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American Psychological Association (APA) Referencing Guide

Introduction:

Explicit indication of the sources of information and ideas is one of the characteristics of academic and

professional writing. Explicit referencing of sources distinguishes academic and professional writing from

other types of writing. Academic and professional writers show where they got the information or ideas

for their texts through internationally accepted referencing system such as APA and Harvard.

The “APA style” is a generic author-date style for citing and referencing information in assignments,

project reports, thesis, dissertations and other publications. There are many styles which follow the

author-date convention, including the Harvard style and the Chicago Manual of Style. This guide is based

on the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual which is recommended to follow by the

IPM.

What is referencing?

Referencing is a standardized way of acknowledging the sources of information and ideas that you have

used in your assignments, project thesis, dissertations and other publications which allows the sources

to be identified.

Why referencing?

Referencing is important to avoid plagiarism, to verify quotations and to enable readers to follow up

what you have written and more fully understand the cited author’s work. Accordingly referencing is

important due to the following reasons.

To respect intellectual property

To strengthen arguments by indicating the source of ideas

To demonstrate knowledge of the field in which you are writing

To establish your voice in your academic writing

To meet marking criteria

To avoid accusation of plagiarism

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Please Note that APA emphasizes to prepare your list according to the concept of references not to the

concept of bibliography. The difference between these two concepts will be taught to you by the

relevant lecturer in charge. Thus, the following two are the most important matters to be concerned.

1. In-text citations – That is to insert citations at the appropriate place in the text of your

document and that should be according to author-date style. Page numbers must also be

included if you directly quote, paraphrase a passage or if you want to direct the reader to a

specific page. What is a quotation and paraphrasing will be taught by your relevant lecturer.

2. List of References – That is to include a reference list which includes all in-text citations at the

end of your research project report.

The following matters are important in preparing your list of references. Further explanations

regarding the following points will be given by your lecturer.

It should be arranged alphabetically by author.

If you have more items (articles, books, chapters etc.) published by the same author, list the

items chronologically, starting with the earliest publication.

Each reference should appear on a new line.

It should be indented so that the author can clearly stand out.

References should not be numbered.

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The following tables indicate how to put in-text citations and prepare the list of reference for the

most common types among different types of sources you find.

In-text and References relating to book: (Further guidelines will be given by your lecturer)

Type In-text Reference

One author Stone (1991) or

Stone (1991, P.44)

confirmed that

Stone, J. R. (1991). Human resource management. Australia:

John Wiley & Sons.

Two to five

authors

(Torrington & Tan,

1994) or Torrington &

Tan (1994) stated that

Torrinton, D. & Tan, C. H. (1994). Human resource

management for South East Asia. Singapore: Prentice

Hall.

Six or more

authors

(Bannister et al., 2005)

or

Bannister et al. (2005)

explains …….

Bannister, B. J., Chan, A. W., Mak, W. M., Ng, C. W., Bennett,

R. & Stone, R. J. et al. (1995). Managing human resources

In Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Pitman.

Multiple

work by the

same author

(Willmott, 2004, 2006) Willmott, W.F . (2004). Rocks and landscapes of the national

parks of Southern Queensland. Brisbane: Geological

Society of Australia, Queensland Division.

Willmott, W.F. (2006). Rocks and landscapes of the national

parks of Central Queensland. Brisbane: Geological Society

of Australia, Queensland Division.

(Order chronologically from earliest in the reference list)

Multiple

works by the

same

author,

published in

the same

year

(Patel, 2002a, 2002b) Patel, J. (2002a). Learning Styles and Reflective Practice: The

Pedagogy of Individualized Instruction. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Patel, J. (2002b). Signification and Psychology in

Education: A Case Study of Theory in Practice.

London: Rutledge.

(Order alphabetically by title in the Reference list)

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Book by an

organization

or institution

(Queensland Health,

2002) or

Queensland Health

(2002) recommends

that….

Queensland Health. (2002). Best practice guidelines for the

management of type 1 diabetes in children and

adolescents. Brisbane: Queensland Health

Editions (Clark, 1992) or

Clark (1992) stated

that........

Clark, R. (1992). Australian human resources management:

Framework and practice (2nd ed.). Sydney: McGraw Hill.

Edited book (O’Neill & Kramar, 1995)

or O’Neill & Kramar

mentioned that………

O’Neill, G. L. & Kramar, R. (Eds.). (1995). Australian human

resources management. Melbourne: Pitman.

Electronic

book

(Pettinger, 2002) Pettinger, R. (2002). Global organizations. Oxford: Capston

Publishing. Available from NetLibrary database.

Book

Chapter in

an edited

book

(Helber, 1995) or

Helber (1995) compares

Helber, L. E. (1995). Redeveloping mature resorts for new

markets. In M. V. Conlin & T. Baum (Eds.), Island tourism:

Management principles and practice (pp. 105-113).

Chichester, England: John Wiley.

Chapter

from an

electronic

book

(Scott, 2005) Scott, D. (2005). Colonial governmentality. In J. X. Inda (Ed.)

Anthropologies of modernity (pp.21-49). Retrieved from

Wiley Inter Science database.

Dictionary or

Encyclopedia

(Wolman, 1989) Wolman, B.B. (1989). Dictionary of behavioral science

(2nd ed.). San Diego: Academic Press.

