Reference list Roychowdhury, S. (2013). Cash flow analysis [Lecture slides]. MIT OpenCourseWare:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Retrieved from http://ocw.mit.edu/

courses/sloan-school-of-management/15-501-introduction-to- financial-and-

managerial-accounting-spring-2004
Class materials unavailable online
In-text citation … as noted by Smith (personal communication [class lecture], 2016).
Note: These should be treated as personal communications since they could not be accessed by someone
outside the class. The essential components of a personal communication are the initials and the surname of
the ‘author’ (e.g., instructor, materials creator, etc.) and a precise date (if possible). Only cite in-text; there is no
reference list citation.

Government reports and statistics

Fact sheet
In-text citation Ecosystems support the production of biomass (Statistics Canada, 2013).
Reference list Statistics Canada. (2013). Human activity and the environment: Measuring ecosystem

goods and services in Canada. (Catalogue no. 16-201-X). Retrieved from http://

www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/16-201-x/16-201-x2013000-eng.pdf
GALLOPP : Government and Legislative Libraries Online Publications Portal
In-text citation Reimer's 2006 report noted that staff turnover affected the agency's efficacy.
Reference list Reimer, L. (2006). Aboriginal services C4 guardianship practice audit report. Métis

Family Services (IGA). Retrieved from http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/pubdocs/

bcdocs/458611/metis_aboriginal_services_c4_guardianship_practice _audit_

report[1].pdf
Quarterly indicators
In-text citation BCStats (2013) reported a 15% decrease in new housing starts in the final quarter of
2012.
Reference list BCStats. (2013). Key quarterly indicators for the BC economy. Retrieved from

http://bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/KeyIndicators/QuarterlyIndicators.

aspx
Recalls, alerts & advisories
In-text citation Recently, the drug has raised concerns for its effect on bone density (Health Canada,
2013).
Reference list Health Canada. (2013, April 4). Proton pump inhibitors: risk of bone fractures.

Retrieved from http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-

sc/2013/26523a-eng.php
12 | British Columbia Institute of Technology

Industry codes and standards

Code
In-text citation … applies to the building subsurface (BC Office of Housing and Construction
Standards, 2012).
Reference list BC Office of Housing and Construction Standards. (2012). BC Building Code

(Division B, subsection 4.2.2). Retrieved from http://www.bccodes.ca.

Standard in print
In-text citation … the relationship between the backer rod and sealant (ASTM International, 2013).
Reference list ASTM International. (2013). ASTM E2112-07: Standard practice for installation of

exterior windows, doors, and skylights. Annual Book of ASTM Standards (4.12),

(pp 21-108). West Conshohocken, PA: Author.

Note: The author and publisher are the same in this example from a print book.
Standard online
In-text citation ...visible defects such as blisters, pits, cracks or evidence of improper plating (ASTM
International, 2015).
Reference list ASTM International. (2015). ASTM B999-15 Standard Specification for Titanium and

Titanium Alloys: Plating, Electrodeposited Coatings of Titanium and Titanium

Alloys on Conductive and Non-Conductive Substrate. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.

org/10.1520/B0999-15

Legal materials

APA recommends that you use a legal citation style for references to legal materials. In Canada we use the McGill
style which is based on their publication, Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation. (REF KE 259 C34 2014)

Act and laws

In-text citation Protection of the service provider from harassment is a component of the legislation
(Access to Abortion Act, 2014).
Reference list Workers Compensation Act, RSBC 1996, online: BC Laws: Current Consolidated Law

<www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/96492 00/>
Regulation
In-text citation By law, community channels are obliged to broadcast provincial question period
(Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, 1997).
Reference list Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, BC Reg 297/97, online: WorkSafeBC

<www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/OHSRegulation/Part3.asp/>
 APA Style Guide | 13

Miscellaneous web sources

Patent

In-text citation … according to the patent documents (CA 2737321, 2013).

Reference list Lesko, G. (2013). CA 2737321. Retrieved from Canadian Intellectual Property Office

website http://brevets-patents.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/search/basic.html
Note: CA 2737321 is the patent number. Lesko, G. is the owner of the patent, and 2013 is the year the patent
was issued. A patent is a rare case in APA style where the in-text citation and the first piece of information on the
reference list citation are not the same.

Personal communication

On the record: Personal communications are those that your reader would not be able to retrieve independently,
such as email messages, phone conversations, personal interviews and so on. If your source has explicitly agreed
to go on the record (i.e., to be personally identified), the citation is in-text-only.

Personal Communication
In-text citation … although at least one user reported many such software bugs
(T.G. Smith, personal communication, July 7, 2015).
Note: There is no reference list entry.

Research participants: Participants in your research project will not be cited as above because of the
confidentiality agreement that protects them from being identified. See pages 16 –17 of the publication manual
and “Let’s Talk about Research Participants” at http://blog.apastyle.org/ for more information.

Didn’t find what you were looking for in this guide?

„„ Check out the online version of this guide. http://libguides.bcit.ca/apa

„„ Visit, phone or email the Research Help Desk in the library:
T 604.432.8371
E [email protected]
„„ Make an appointment at BCIT’s Writing Centre. (T 604.432.8370 or use the online booking system).
Submit your paper or a question to http://writeaway.ca
„„ Chat online with a Librarian using AskAway.
„„ Consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association in the reference area of the library.
(Call # REF BF 76.7 A46 2010).
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