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Unit 9: Referencing Sources

The reference page

Providing in-text citations is only one part of properly referencing sources. As you have probably realized by now, the in-text citation signifies the who and when of the words or ideas that you just quoted, paraphrased, or summarized; however, it does not provide the where. This is the purpose of the reference page. The reference page includes detailed information regarding where the original source is located so that readers can easily find it. This section will introduce the basics of writing references for journals, books, book chapters, and web pages.

Once again, the American Psychological Association has set forth guidelines outlining the information that should be provided, as well as the format of the reference. This is to standardize the reference page and make it easier for readers to find the original sources. That being said, the best source for information regarding how to write references is the APA Publication Manual (2001; pp. 215 – 281). Although there are many examples provided in this manual, there are times when you will have to combine examples. For instance, there is an example provided for a journal article with six or more authors, and one given for a journal article that is in press. So, if you have to reference a journal article by more than six authors AND that is in press, you would have to look at both of these examples to correctly reference the source.

Because of the number of available resources on this topic, the following sections will provide only the basic information. However, links to Internet resources that give detailed information are provided in each section. Nonetheless, it is strongly recommended that you purchase the APA Publication Manual so that you can refer to it when necessary.

General format of the reference page

  1. Headings. The reference page itself should have a running head and a page number in the upper right-hand corner of the header (like all of the preceding pages in your paper), and the word “References” centered on the top of the page (below the 1 inch margin).
  2. Hanging indent. References are formatted with a hanging indent. In other words, the first line is flush to the left margin, with each additional line tabbed in below it. The examples provided below illustrate the hanging indent.
  3. Spacing. The entire reference page should be DOUBLE-SPACED. The examples on this page are not double-spaced in order to save space.
  4. Order. References should be in alphabetical order according to the first author’s last name. If an author has 2 or more references where he/she is the sole author, the most recent goes first. If there are references with the same first author and different second authors, they are alphabetized according to the last name of the second author, and so on. Remember that nothing comes before something (i.e., if an author has an article on which he or she is sole author, it would come before an article on which he or she was first author out of three).
  5. Accuracy. Not only is it essential that you include the entire and accurate reference for your sources, but you also have to make sure that ALL of the in-text citations have a corresponding reference on the reference page (unless it is a personal communication) and that every reference is cited at least once.

Journal Articles (APA Publication Manual, 2001; pp. 239 – 247)

  1. General format. Journal articles and other periodicals (e.g., newsletters, magazines, etc.) all share a similar format:
    • Author(s). (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume (Issue if needed), beginning page number-end page number.
  2. Journal article. Following is an example of a reference to an article in a journal:
    • Huston, A.C., Wright, J.C., Marquis, J., & Green, S.B. (1999). How young children spend their time: Television and other activities. Developmental Psychology, 35, 912-925.
  3. Things to note
    • A comma separates each author, and there is a comma before the ampersand (even if there are only two authors).
    • If a middle initial is not provided, do not worry about putting it in.
    • The title of the article has only the first letter capitalized. However, if a colon is present in the title, the first letter following the colon is also capitalized.
    • The name of the periodical is in italics and the all of the words are capitalized.
    • The volume of the periodical is in italics; however, the issue (if needed) is not. An issue number is needed only if each issue is numbered from page 1. In most cases the issues within each volume are numbered consecutively, so an issue number is not needed to find the article.
  4. Additional resources

Books (APA Publication Manual, pp. 249 – 255)

  1. General format
    • Author(s). (Year). Title of book. City, State of Publication: Publisher.
  2. Reference for an entire book
    • Bryk, A.S., & Raudenbush, S.W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
  3. Reference to an entire edited book. These books are normally a collection of chapters written by different authors that are related to one general topic.
    • Rosengren, K.E. (Ed.). (1994). Media effects and beyond: Culture, socialization, and lifestyles. London: Routlage.
  4. Reference to a chapter in an edited book (if the book is not part of a series, omit the “X ed.” information)
    • Salthouse, T.A. (1990). Cognitive competence and expertise in aging. In J.E. Birren & K.W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (3rd ed., pp. 310-319). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
  5. Things to note
    • In the reference for an edited book, the title of the chapter AND the title of the book have only the first letter of the first word capitalized (and the first letter of the first word following a colon).
    • If there is one editor, (Ed.) is used, if there are multiple editors, (Eds.) is used.
    • If you are referencing a chapter in an edited book, the editors’ initials are placed in front of their last names (e.g., K.W. Schaie). However, if you are referencing an entire edited book, the editors names are listed with their last name first (e.g., Schaie, K.W.)
    • If you are referencing a chapter in an edited book with two editors, there is NOT a comma between the first editor’s last name and the ampersand; in all other cases there is (e.g., between the second editor’s last name and the ampersand if there are three editors).
    • In referencing an entire edited book, the format for the editors is last name, then first and middle initial; however for a chapter in an edited book, the format for the editors is first and middle initial and then last name.
  6. Additional Resources

Electronic Articles

  1. Online article based on a print source. Many journals offer online versions. This format is for those electronic articles that are EXACT duplicates of the print version (many times they will be in .pdf format). References for these online articles are the same as a print journal article, with the addition of [Electronic version] after the title of the article.
    • Taconnat, L. & Isingrini, M. (2004). Cognitive operations in the generation effect on a recall test: Role of aging and divided attention [Electronic version]. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Cognition, and Memory, 30 , 827-837.
  2. Online article that is different from the print source. Some electronic versions differ in some way from the print source (e.g., additional analyses, no page numbers, formatted in HTML). For these electronic articles, you must add the URL (web address) of the article or the database from which you accessed the article.
    • Nagurney, A.J., Reich, J.W., & Newsome, J.T. (2004). Gender moderates the effects of independence and dependence desires during the social support process. Psychology and Aging, 19, pp. 215-218. Retrieved July 24, 2004, from PsycINFO database.
  3. Web page created by an organization with no author provided. Oftentimes you may come across a web page that has information provided, but does not indicate an author or a date. In this case, you must indicate the organization’s name, the web page address, and the date the information was retrieved. As a side note, you should exercise caution when using web sites as sources because the information may be of limited quality, could present skewed opinions (especially if it is a commercial web site run for profit as most sites ending in ”.com” are), or may not be peer reviewed (meaning nobody reviewed the material before its dissemination). If a date is not available, (n.d.) is used.
  4. Additional resources

Practice using your new APA referencing knowledge

Follow these two links and complete the exercises!

  1. APA PRACTICE 1: Write out the references
  2. APA PRACTICE 2: What’s wrong with these references?

List of APA Style Resources

  1. Purdue University Online Writing Lab: Information on formatting the reference page, as well as examples of APA style references for books, journals, traditional media (e.g., TV shows, movies), and electronic media
  2. The University of Wisconsin Writing Center Website: Provides information on how to write references for books, journals, electronic resources, dissertations, and presentations
  3. The University of Southern Mississippi APA Guide: Information on referencing books, journals, dissertations, traditional media (e.g., films, audio recordings), and electronic media (e.g., web pages, e-mails)
  4. APA Publication Manual (2001). This book can be purchased from the university bookstore, the APA web site, or a number of online retailers such as www.amazon.com or www.half.com. Make sure you get the 5th edition!
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