How to cite and reference in APA format

If you are preparing an academic paper, a final degree project, a master's thesis or a dissertation, sooner or later you will run into the same wall: How to cite and reference in APA format without going crazyThe APA (American Psychological Association) style is the standard in psychology, education, and many areas of the social sciences, and although at first it seems like a whole world, with a good guide it becomes quite manageable.

In this complete guide you will see, step by step, How to cite in the text and how to write the reference list in APA 7th editionWhat to do when information is missing (author, date, pages…), how to format the references page, and how to reference almost any type of source: books, scientific articles, websites, laws, social media, videos, theses, data, etc. The idea is that you can use it as a go-to manual while you write.

What is APA format and what is it used for?

APA style is a set of rules that indicate How to cite sources and present written work in academiaIts seventh edition was published in 2020 and is the one currently used in most universities and social and behavioral science journals.

Essentially, the APA format is based on a author-date systemIn the text, include the author's last name and the year, and at the end of the work, create a list of references with all the details of each source, so that anyone can easily locate it.

To make your life easier, there are tools like... Automatic APA citation generatorsThese tools create the reference and citation within the text based on the source data. However, it's important to be familiar with the rules, because if the source data is incomplete or incorrectly entered, the result will also be flawed.

The APA style regulates two main aspects: on the one hand, in-text citations (short citations that point to the source), and on the other, the references page (complete list of all cited sources)Let's look at each part calmly.

Why, when, and what should you cite in APA?

Citing is not just a formal requirement that the professor asks of you: It is a way of acknowledging the work of other authorsTo place your research in a broader context and avoid plagiarism, good citations strengthen your arguments and demonstrate that you have relied on reliable sources.

You must include a quote whenever Do not use ideas, data, results, definitions, or verbatim phrases that come from another workWhether it's a book, a magazine article, a website, a video, or any other type of resource, you don't need to cite what is considered common knowledge (for example, "The Earth revolves around the Sun"), but if you're unsure, it's best to cite it.

As for how many fonts to use, in most jobs it will be enough to one or two relevant references for each key ideaIn contrast, literature reviews or state-of-the-art reports usually cover a wide range of studies, so you will see paragraphs with several grouped citations.

Everything you cite in the text must appear, with all its details, in the final reference list. Similarly, Nothing should be included in the reference list that has not been cited in the text. (unless your institution requires a more extensive bibliography, which is another story).

In-text citations according to APA 7 format

In-text citations are short references inserted within the body of your writing. They serve to briefly identify the source of each piece of information and refer the reader to the full entry in the reference list.

The basic APA citation format includes the author's last name and year of publicationWhen you quote a specific part of the work (for example, a sentence or a specific piece of information), you also add a locator: page number, page range, paragraph number, timestamp of a video, etc.

Some typical examples would be: (Smith, 2020, p. 170), (Johnson, 2017, pp. 39-41) Or, in the case of a video, something like this (Harris, 2020, 03:46)Academic titles, degrees, or suffixes are not included (no "Dr.", "Ph.D.", or "Jr." within the citation).

Remember The quotation in the text should be placed right before the period at the end of the sentence. When it is a parenthetical citation. If the author's name appears within the sentence, the year follows the surname, and the rest of the citation (if there is a page number) is placed where appropriate.

Parenthetical citation and narrative citation

In APA you can present the citation in two different ways: in parentheses at the end (or within) the sentence, or integrated into the writing, which is called a narrative quote.

In a parenthetical citation, both the surname and the year and, if applicable, the page number, go inside the parentheses: "According to new research… (Smith, 2020)"It is the most common option when you don't want to highlight the author themselves, but the content.

In a narrative quote, on the other hand, You mention the author as a natural part of the sentenceThe year follows immediately after, in parentheses. For example: "Smith (2020) points out that…"If you add a page number in a direct quote, it would go at the end, again in parentheses.

Both forms are correct and are often combined in the same work. The important thing is to be consistent and apply the same logic throughout the textespecially in long jobs.

Appointments with one or more authors and corporate authors

The number of authors and the type of author influence how the citation is presented in the text. APA 7 style establishes Specific rules depending on whether there is one, two, three or more authorsas well as whether the author is an entity or organization.

For a work with single authorThe quote is simple: (Harris, 2020) or, in narrative format, Harris (2020)There's no more to it.

When the job has two authorsIn parenthetical citations, the symbol & is used between surnames: (Harris & Cook, 2020)In narrative quotations, the conjunction "and" is used in Spanish: Harris and Cook (2020).

