Using Sources & APA Style (2024)

FAQs

Using Sources & APA Style? ›

The basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

Add "as cited in" before the author in the in-text reference. For example - (Harris, 2009, as cited in Lewis, 2019). In the reference list, provide the details of the work in which you found the quotation or idea.

There are three ways to integrate sources: summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting. Summarizing is typically used when you only want to incorporate the main idea of a source. For instance, you might summarize the conclusion of a study or a scene from a novel into a concise statement in your own voice.

An APA-style paper includes the following sections: title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references. Your paper may also include one or more tables and/or figures. Different types of information about your study are addressed in each of the sections, as described below.

For APA the reference list is arranged in alphabetical order of authors' surnames. Arrange by first author's name, then by second author if you have the same first author, etc.

Include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference. If the author and date are introduced in the sentence as a narrative citation, then add the page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example, Smith (2019) demonstrated how to "..." (p. 112).

How to cite primary sources in APA? ›

In this case, because you did not read the original report, you will include only the source you did consult in your References. The words “as cited in” in the parenthetical reference indicate you have not read the original research.

The basics

An APA in-text citation consists of the author's last name and the year of publication (also known as the author-date system). If you're citing a specific part of a source, you should also include a locator such as a page number or timestamp. For example: (Smith, 2020, p. 170).

Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work. For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent. Present the journal title in full.

In an APA reference list, you put each citation in alphabetical order by the author's last name (surname). APA follows the letter by letter system; therefore, A comes before B and so on. When you have authors with the same last name, you move to the first and middle initials.

Order: All references are listed by alphabetically by author, or title if there is no author; If there are two entries with identical authors but different dates, order them chronologically, earliest first. Space: Double-space the whole reference list.