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Citation Style: APA 7th edition

Book examples

General guidelines
  • Authors' names are formatted as follows: Last Name, First & Middle initials. (e.g., Smith, J.B.). The rules for authors' names apply to all source types.
  • The rules for author name formatting apply to all source types.
  • Titles for all source types (e.g., articles, books, chapters, journals, magazines & newspapers) are formatted in sentence case and in italics.
  • If the source has no date, document the following in the date field: (n.d.)
  • When the source has two to 20 authors, an ampersand (&) goes before the last author's name.
  • When listing page numbers, use p. for a single page (example: p. 32) and pp. for a page range (example: pp. 12-27)
  • For book editions other than the first, place the edition in parentheses after the title. Do not italicize the edition field.  Example:  Raising children (6th ed.)
  • Long URLs and DOIs can be shortened by using a URL shortener or a DOI shortener.

Book

one author

Author Last Name, First & Middle initials. (Year of publication). Book title. Publisher.

Goldsworthy, A. (2016). Pax Romana: War, peace, and conquest in the Roman world. Yale University Press.

Book

two to 20 authors

When there are two to 20 authors, all authors must be listed. An ampersand (&) precedes the name of the last author.

Ansari, A., & Klinenberg, E. (2015). Modern romance. Penguin Press.

Greig, A., Taylor, J., & MacKay, T. (2013). Doing research with children: A practical guide.  Sage.

Edited book

Editor Last Name, First & Middle initials. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Book title. Publisher.

Shotton, M. A. (Ed.). (1959). Psychology: A study of science. McGraw-Hill.

Stevens, A. C., & Crosby, J. (Eds.). (1976). Principles of psychology. Greenleaf Press.

Chapter/
introduction/
foreword/afterword
in an anthology or edited book

Author Last Name, First & Middle initials. (Year of publication). Chapter/Section title. In Editor Initials Last Name (Ed.), Book title (page number[s] using p. or pp.). Publisher.

Leigh, J. A., & Brewster, A. E. (2008). Primary language acquisition. In J. Carruthers & K. McNeil (Eds.), Developmental psychology (pp. 312-337). Ivory Publications.

Ryder, W. & Miller, S. (2006). Introduction. In E.M. Harris (Ed.), Consequences of illiteracy (2nd ed., vol.1,  pp. 1-2). Essex Press.

Entry in an encyclopedia ​(print or online)

Author(s) Last Name(s), First & Middle initials. (Year of publication). Title. In Editor Initials Last Name (Ed.), Encyclopedia title (ed., vol., page number[s] using p. or pp.). Publisher.

Laberge, M. (2015). Gastric bypass. In J.L. Longe (Ed.), The Gale encyclopedia of medicine (5th ed., vol. 4, pp. 2100-2105). Gale. 

Tobacco. (2009). In P. Korsmeyer & H. R. Kranzler (Eds.), Encyclopedia of drugs, alcohol & addictive behavior (3rd ed., vol. 4, pp. 95-130). Macmillan Reference USA. 

Wikipedia entry

Entry title. (Year, month, date). In Wikipedia. URL

List of oldest companies. (2019, January 13). In Wikipedia, https:en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_oldest_companies&oldid=878158136

NOTE: Cite the archived version of a Wikipedia page so readers can retrieve the exact version you used. To access the archived version of a Wikipedia entry, click "View history."

Entry in an online dictionary, with group author

Group Author. (date or n.d.). Title of entry. In Title of Work. Retrieved date, from URL

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Self-report. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 19, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-report

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Positive transference. In APA dictionary of psychology. Retrieved August 31, 2019, from https://dictionary.apa.org/positive-transference

Note: If there is no group author, start with the title of the entry.

Certainty. (n.d.). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved April 20, 2019, from https://www.dictionary.com/
browse/certainty?s=t

Volume(s) in a multivolume work    

Author Last Name, First & Middle initials.(Date[s]). Book title (vol[s].). Publisher.

Gutkind, L. (Ed.). (2007). The best creative nonfiction (vol. 1). Creative Nonfiction Foundation.

Book

other than the

1st edition

The edition goes in parentheses after the title. Notice the edition is not italicized.

Kenney, L.W., Wilmore, J., & Costill, D. (2015). Physiology of sport and exercise (6th ed.). Human Kinetics.

E-book from a database

Author Last Name, First & Middle initials. (Year of publication). Book title. Publisher.

Gillick, M. R. (2017). Old and sick in America: The journey through the health care system. University of North Carolina Press.

Note: eBooks found in a database should be treated as print works. Do not list the database name or the URL. Only include database information in the reference if the eBook comes from a database that publishes original, proprietary content. For an explanation of this change, click here.

E-book not from a database

Author Last Name, First & Middle initials. (Year of publication). Book title. URL (can be shortened with a short-URL service)

Christian, B., & Griffiths, T. (2016). Algorithms to live by: The computer science of human decisions. Henry Holt and Co. https://amzn.to/36eIjnH

Mobile application software (app), with individual authors

Author Last Name, First & Middle initials. (Year). Title of work (edition) [Mobile app]. Publisher. URL

Vallerand, A.H., & Sanoski, C.A. (2018). Davis's drug guide for nurses (16th ed.) [Mobile app]. Skyscape Medspresso, Inc. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/daviss-drug-guide-for-nurses/id1076514675

Mobile application software (app), with group or corporate author

Group Name. (Year). Title of software or program (Version number) [Mobile app]. Publisher. URL

Epocrates (2019). Epocrates medical references (Version 19.11) [Mobile app]. App Store. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/epocrates/id281935788