In the case of three or more authorsIn both parenthetical and narrative citations, the list is reduced to the first author followed by "et al.": (Harris et al., 2020) o Harris et al. (2020)This applies to all quotes in the text, even the first one.

When the author is an organization (ministries, associations, international bodies), you cite the full name of the entity as author: For example, (World Health Organization, 2022) o World Health Organization (2022)If the organization is known by its acronym, you can write the full name the first time with the acronym in parentheses, and in subsequent citations use only the acronym.

Citations when information is missing: no author, no date, or no pages

You won't always find all the information you'd like in a source, especially if it's online material. APA style clearly explains this. What to do when the author, date, or page number is missing.

If the author is unknown, the first thing to check is whether There is an organization responsible for the content.If there is a surname, use it as the author's name. If not, use the abbreviated title of the work instead of the surname, in italics or quotation marks as appropriate: for example, (“Article Title”, 2020) o (Title of the book, 2020).

When there is no publication date, APA indicates that the abbreviation should be used. sf (no date) instead of the year. The quote would read: (Harris, n.d.)You will do the same in the reference list.

In direct quotations, it is mandatory to indicate where the quoted passage is found. If the source It has no page number (for example, a website, a social media post, or a video), you can use an alternative locator: paragraph number, section name, or timestamp. For example: (Basu & Jones, 2007, para. 4) o (CDC, 2020, Flu Season section).

In some cases, if the reference is to the complete work and not to a literal fragment, You can skip the locator and leave only the author and year, as in a typical paraphrased quote.

Cite multiple sources at once and avoid ambiguities

It is quite common for the same statement to be supported by several studies or authorsIn that case, you can group all the quotes in the same parentheses, arranged alphabetically and separated by semicolons.

For example, you could write something like: “Several studies have found similar results (Cooper, 2018; Harris, 2020; Parker, 2019).” If several works are by the same author, they are ordered by year and separated by commas: (Cooper, 2015, 2018).

Sometimes, different sources can lead to apparently identical quotes in the textFor example, if you have two Cooper works from the same year, you would have to distinguish them by adding letters: (Cooper, 2018a) y (Cooper, 2018b)and use those same letters in the reference list.

If there are authors with the same last name, the initials of their first name are added: (H. Taylor, 2019) y (BJ Taylor, 2016)And when several works with more than three authors are shortened by using "et al.", as many surnames as necessary are added to differentiate them.

This way you ensure that Each citation in the text corresponds unambiguously to a single reference in the final list, avoiding confusion for the reader.

Indirect citations: “as cited in”

You might find an interesting idea or quote in a book or article, but do not have access to the original source where it first appearedIn these cases, citing a secondary source comes into play.

The APA recommendation is clear: ideally, Always consult the primary source.If this is impossible, you can cite it through the secondary source using the expression "as cited in".

For example, in a parenthetical quote it would look like this: (Brown, 1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018)In a narrative quote you could write: "Brown (1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) argues that…".

The reference list only includes the secondary source (in the example, Mahone, 2018), since that is the one you actually consulted. Brown's work will only be mentioned in the text.

Quote personal communications

Personal communications include emails, messages, unpublished interviews, telephone conversations and any other exchange to which the reader cannot access.

These types of materials are cited only in the text, never in the reference list, because They are not recoverable by third parties.The structure of the citation is slightly different: it includes the person's initials and surname, the phrase "personal communication," and the full date.

A typical example would be: (A. Pérez, personal communication, March 15, 2022)If you integrate it in a narrative way, you could write: "According to A. Pérez (personal communication, March 15, 2022)...".

Also keep in mind that, in research involving interviews, the participants' verbatim statements They are not cited as external sources nor listed in referencesbecause they are part of your own empirical data and there are also confidentiality issues.

Direct quotations and paraphrasing in APA

When you use an author's exact words, you create a direct or verbatim quoteIn these cases, it is mandatory to indicate the page (or alternative locator) in addition to the author and year. If you simply express their ideas in your own words, you are paraphrasing.

To directly quote a short fragment (less than 40 words), the text remains integrated within the paragraph, in double quotation marks, followed by the corresponding quotation. The period goes after the closing parenthesis of the quotation, never before.

