A Guide to APA Referencing Style: 6th Edition

A Guide to APA Referencing Style:
6th Edition

Student Success
A Guide to APA 6th ed. Referencing Style
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This guide has been prepared by staff from the UCOL Student Success Team.
January 2015
Updated March 2017

Student Success
A Guide to APA 6th ed. Referencing Style
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Contents
What is APA? ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Why reference? ............................................................................................................................................. 5
How to reference .......................................................................................................................................... 6
1. In text citations ......................................................................................................................................... 6
1.1. Three, four or five authors ................................................................................................................. 7
1.2. Six or seven authors ........................................................................................................................... 7
1.3. Eight or more authors ........................................................................................................................ 8
1.4. Groups as authors .............................................................................................................................. 8
1.5. Similar information referred to by more than one author ................................................................ 9
1.6. Same author and same date .............................................................................................................. 9
1.7. One work by one author, when the author is cited more than once in a paragraph ...................... 10
1.8. Citing a secondary source ................................................................................................................ 11
2. Direct quotes ........................................................................................................................................... 11
2.1. Short quote – less than 40 words .................................................................................................... 11
2.2. Longer quote – 40 words or more ................................................................................................... 12
2.3. Quotations from online resources that do not provide page numbers .......................................... 12
3. The reference list .................................................................................................................................... 13
3.1. Books ................................................................................................................................................ 14
3.2. Book – one author ............................................................................................................................ 14
3.3. Book – place of publication .............................................................................................................. 14
3.4. Book – editor .................................................................................................................................... 14
3.5. Book – author & publisher are the same ......................................................................................... 15
3.6. Chapter in an edited book ................................................................................................................ 15
3.7. Serial/journal articles ....................................................................................................................... 15
3.8. Serial / journal article (print) ............................................................................................................ 15
3.9. Serial / journal article – more than one author (print) .................................................................... 15
3.10. Serial / journal article (online from a database – e.g. EBSCO or Newztext) .................................. 16
3.11. Serial / journal – more than one author (online– DOI) .................................................................. 16
3.12. Serial / Journal article – 8 or more authors (online – no DOI) ....................................................... 16
3.13. Internet sources ............................................................................................................................. 17
3.14. Internet – no author, no date ........................................................................................................ 17
3.15. Internet – Organisation / Corporate author .................................................................................. 17

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A Guide to APA 6th ed. Referencing Style
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4. Examples of various types of information sources ................................................................................. 18
4.1. Act (statute / legislation) .................................................................................................................. 18
4.2. Blog post ........................................................................................................................................... 18
4.3. Brochure / pamphlet ........................................................................................................................ 18
4.4. Brochure / pamphlet (no author) .................................................................................................... 19
4.5. Clickview .......................................................................................................................................... 19
4.6. Conference Paper ............................................................................................................................. 19
4.7. Conference paper (online) ............................................................................................................... 20
4.8. Dictionary (print) .............................................................................................................................. 20
4.9. Dictionary (online) ............................................................................................................................ 20
4.10. Specific entry in an online dictionary (no author or editor) .......................................................... 20
4.11. Specific entry in an online dictionary (editor) ................................................................................ 21
4.12. DVD / Video / Motion Picture (including Clickview & Youtube) .................................................... 21
4.13. e-book (including Safari and Google books) .................................................................................. 21
4.14. Figures (images, illustrations, photographs, maps, charts) ........................................................... 22
4.15. Magazine ........................................................................................................................................ 24
4.16. Moodle ........................................................................................................................................... 24
4.17. Music recording (Whole album) .................................................................................................... 24
4.18. Music recording (Song from album) .............................................................................................. 25
4.19. Newspaper article .......................................................................................................................... 25
4.20. Newspaper article (no author) ....................................................................................................... 25
4.21. Newspaper (online) ........................................................................................................................ 25
4.22. Personal communication ............................................................................................................... 26
4.23. Podcast (audio or video) ................................................................................................................ 26
4.24. Software (including apps) .............................................................................................................. 26
4.25. Television series ............................................................................................................................. 26
4.26. Television (single episode from a series) ....................................................................................... 26
4.27. Thesis (print) .................................................................................................................................. 26
4.28. Thesis (online) ................................................................................................................................ 26
4.29. Wikis (including Wikipedia) ............................................................................................................ 27
4.30. Youtube see – DVD / Video / Motion picture ................................................................................ 27
5. Reference List .......................................................................................................................................... 28
6. Two letter USA state codes ..................................................................................................................... 33

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A Guide to APA 6th ed. Referencing Style
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What is APA?
Your assignment states – Please reference using the APA style - 6th ed. You think to yourself ...
“Arrrgghhh... what does that mean, why do I have to do it and how do I do it!?”
APA is one of many referencing styles used in academic writing. APA stands for American Psychological
Association. The Association outlines the style in the Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association [APA] (6th ed.).
UCOL programmes utilise the APA referencing style.
There are many different referencing styles (over 100). It is essential to follow the style specified in your
assignments and not to mix styles. Consistency of style is important!
Why reference?
When you reference you use the standardised style to acknowledge the source of information used in
your assignment.
It is important (morally & legally) to acknowledge someone else’s ideas or words you have used.
Academic writing encourages paraphrasing information you have researched and read. Paraphrasing
means re-wording something you have read in to your own words. If you use someone else’s words or
work and fail to acknowledge them – you may be accused of plagiarism and infringing copyright.
Referencing correctly enables the marker or reader of your assignment to locate the source of the
information. They can verify the information or read further on the topic.
Referencing also allows for you to retrace your steps and locate information you have used for
assignments and discover further views or ideas discussed by the author.
By referencing clearly and correctly, it demonstrates you have undertaken research on the assignment
topic and located relevant information.
There are two main parts to referencing:
1. The first indicating within your assignment the sources of the information you have used to
write your assignment. This demonstrates support for your ideas, arguments and views.
Sometimes this is referred to as: citing in text, in text citations or text citations
2. The second part to referencing is the construction of a reference list. The reference list shows
the complete details of everything you cited and appears in an alphabetical list on a separate
page, at the end of your assignment.
Tip: Everything you have cited in text appears in your reference list and likewise... everything that
appears in your reference list will have been cited in text! Check this is the case prior to handing in your
assignment. (The exception is when using a personal communication. Personal communications are
cited in text but do not appear in the reference list. See page 25).
The following guide provides some general rules and examples using the 6th ed. of APA. For
further information and help:

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A Guide to APA 6th ed. Referencing Style
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• Refer to the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) [from here
on referred to as the APA manual], especially chapters 6 & 7.
Copies are available at the UCOL Library, some for borrowing, some on Desk reserve. [Shelf
number: 808.027 PUB]
• Student Experience Team members (Learning Services & Library staff) are available to assist
with referencing
• See the APAstyle website ( http://www.apastyle.org/)
• Plus there are APA wizards freely available online and Microsoft Word provides a built-in
referencing function (Note: some editing maybe required when using these tools)
How to reference
1. In text citations
Even though you have put someone else’s ideas or information in your own words (i.e. paraphrased),
you still need to show where the original idea or information came from. This is all part of the academic
writing process.
When citing in text within an assignment, use the author/s (or editor/s) last name followed by the year
of publication.
Example:
Water is a necessary part of every person’s diet and of all the nutrients a body needs to function, it
requires more water each day than any other nutrient (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011). or
Whitney and Rolfes (2011) state the body requires many nutrients to function but highlight that water is
of greater importance than any other nutrient. or
Water is an essential element of anyone’s diet and Whitney and Rolfes (2011) emphasise it is more
important than any other nutrient.
Reference list entry:
Whitney, E., & Rolfes, S. (2011). Understanding nutrition (12th ed.). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage
Learning.
Note: This book did not have a city for place of publication, just a country.
Extra note: This book has an edition. This information is included straight after the title.

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A Guide to APA 6th ed. Referencing Style
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1.1. Three, four or five authors
If a work has three (3), four (4) or five (5) authors, cite all authors the first time and from then on
include only the last name of the first author followed by the words et al. (‘et al.’ is Latin for ‘and
others’)
Example:
Research can be defined as a systematic method of creating new knowledge or a way to verify existing
knowledge (Watson, McKenna, Cowman & Keady, 2008).
Deciding on a research method demands the researcher consider carefully the problem or area of
investigation being researched (Watson et al., 2008).
Reference list entry:
Watson, R., McKenna, H., Cowman, S., & Keady, K. (Eds.). (2008). Nursing research: Designs and
methods. Edinburgh, Scotland: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.
Note: The people were identified as the editors, hence ‘(Eds.)’ is a shortened version of Editors.
1.2. Six or seven authors
If a work has six (6) or more authors, cite only the last name of the first author followed by et al.
each time you refer to this work.
Example:
(Mikosch et al., 2010)
Reference list entry:
When a source has up to seven (7) authors, include all names in the reference list.
Mikosch, P., Hadrawa, T., Laubreiter, K., Brandl, J., Pilz, J., Stettner, H., & Grimm, G. (2010). Effectiveness
of respiratory-sinus-arrhythmia biofeedback on state-anxiety in patients undergoing coronary
angiography. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(5), 1101-1110.

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A Guide to APA 6th ed. Referencing Style
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1.3. Eight or more authors
When there are eight (8) or more authors, cite only the last name of the first author followed by ‘et al.’
each time you refer to this work.
Example:
(Vissing et al., 2004)
Note in the reference list: When there are eight (8) or more authors, include the first six (6) authors’
names and then use ellipsis points (...) before concluding with the last author’s name.
Reference list entry:
Vissing, K., Brink, M., Lonbro, S., Sorensen, H., Overgaard, K., Danborg, K., ... Aagaard, P. (2008). Muscle
adaptations to plyometric vs. resistance training in untrained young men. Journal of Strength
and Conditioning Research, 22(6), 1799-1810.
1.4. Groups as authors
The names of groups that serve as authors (e.g., corporations, associations, government agencies) are
usually written in full each time they appear in a text citation. The names of some group authors (e.g.,
associations, government agencies) are spelled out in the first citation and abbreviated thereafter. In
deciding whether to abbreviate the name of a group author, use the general rule that you need to give
enough information in the text citation for the reader to locate the entry in the reference list without
difficulty. Some groups are recognised by an abbreviation (e.g., WHO for World Health Organisation).
Refer to the APA manual, 2010, p. 176.
First text citation: (Ministry of Health [MOH], 2007).
Second & subsequent citations: (MOH, 2007).
Reference list entry:
Ministry of Health. (2007). Looking at long-term residential care in a rest home or hospital: What you
need to know. Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
Note: If the author and publisher are the same – Author – can be used to indicate the publisher in place
of the full name. See the example above.
Group as author no abbreviation
New Zealand House of Representatives, Health Committee. (2007, August). Inquiry into obesity and type
2 diabetes in New Zealand: Report presented to the House of Representatives. Retrieved from
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/47F52D0D-0132-42EF-A297-
6AB08980C0EA/61821/DBSCH_SCR_3868_5335.pdf
In text citation:
(New Zealand House of Representatives, Health Committee, 2007).