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In-text and references relating to journal articles: (Further guidelines will be given by your lecturer)

Type In-text Reference

One author (Sweeney, 1979) or

Sweeney (1979) stated

that………

Sweeney, J.H. (1979). A new look at promotion from within.

Personnel Journal, 58(08), 531-535.

Two authors Schafer & Kang (2008) Schafer, J.L. & Kang, J. (2008). Average causal effects from

nonrandomized studies: A practical guide and simulated

example. Psychological Methods. 13, 279-313.

Three to six

authors

(Skenderian, Siegel,

Crano, Alvaro, & Lac,

2008)

Skenderian, J, Siegel, J. T., Crano, W.D., Alvaro, E.E. & Lac, A.

(2008). Expectancy change and adolescents' intentions to

use marijuana. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 22,

563-569.

More than

six authors

(Galea et al., 2008) Galea, L.A., Uban, K. A., Epp, J.R., Brummelte, S., Barha, C.K.,

Wilson, W. L. et al. (2008). Endocrine regulation of

cognition and neuroplasticity: Our pursuit to unveil the

complex interaction between hormones, the brain, and

behaviour. Canadian Journal of Experimental

Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie

expérimentale. 62, 247-260.

Article from

electronic

data base

(Wharton, 1996) Wharton, N. (1996). Health and safety in outdoor activity

centres. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor

Leadership, 12(4), 8-9. Retrieved November 10, 2007,

from ABI/INFORM Global database.

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In-text and references to web pages: (Further guidelines will be given by your lecturer)

Type In-text Reference

With one

author

(Atherton, 2005) Atherton, J. (2005). Behaviour Modification. Retrieved

February 5, 2009, from

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/

behaviour_mod.htm

No author (Behaviour

modification, 2007)

Behaviour modification. (2007). Retrieved February 5, 2009,

from http://www.educational-

psychologist.org.uk/behaviour.html

No date (Society of Clinical

Psychology, n.d.)

Society of Clinical Psychology. (n.d.) About Clinical Psychology.

Retrieved January 28, 2009, from

http://www.apa.org/divisions/div12/aboutcp.html

Cooperate

author

(Queensland Health,

2008) or

As stated by

Queensland Health

(2008)……….

Queensland Health. (2008). Healthy start in life. Retrieved

March 10, 2009, from

http://www.health.qld.gov.au/ph/documents/

saphs/hsil_full_doc.pdf.

In-text and references relating to lecture notes: (Further guidelines will be given by your lecturer)

Type In-text Reference

Course

handouts/Lecture

notes – print

(Johnson, 2008) Johnson, A. (2008). Week three: Foucault [Powerpoint

slides]. Unpublished manuscript, BESC1001, University

of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.

Lecture notes –

Online

(Johnson, 2008) Johnson, A. (2008). Week three: Foucault [Powerpoint

slides]. Retrieved from BESC1001, University of

Queensland Blackboard Online:

http://www.elearning.uq.edu.a

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In-text and references relating to thesis: (Further guidelines will be given by your lecturer)

Type In-text Reference

Retrieved from

personal or

institutional

website

(Axford, 2007) Axford, J.C. (2007). What constitutes success in Pacific

island community conserved areas? (Doctoral

dissertation, University of Queensland, 2007).

Retrieved from

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158747

Retrieved from

data base

(Sheehan, 2007) Sheehan, L. R. (2007). Destination management

organizations: A stakeholder perspective. Retrieved

from Proquest Digital Dissertations. (AAT NR25719)

In-text and references relating to conference papers: (Further guidelines will be given by your

lecturer)

Type In-text Reference

Published paper (Bohrer, Zielke &

Freiburg, 1995)

Bohrer, S., Zielke, T., & Freiburg, V. (1995). Integrated

obstacle detection framework for intelligent cruise

control on motorways. Paper presented at IEEE

Intelligent Vehicles Symposium. Detroit, MI:

Piscataway.

Unpublished

paper

(Bowden & Fairley,

1996)

Bowden, F.J. & Fairley, C.K. (1996, June). Endemic STDs in

the Northern Territory: estimations of effective rates

of partner change. Paper presented at the scientific

meeting of the Royal Australian College of

Physicians, Darwin.

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In-text and References relating to Newspapers and Magazines: (Further guidelines will be given by

your lecturer)

Type In-text Reference

Newspaper

article with

Author

(Cook, 2002) Cook, D. (2002, January 28). All in the mind. The Age, p. 8.

Newspaper

article without

author

(Meeting the needs,

2001)

Meeting the needs of counselors. (2001, May 5). The

Courier Mail, p. 22.

Magazine article (Marano, 2008) Marano, H.E. (2008, March-April). Making of

aperfectionist. Psychology Today, 41, 80-86.

Electronic

newspaper or

magazine article

(Sandy, 2009) Sandy, A. (2009, January 22).Cheaper to fly than hire a bike

in Brisbane. The Courier Mail. Retrieved from

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/

0,23739,24949645-952,00.html

In-text and References relating to indirect citation: (Further guidelines will be given by your lecturer)

Type In-text Reference

Indirect citation

or

secondary source

Miller (cited in Agrios

2005) found …

… it was found (Miller,

cited in Agrios 2005).

Agrios, G.N. (2005). Plant pathology (5th ed.) Burlington,

Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press.

(Cite the source where you found the citation)