APA Citation Style

Paraphrasing or summarizing the main findings or takeaways from a research article is the preferred method of citing sources in an APA paper. Always include the last name of the author(s) and the year of the article, so your reader can find the full citation in the reference list.

Connect both authors' last names with & (ampersand) and include the year.

(Wegener & Petty, 1994)

If there are 3 or more authors use et al., which means "and others."

(Harris et al., 2018)

First time with an abbreviation:

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019)

Then all subsequent citations: (CDC, 2019)

1. Author(s). Note: List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. Use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
2. (Year, Month Date). Note: You do not need to abbreviate the month.
3. Title of the article. Note: For works that are part of a greater whole (e.g. articles, chapter), use sentence case. Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized.
4. Title of the Newspaper or Publication. Note: Italicize and capitalize each word in the publication.
5. URL

Kennedy, M. (2018, October 15). To prevent wildfires, PG&E pre-emptively cuts power to thousands in California. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/15/657468903/to-prevent-wildfires-pg-e-preemptively-cuts-power-to-thousands-in-california

1. Author(s). Note: List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. Use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
2. (Year).
3. Title of the book. Note: For works that stand alone (e.g. books, reports), italicize the title. Only capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and any proper nouns.
4. (Edition). Note: If there is an edition or volume, include it in parentheses and use abbreviations of ed. or vol.
5. Publisher. Note: You do not need to include the publisher location or databases where you retrieved it.

Schmidt, N. A., & Brown, J. M. (2017). Evidence-based practice for nurses: Appraisal and application of research (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

1. Author(s). Note: List each chapter author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. Use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
2. (Year).
3. Title of the chapter. Note: For works that are part of a greater whole (e.g. articles, chapter), use sentence case. Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized.
4. In Editor(s), Note: List each editor's last name and initials as A. A. Editor, B. B. Editor, & C. C. Editors, include (Ed.) or (Eds.) in parentheses, and end with a comma.
5. Title of the book Note: For works that stand alone (e.g. books, reports), italicize the title. Only capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and any proper nouns.
6. (pp.xx-xx).
7. Publisher. Note: You do not need to include the publisher location or databases where you retrieved it.

McCormack, B., McCance, T., & Maben, J. (2013). Outcome evaluation in the development of person-centred practice. In B. McCormack, K. Manley, & A. Titchen (Eds.), Practice development in nursing and healthcare (pp. 190-211). John Wiley & Sons.

1. Author(s). Note: List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. If there is no author, spell out the name of the organization or site.
2. (Year, Month Date). Note: Read more about date formats from the APA Style website. Provide as specific a date as is available. Use the date last updated, but not the date last reviewed or copyright date. If there is no date, use (n.d.).
3. Title of page or section. Note: Italicize the title of the page.
4. Source. Note: Usually the official name of the website. If the source would be the same as the author, you can omit the source to avoid repetition.
5. URL

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Preventing HPV-associated cancers. https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/hpv/basic_info/prevention.htm/

1. Author(s). Note: List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. If there is no author, spell out the name of the organization that published the report.
2. (Year, Month Date). Note: Provide as specific a date as is available.
3. Title of the report or document. Note: For works that stand alone (e.g. books, reports), italicize the title. Only capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and any proper nouns.
4. Source. Includes the names of parent agencies or other organizations not listed in the group author name here.
5. URL

Los Angeles County Deptartment of Public Health. (2017, January). Key indicators of health by service planning area. https://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/