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Understand Citations

Do you have a citation for a book or journal article and need to find the actual item? Before jumping into your search, it will help to understand the information contained in that citation.

The example citations used on this page are based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition.

APA Style: Reference Examples is another great resource for citation questions. It provides examples of frequently used APA in-text citations and references.

Journal Articles

Journal Article Citation:

McGonigal, J. (2012). Building resilience by wasting time. Harvard Business Review, 90(10), 38.

 

The citation above broken down into parts:

  • Author = McGonical, J.
  • Publication date = 2012
  • Article title or name = Building resilience by wasting time
  • Journal Title = Harvard Business Review
    (Note that the journal title is italicized when using APA style)
  • Volume & issue number = 90(10)
  • Page numbers = 38

Journal Article Citation with DOI:

Sapienza, J. K. & Masten, A. S. (2011) Understanding and promoting resilience in children and youth. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, (24)4, 267-273. https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0b013e32834776a8

 

The citation above broken down into parts:

  • Authors = Sapienza, J. K. & Masten, A. S.
  • Publication date = 2011
  • Article title or name = Understanding and promoting resilience in children and youth
  • Journal Title = Current Opinion in Psychiatry
    (Note that the journal title is italicized when using APA style)
  • Volume & issue number = (24)4
  • Page numbers = 267-273
  • DOI = https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0b013e32834776a8

Note on DOI: Many, but not all, scholarly articles and books include a Digital Object Identifier or DOI. If there is a DOI available, include it in the citation. The DOI should be hyperlinked.

Books

Book Citation:

Browning, B. A. (2014). Grant writing for dummies (5th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. 


The citation above broken down into parts:

  • Author = Browning, B. A.
  • Publication date = 2014
  • Book Title = Grant writing for dummies
    (Note that the book title is italicized when using APA style)
  • Publisher = John Wiley & Sons

Book Chapter Citation:

Eynon, R., Fry, J., & Schroeder, R. (2008). The ethics of internet research. In N. Fielding, Raymond M. Lee, & G. Blank (Eds.) The SAGE handbook of online research methods. (pp. 22-42). SAGE Publications, Ltd. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9780857020055

 

The citation above broken down into parts:

  • Chapter Authors = Eynon, R., Fry, J., & Schroeder, R.
  • Chapter Title = The Ethics of Internet Research
  • Books authors or editors = N. Fielding, Raymond M. Lee, & G. Blank
  • Book Title = The SAGE handbook of online research methods
    (Note that the book title is italicized when using APA style)
  • Chapter page numbers = 22-42
  • Publisher = SAGE Publications
  • DOI = https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9780857020055

Note on DOI: Many, but not all, scholarly articles and books include a Digital Object Identifier or DOI. If there is a DOI available, include it in the citation after the publisher name. The DOI should be hyperlinked.