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Social Work: APA 7th LibGuide

A guide to online research for MSW students at Utica University's Frank E. Gannett Memorial Library

Formatting References in APA 7

Is my source reliable and credible?

Ask yourself:

  • Is the resource written in a clear, well-organized, and professional manner? Are words, phrases, and concepts specific to the author's field used, and are they used correctly?
  • Has the creator of the resource generated other writings and publications on the same or related topics? 
  • Does the creator have degrees or credentials associated with the topic they have written on?
  • Is the creator of this resource open about potential conflicts of interest, like funding sources or their membership in an organization with an interest in the topic? (Are they writing about the sustainability of gasoline without disclosing their research was funded by Chevron?)
  • Does the creator make their research methodology and sources available, or are they missing or very difficult to find?
  • Who published the paper? Visit the website of the journal and look at their About page for mentions of a peer review or other vetting process for ensuring high quality in their publications

Though we mainly access journal and magazine articles electronically, we cite them using information that refers to their printed format. That is why we include information about the specific volume and issue of a journal or magazine an article was published in. 

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

 

When you need to cite a book with one or two authors who are responsible for the whole contents of that book, use this citation format. 

 

 

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.

 

Edited books may have one or more editors who work with several authors to construct a text based around a theme or topic chosen by the editor(s). In this type of citation you give credit to the editors of the book and also to the authors of the specific chapter you are referencing.

Pictured below is part of the table of contents of an edited book showing different authors for each included chapter.

Similarly, encyclopedias and anthologies are single texts containing works from many different authors, so both the text as a whole and the individual section within the whole must be cited. 


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 are a part of research literature known as 'gray literature'. This type of resource includes reports issued by governmental or other agencies on a regular (often annual) schedule, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, or reports conducted and released on a topic of developing concern, like the COVID-19 updates from the CDC that were published as new information became available.

 

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

 

Use this format when citing a page from a website, such as a particular page on a professional organization's site (AACN, APTA, AOTA, etc), or a company website (Target, Wells Fargo, Barnes & Noble). IMPORTANT: Make sure the page you're citing isn't just hosting material that was published elsewhere, like the articles found on PubMed that were originally published in scholarly journals. 

 

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.

("Advocate in Chief", n.d.)

 

Advocate in chief - Kimberly Hill '94. (n.d.). Utica University. https://www.utica.edu/college-community/utica-stories/advocate-chief-kimberly-hill-94

 

Use this format to cite a video found anywhere on the Internet. 

 

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

 

Just like the other articles that are hosted on PubMed but were originally published in a scholarly journal, encyclopedia-like entries on topics across nursing and medicine are written for StatPearls by individual authors. When writing a reference for this material, you will cite Statpearls as the source.

 

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/

 

UpToDate is an informational tool used by nurses and other health professionals for medical information on the fly, including potential medication interactions and comorbidities.

 

 

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

 

 

References help your readers locate your sources out in the world. In-text citations help readers find the source on your references page. 

 

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 or type of authors. 

 

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:

Narrative citation:

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

Parenthetical citation:

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

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

 

Citing the sources you used to create a paper, presentation, or some other product in a clear, consistent way:

  • Allows the professionals who worked to create those sources to receive credit for their labor
  • Demonstrates integrity in your research process, as you are not concealing where you got your information
  • Benefits other researchers who may use your reference list as a 'shopping list' for finding more resources on a topic of (you can do the same when researching!)

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. 

Hanging Indent:

  • A hanging indent is a necessary part of an APA formatted references page. 
  • Do an Internet search for how to impose the hanging indent in whichever word processor you use (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc)
  • Ask your instructor, a librarian, or a classmate to help you

 

Titles:

  • The title of the resource you are citing is ALWAYS in SENTENCE CASE. 
    • Exceptions: Leave acronyms and proper nouns in titles capitalized 
    • Book titles and the title of a government or other agency report are in sentence case AND italicized

Example:

Garcia-Dominic, O., Lengerich, E. J., Wray, L. A., Parrott, R., Aumiller, B., Kluhsman, B., Renderos, C., & Dignan, M. (2012). Barriers to CRC screening among Latino adults in Pennsylvania: ACCN results. American Journal of Health Behavior, 36(2), 153–167. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.36.2.2

 

Repositories:

  • Repositories of data and resources are not mentioned in the reference. 
    • When you find an article in a database, you cite the journal the article was published in, not the database where you found it. 
    • When you find an article on PubMed, you cite the journal the article was published in, not the website where you found it. 

 

DOI or URL?

  • The majority of academic/scholarly articles are assigned DOIs: Direct Object Identifiers that act like a unique barcode for that article, so anyone with the DOI can get to the referenced article.
  • If there is not a DOI to put in your reference, use nothing. Using the URL at the top of your browser while looking at the article in a database will ask readers for Utica login credentials, preventing them from viewing the resource 
  • A URL included in a reference MUST lead to the resource being referenced.