For example: “The confusion surrounding this issue is the overlapping nature of roles in palliative care, whereby, ‘those within the medical disciplines meet medical needs; any team member can take care of non-medical needs’” (Cisaki & Chaitin, 2006, p. 112). "

When the direct fragment has 40 words or more, it is presented in separate block, without quotation marks, with additional indentation 1,27 cm indent on the left margin. The entire block is double-spaced, as is the rest of the text, and the quotation is placed at the end, after the period.

If the block quote contains multiple paragraphs, the first line of each paragraph is indented. If the author and year are already included in the narrative before the block quote, at the end of the passage you will only indicate the page number in parentheses, for example (p.87).

Direct quotes without pagination

When quoting verbatim content without page numbers (some websites, HTML documents, blog posts, social media posts, etc.), APA allows the use of other locators to guide the reader.

The usual options are the paragraph number (paragraph 4, for example), a heading or section name ("Osteoarthritis section") or a combination of both. It is also acceptable to use timestamps in audiovisual content.

Thus, you might find examples such as: “Basu and Jones (2007) went so far as to suggest the need for a new ‘intellectual framework for considering the nature and form of regulation in cyberspace’” (paragraph 4)».

The important thing is that the reader can locate the fragment within the source reasonably quickly, so It is preferable to be specific with the paragraph, section or time of the video.

What is NOT included in the APA reference list

Although the general rule is that Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list.There are a number of materials that are expressly excluded from that list.

On the one hand, we have the personal communications (emails, calls, private messages), which are only cited in the text because readers cannot access them. The same applies to statements from participants in interviews you conducted.

The following are also not included: general mentions of entire websites or entire periodicals (For example, when you refer to "the WHO website" or "the journal Nature" without citing a specific article). In these cases, the usage is so widespread and the source so well-known that an entry in the reference list is unnecessary.

Similarly, a short, inspiring quote used in a dedication or in the heading of a work It does not necessarily have to be accompanied by a referenceUnless your center or journal expressly requires it, since its function is more contextual than argumentative.

In summary, only those sources that the reader needs to be able to recover to understand and verify your work. The rest can remain in the text without going through the references section.

The references page in APA format

The references page is the final section of your work where All the sources cited in the text appear, listed alphabetically.It should go immediately after the main body of the document and before any attachments.

The word is written on the first line of this page "References" in bold and centered, without quotation marks or underlining. From the following line onwards, the entries begin, one after the other, also double-spaced, without leaving gaps between references.

The entire page maintains double line spacing and a hanging indent (hanging indent) of 1,27 cm: that is, the first line of each reference starts at the left margin and the rest of the lines of that same entry are indented.

Regarding the font, APA recommends a human readable font such as Times New Roman 12, Arial 11, or equivalent fonts. Page numbers are usually placed in the header, right-aligned.

Remember that in this section Personal communications are not included. nor generic mentions, as we have seen, and that each entry must correspond to at least one citation in the text.

Basic elements of an APA reference

Each complete reference in the list is generally constructed with four fundamental elements: author, date, title, and source (place or means of recovering the work).

the block of Author Include the surname and initials of the first name. With multiple authors, separate them with commas and use "y" before the last author in Spanish or & if following the original English spelling.

La when and where It is usually indicated in parentheses after the authors. In books and articles, the year appears; in web entries, press releases, or social media posts, the month and day are also specified when they are known.

El title It is presented in regular type (not italics) for articles, chapters, dictionary entries, and the like, and in italics for books, reports, films, or complete works. In some cases, descriptions are added in brackets, such as [Video], [Exhibition catalog] o [Dataset].

La source This could be the journal name and volume, the book publisher, the institution responsible for the report, or, for digital resources, the URL or DOI. If the source is part of a larger one (book chapter, journal article, etc.), the page numbers are also included.

References with incomplete information

In the real world it is very common that data is missing from certain sourcesespecially in materials consulted online. The APA style considers various scenarios and how to resolve them.

Si no author listedThe reference entry begins with the title of the work, followed by the date and the rest of the information. For example: Document title(2020). Source.

When The date is unknown., is placed (sf) where the year would go: Author. (n.d.). Title. Source. This same format is maintained both in the reference list and in the in-text citations.

If what's missing is the titleInstead of inventing a title, a brief description in brackets is used: Author. (Date). [Job description]Source. This can happen, for example, with some audiovisual materials or internal documents.

The key is that, even with incomplete data, The reference allows for the reasonable identification of the work and, whenever possible, locate it.

