Research Guides: APA 7th edition: References

What are References?

References are on a separate page and it has a complete list of sources you have used in your paper/essay with each entry containing:

WHO is responsible for creating the information,
WHEN the information was created,
WHAT it is (title(s), subtitle, edition, etc.),
WHERE it can be found.

References are double-spaced, each entry is formatted with a hanging indent, and the complete list is alphabetized by the first word of each entry. For more information on formatting, go to the Document Formatting page.

There are standards for how to write each part of a reference (who, when, what, where). The section below provides general rules for each of these and What goes where provides format examples of common sources.

Personal Communication

With the exception of conversations with Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, do not include references for personal communication.

What goes where in APA References

Books, ebooks, Encyclopedias, etc.

Entire book or ebook:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of book: Subtitle of book. Publisher.

Author, A. A. (year). Title of ebook: Subtitle of ebook.

Editor, A. A. (Ed,). (year). Title of book: Subtitle of book (xx ed., Vol. xx). Publisher. https://doi.org/XXX

Chapter in a book/ebook or article in encyclopedia:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year). Title of chapter or article. Title of book: Subtitle of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Publisher.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year). Title of chapter or article. Title of ebook: Subtitle of ebook (pp. xxx-xxx).

Chapter in an edited book/ebook or article in an encyclopedia:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year). Title of chapter or article. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of book: Subtitle of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Publisher.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year). Title of chapter or article. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of ebook: Subtitle of ebook (pp. xxx-xxx).

No author:

Title of chapter or article. (year). In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of book: Subtitle of book (xx ed., Vol. xx, pp. xxx-xxx). Publisher.

Title of chapter or article. (year). In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of ebook: Subtitle of ebook (xx ed., Vol. xx, pp. xxx-xxx).

Indigenous Elder or Knowledge Keeper:

Last name, First initial., Nation/Community. Treaty Territory if applicable. City/Community they live in if applicable. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. personal communication. Month Date, Year.

Note: This is an internally developed reference template.

Articles

Journal article:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), page numbers. https://doi.org/XXX

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), page numbers.

Magazine article:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year, Month). Title of article. Title of Magazine, volume(issue), page numbers. https://www.xxxx

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year, Month). Title of article. Title of Magazine, volume(issue), page numbers.

Newspaper article:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year, Month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, pp. xx-xx. https://www.xxxx

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year, Month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, pp. xx-xx.

No author:

Title of article. (year, Month day). Title of Newspaper, pp. xx-xx. https://www.xxxx

Websites

Group author:

Name of group. (year). Title of webpage. Site Name. https://www.xxxx

Group author same as site name:

Name of group. (year). Title of webpage. https://www.xxxx

Government author:

Department or Ministry Name. (Year, Month). Title of webpage. Name of government agency. https://www.xxxx

Blog post:

Author, A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Name of website. https://www.xxxx

Images

Image from a website:

Creator, A. A. (Contribution). (year). Title of figure [Image type]. Title of website. https://www.xxxx

No creator, no date, no title:

[Description of image]. (n.d.). [Image type]. Site name. https://www.xxxx

Same author, same date

Use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year:

Alberta Health Services. (2020a). Title of source 1 in italics. https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/xxx

Alberta Health Services. (2020b). Title of source 2 in italics. https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/xxx

Alberta Health Services. (2020c). Title of source 3 in italics. https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/xxx

In-text:

According to Alberta Health Services (2020c) ..... (para. 2). We also know that community support is integral to project success (Alberta Health Services, 2020a).

Same author, different years

Order by publication year, with the earliest year first.

Yeon, S. H. (2019).

Yeon, S. H. (2021).

For multiple authors, organize alphabetically by the second author's last name.

Yeon, S. H. (2019).

Yeon, S. H., & Herr, H. M. (2022).

Yeon, S., Kim, D., Ryou, G., & Sim, Y. (2017).

What to do if you are missing information?

The APA provides the following guidance: Missing Reference Information

Referencing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers

NorQuest Library has noted that the formal APA style does not have a format to acknowledge Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers as a reference. In the spirit of wahkôhtowin and reconciliation, NorQuest College Library continues to follow templates created by Lorisia MacLeod and NorQuest College Indigenous Student Centre staff that meet this need.

How to cite Indigenous Elders & Knowledge Keepers

Unlike other personal communications, Elders and Knowledge Keepers are cited in-text and in the reference list. The in-text citation should follow the same guidelines noted for a paraphrase or direct quote:

Format:

Name of Elder/Knowledge Keeper with year of communication.

Examples:

Delores Cardinal described the nature of the... (2018).

The nature of the place was... (Cardinal, 2018).

How to reference Indigenous Elders or Knowledge Keepers

Format:

Last name, First initial., Nation/Community. Treaty Territory if applicable. Where they live if applicable. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. personal communication. Month Date, Year.

Example:

Cardinal, D., Goodfish Lake Cree Nation. Treaty 6. Lives in Edmonton. Oral teaching. personal communication. April 4, 2004.

Note: If you would like to approach an Elder or Knowledge Keeper for teachings, remember to follow protocol or if you are unsure what their protocol is, please ask them ahead of time.