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Information Evaluation: APA 7th LibGuide

Information and tools for evaluating information for your information need; learning how to identify facts, opinions, and bias in information resources; learning what plagiarism is and how to avoid it!

About APA Style

American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used for citing references in student papers in science, social science and health courses, including criminal justice, psychology, nursing, physical therapy & occupational therapy. The purpose of documentation is to:

  • Identify (cite) other people’s ideas and information used within your essay or term paper
  • Indicate the authors or sources of these in a References list at the end of your paper
How do I avoid committing plagiarism/academic dishonesty?? Check out this guide!

When Do I Need to Cite?

Always cite your sources when you:

  • quote two or more words verbatim, or even one word if it is used in a way that is unique to the source. 
  • introduce facts that you have found in a source. 
  • paraphrase or summarize ideas, interpretations, or conclusions that you find in a source.
  • introduce information that is not common knowledge or that may be considered common knowledge in your field, but the reader may not know it.
  • borrow the plan or structure of a larger section of a source’s argument (for example, using a theory from a source and analyzing the same three case studies that the source uses). 
  • build on another’s method found either in a source or from collaborative work in a lab. 
  • you build on another’s program in writing computer code or on a not-commonly-known algorithm. 
  • collaborate with others in producing knowledge. 

APA In-text Citations & References

In-text Citations and References in APA 7th Edition

*Hanging indent required (not pictured here; ask librarian or instructor how to do this in Google Docs or Word)

Journal or Magazine article A reference for a journal article includes the surnames and initials of the authors ( & before the final author), the year the article was published (in parentheses), the title of the article (only the first word of the title and the first word following a colon are capitalized), the title of the journal (this should be italicized, and the first letters are all capitalized), the volume number (italics), issue number (in parentheses), and the page numbers. If there is a digital object identifier (DOI), you will need to include that link as well.

(Grant & Won, 2007)

Grant, J. E., & Won, K. S. (2007). Clinical characteristics and          psychiatric comorbidity of pyromania. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68(11), 1717-1722. https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.v68n1111
Book A reference for a book includes the surnames and initials of the authors, the year the book was published (in parentheses), the title of the book (italicized & only the first word of the title and the first word following a colon are capitalized), edition, name of the publisher, and DOI if available.

(Balderdash, 1969)

Balderdash, H. Q. (1969). Writing for meaning (2nd ed.). Perfection Press.
A Chapter in an Edited Book, Encyclopedia, or Anthology A reference for each of these includes the surnames and initials of the authors, the year the work was published (in parentheses), the title of the chapter (only the first word of the title and the first word following a colon are capitalized), the initials then surnames of the editors/anthologists followed by (Ed.) or (Eds.), title of the book (italicized & only the first word of the title and the first word following a colon are capitalized), pages of the chapter (in parentheses), name of the publisher, and DOI if available.

(Bakke et al., 2011)

 

Bakke, A. M., Glover, C., & Krogdahl, A. (2011). Feeding, digestion, and absorption of nutrients. In M. Grosell, A. P. Farrell, & C. J. Brauner (Eds.), Fish physiology: The multifunctional gut of fish. (pp. 57-75). Academic Press.
Government Agency and Other Reports Includes the specific agency responsible for the report as the author, the year the report was published (in parentheses), the title of the report (italicized, only the first word of the title and the first word following a colon are capitalized), the parent agency as publisher (if different from the authoring agency), and the direct link to the report.

(Division of Children and Family Services, 2018)

Division of Children and Family Services. (2018). CAN 2018 annual data report. Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. http://dhhs.ne.gov/DCFS%20Data%20and%20Reports/CAN %202018%20Annual%20Data%20Report.pdf
Webpage Includes the author or name of the website providing the content, the date (if no publication date is provided, use (n.d.) to indicate “no date”), the title of the webpage (italicized), the parent website (if different from the author information). When information on the page is updated frequently and earlier versions are not retained, include a retrieval date in the reference to alert your reader that the site might have changed since you visited it. If the content has likely not changed, simply end the reference with the URL.

(U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.)

 

U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). U.S. and world population clock. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved August 6, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/popclock/
Video Includes uploader/poster name, year, month day of upload in parentheses, use n.d. if no date, the title of the video (italicized, only the first word of the title and the first word following a colon are capitalized, followed by the format type in brackets, not italicized), the hosting website, and finally the URL

(Owlkitty, 2021)

 

Owlkitty.(2021, October 31). Jurassic Park but with a cat[Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W85oD8FEF78

 

Health Sciences-specific resources:

 

Entry from StatPearls  A reference for a StatPearls entry includes the surnames and initials of the authors ( & before the final author), the year the article was published (in parentheses), the title of the article (only the first word of the title and the first word following a colon are capitalized),  StatPearls followed by a period (this should be italicized, and the first letters are all capitalized), StatPearls Publishing followed by a period (the first letters are all capitalized), the retrieval date (Retrieved Month, Day, Year from URL)

(Finicke & Randolf, 2023)

 

Finicke, A.F. & Randolf, T. (2023). Single-incision mastectomy. StatPearls.  StatPearls Publishing. Retrieved May 16th, 2023 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/GH723371S/
Entry in UpToDate  A reference for a UpToDate entry includes the surnames and initials of the authors ( & before the final author), the year the article was published (in parentheses), the title of the article (only the first word of the title and the first word following a colon are capitalized),  UpToDate followed by a period (this should be italicized, and the first letters are all capitalized), the retrieval date (Retrieved Month, Day, Year from URL)

(Bordeaux & Lieberman, 2020)

 

Bordeaux, B., & Lieberman, H.R. (2020). Benefits and risks of caffeine and caffeinated beverages. UpToDate. Retrieved February 26th, 2020 from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/benefits-and-risks-of-caffeiene-and-caffeinated-beverages

 

In-Text CItations

Use the author–date citation system to cite references in the text in APA Style. 

The format of the author element of the in-text citation changes depending on the number of authors and is abbreviated in some cases.The following table shows the basic in-text citation styles:

a Define the abbreviation for a group author only once in the text, choosing either the parenthetical or the narrative format. Thereafter, use the abbreviation for all mentions of the group in the text.

(Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed.)

NOTE: Page numbers must also be included in the in-text citation for any direct quotes taken from the source material.  

Examples:

According to Luna (2020), there are "many risks associated with polypharmacy in adults over 65" (p. 304).

Caregivers for older adults "are often responsible for administering multiple prescription medications" (Sales & D'Agostino, 2020, p. 412).

More information from APA about IN-TEXT-CITATIONS 

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