Ordering the list of references

The references are ordered alphabetically by the author's first surnameWhen there are several works by the same author, they are ordered by year of publication, from oldest to most recent.

If the same author has several works published in the same yearLowercase letters are added after the year (2020a, 2020b, etc.) in both references and in-text citations to distinguish them.

In the case of works with numerous authors, the seventh edition of APA extends the limit: Up to twenty authors are listed in the reference. If there are more than twenty, the first 19 are included, ellipses are added, and it closes with the last author.

This scheme is consistently applied in lengthy scientific articles, where it is not uncommon to find very long lists of authors in international collaborations.

When to include page number in reference

In the reference list, the Page numbers appear when the work is part of a larger paginated set.That is, in chapters of edited books, magazine articles, printed newspaper articles, or similar.

In these cases, the following is indicated: page range covered by the chapter or article, usually at the end of the reference. For example, "pp. 221-237" for a book chapter, or "77(3), 437-471" for a journal article, where the volume is in italics and the journal number is in parentheses.

Conversely, in complete books, reports, or other documents considered "units" in themselves, The number of pages is not indicated. in the reference, although specific pages are then used in the citations in the text.

Examples of APA references by source type

To see it in a practical way, let's review How to construct references for the most common font typesPlease note that the names and titles below are actual examples of how the reference would look.

In scientific articles with many authors, the outline would look something like this: Last Name, Initials., Last Name, Initials., …, Last Name, Initials. (Year). Title of article. Magazine title in italics, volume (number), pages. DOI or URL.

A classic example is that of Kalnay et al. (1996): Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., … Joseph, D. (1996). The NCEP/NCAR 40-Year Reanalysis Project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 77(3), 437-471. https://doi.org/fg6rf9In the text, that work would be cited as (Kalnay et al., 1996).

In exhibition catalogs, you would find references such as: Alejandre, T., Art al Quadrat, Ayela, A., … Tornero, J. (2021). EAC: XXI Contemporary Art Encounters Competition [Exhibition catalogue]. Juan Gil-Albert Institute of Culture of Alicante. URL.

The general structure always respects the order author – date – title – source, adjusting only the details and descriptors according to the type of document.

Books, chapters and reference works

Un paper book It usually follows this pattern: Last Name, Initials. (Year). Title in italicsEditorial. For example: Echeita, G., and Serrano, G. (2019). Inclusive education: a midsummer night's dream. Octahedron.

In a ebookThe same scheme is maintained and, if appropriate, the URL or the PDF access: Jorquera Rojas, G. (2015). The risk of poverty and exclusion in the Community of Madrid 2015EAPN. URL.

For chapter of the book In a collective work, the reference includes the chapter author, the chapter title, the book editors, the title of the work in italics, the page range, and the publisher: Gilmartín, MA (2008). School environments. In JA Aragonés and M. Amérigo (Eds.), Environmental psychology (pp. 221-237). Pyramid.

As for the dictionaries and encyclopediasThe entry is cited as a short work within a larger one. For example: American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Educational psychology. In APA dictionary of psychologyRetrieved June 26, 2020, from URL.

Magazine articles: print and electronic

Los print magazine articles They follow a very marked pattern: Last Name, Initials. (Year). Article Title. magazine titleVolume (number), pages. For example: Rodríguez, C. (2007). God's eye does not look at signs. Early development and semiotics. Childhood and Learning, 30 (3), 343-374.

If the article is electronic with traditional pagination and DOIThe digital identifier is added at the end: Blanco, M., Veiga, OL, Sepúlveda, AR, … Rojo, M. (2019). Family environment, physical activity and sedentary behavior in preadolescents with childhood obesity: ANOBAS case-control study. Primary Care, 52(4), 250-257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aprim.2018.05.013.

In electronic journals that use a electronic identifier (eLocator) Instead of continuous pagination, the reference includes the article number: Buring, D., Kilteni, K., Rabuffetti, M., Slater, M., and Pia, L. (2019). Body ownership increases the interference between observed and executed movements. PLoS ONE, 14(1), Article e0209899. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209899.

In all cases, the in-text citation is adapted to the number of authors: an author (Rodriguez, 2007), two authors (Worland & Williams, 2015) or three or more (Buring et al., 2019).

Reports, conferences, press and legal documents

En institutional reportsThe organization typically acts as the author: Mutua Madrileña Foundation, and ANAR Foundation. (2022). The students' opinion (IV Report on the prevention of bullying in schools). URL.

The Press releases They are cited as documents with a corporate author, precise date, and description: National Institute of Statistics. (2022, October 13). Population Projections 2022-2072 [Press release]. URL.

The conference presentations They include the type of contribution and the event details: Alonso-Vega, J., Álvarez-Iglesias, A., Ávila-Herrero, I., and Froxán-Parga, MX (2019, June 18). Verbal interaction analysis of the intervention to an adult with severe behavioral problems [Poster presentation]. XVI European Congress of Psychology, Moscow, Russia. https://doi.org/10.26226/morressier.5cf632bbaf72dec2b055469e.

Los legal texts (laws, decrees, constitutions, judgments, treaties) are referenced with the official name, the date and, where applicable, the publication bulletin: Organic Law 8/2013, of December 9, for the improvement of educational quality (Official State Gazette no. 295, of December 10, 2013). URL; Spanish Constitution (Official State Gazette no. 311, of December 29, 1978).

Los international deals They are cited by indicating the name of the treaty, the date of adoption and, if available, the official link: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, URL.

Patents, tests, theses, data and online resources

The patents They include the inventors, the title, the country and patent number, and the registration agency: del Barrio, C., Ortega, JE, and Van der Meulen, K. (2019). Peg-based activity monitoring system (Spain, no. 201600945). Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. URL.

Los standardized tests They are treated as books or manuals: Wechsler, D. (2005). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV): Technical and Interpretive ManualASD.

The doctoral theses and other academic works They are referenced by indicating the type of work, the institution, and the repository: Fernández González, A. (2010). Emotional intelligence as a predictor of psychosocial adaptation in students in the Community of Madrid [Doctoral thesis, Autonomous University of Madrid]. Biblos-e Archive. URL.

Los data sets They include the [Dataset] label, the repository name, and the DOI: D'Souza, A., and Wiseheart, M. (2018). Cognitive effects of music and dance training in children (ICPSR 37080; Version V1) [Dataset]. ICPSR. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37080.v1.

The web They are cited with the author (personal or organizational), the date as precisely as possible, the title in italics if it is a specific page, and the URL: World Health Organization. (2022, March). Questions and answers about autism spectrum disorders (ASD). URL.

Audiovisual material and social media

En videos and other audiovisual materialsThe type of resource is specified in brackets, along with the hosting platform: Ministry of Education and Vocational Training. (February 11, 2021). alliance STEAM For female talent. Jane Goodall [Video]. YouTube. URL; Forman, M. (Director). (1975). One flew over the cuckoo's nest [Film]. United Artists.

En social media A distinction is made between profiles and individual posts. A profile on X (Twitter) would be cited as follows: APA Style [@APA_Style]. (nd). Posts [Profile of X]. X. Retrieved November 8, 2023, from URL.

A specific post on X is referenced by indicating the name, username, exact date, part of the post text in italics, descriptor [Post] and URL: APA Databases [@APA_Databases]. (2020, September 2). We have curated a collection of journal articles from APA PsycArticles on #COVID19. View: https://bit.ly/2QrWj76 for recent coverage [Post]. X. URL.

It is important to respect the original form of the usernames and the essential content of the messageHowever, the general format of author – date – content – ​​resource type – platform – URL remains.

Other networks, such as FacebookThey follow a similar scheme, indicating whether it is a page, a profile, or a specific post: Official College of Psychology of Madrid. (nd). Home [Facebook Page]. Facebook. Retrieved June 19, 2020, from URL.

Simple in-text citation models according to the number of authors

To make it perfectly clear, you can use some very simple models as a guide. paraphrased quotations in parentheses depending on the number of authors.

With an authorThe format would be: (Last name, year). Example: (Vinyoles, 2016)Easy and straightforward.

If the work has two authorsBoth surnames are still included, joined by "and": (Surname1 and Surname2, year). For example: (Njenga and Fourie, 2010).

To three or more authorsIt is always reduced to the first surname followed by et al.(Last name et al., year). These would be cases like (Clegg et al., 2003) o (Nguyen et al., 2019).

When the person responsible is a entityThe structure adapts to: (Entity Name, Year). A typical example in a Spanish context would be: (Generalitat of Catalonia, 2020).

By mastering these in-text citation guidelines, the reference page format, and the examples for each type of source, you have virtually everything you need to Cite and reference in APA format rigorouslyIt may take a little practice at first, but once you've internalized the basic rules, the rest is just applying them consistently to all your work.