1. Documenting Sources: Using APA Format
Rationale: Welcome to “Documenting Sources: Using APA Format.” This presentation is designed to introduce your students to the purposes of documentation, as well as methods for effectively using parenthetical citations and a reference page. The twenty-three slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of strategies for using APA style. This presentation is ideal for the beginning of a research unit in a science course or any assignment that requires APA documentation.
This presentation may be supplemented with OWL handouts, including “Using APA Format.” ( “Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words” ( “Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing” ( and “Avoiding Plagiarism” (
Directions: Each slide is activated by a single mouse click, unless otherwise noted in bold at the bottom of each notes page.
Writer and Designer: Jennifer Liethen Kunka
Contributors: Muriel Harris, Karen Bishop, Bryan Kopp, Matthew Mooney, David Neyhart, and Andrew Kunka
Developed with resources courtesy of the Purdue University Writing Lab
Grant funding courtesy of the Multimedia Instructional Development Center at Purdue University
© Copyright Purdue University, 2000
Updated September 2001 by Geoff Stacks
A workshop brought to you by the Purdue University Writing Lab
Purdue University Writing Lab

2. Why Use APA Format?
Allows readers to cross-reference your sources easily
Provides consistent format within a discipline
Gives you credibility as a writer
Protects you from plagiarism
Key Concepts: This slide allows the facilitator to explain the purposes for using APA documentation. APA documentation style is commonly utilized for research in science-related fields, as opposed to MLA style, which is used for research in the liberal arts. APA format provides writers with a format for cross-referencing their sources--from their parenthetical references to their reference page. This cross-referencing system allows readers to locate the publication information of source material. This is of great value for researchers who may want to locate your sources for their own research projects. The proper use of APA style also shows the credibility of writers; such writers show accountability to their source material. Most importantly, use of APA style can protect writers from plagiarism--the purposeful or accidental use of source material by other writers without giving appropriate credit. The next slide provides additional information on plagiarism.
Click to reveal each item.
Purdue University Writing Lab

3. Where Do I Find APA Format?
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed.
Composition textbooks
OWL website: owl.english.purdue.edu
Key Concepts: There are many rules for following APA format, and the facilitator should stress that it is nearly impossible to memorize them all. Students’ best course of action is to utilize the official APA handbook or the APA section in an updated composition textbook as guides for properly using the documentation format. Since the American Psychological Association, a professional group of behavioral and social science professors and instructors, periodically updates the guide, students should be certain that they are using the most current information possible.
There are other resources for finding current information on APA documentation style. The APA web site offers some limited information about recent format changes, especially regarding the documentation of World Wide Web and electronic sources. The Purdue University Writing Lab has a printable handout on APA style at its web site: owl.english.purdue.edu. The web site also provides other links for APA style information on the web. For quick questions on APA format, students can also call the Writing Lab Grammar Hotline at
Click to reveal each item.
Purdue University Writing Lab

4. Reference Page
A list of every source that you make reference to in your essay.
Provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources cited in your essay.
Each retrievable source cited in the essay must appear on the reference page, and vice versa.
Key Concepts: This slide explains the purpose of a reference page. Students may also understand this to be called the “bibliography” page, but APA makes a distinction between the reference page and a bibliography: a reference list “must include only the sources that were used in the research and preparation of the article. Note that a reference list cites works that specifically support a particular article. In contrast, a bibliography cites works for background or for further reading.”
Unlike MLA, APA is only interested in what they call “recoverable data”—that is, data which other people can find. For example, personal communications such as letters, memos, s, interviews, and telephone coversations should not be included in the reference list since they are not recoverable by other researchers.
The facilitator may stress that each source referenced within the paper should also appear on the reference page. The reference page appears at the end of the paper.
Purdue University Writing Lab

5. A Sample Reference Page
Example: This slide offers students a sample of what a reference page looks like. For this particular paper, titled “Shell Shock and the Great War,”* four sources were used. The first and fourth sources are books with one author. The second source is an article with two authors that appeared in an anthology. The third source is an article that appeared in a continuously paginated journal.
The facilitator may choose to explain the form of this page. The abbreviated title of the paper, “Shell Shock,” appears in the upper right with the page number. “References” should be centered two lines below the abbreviated title. All sources are double spaced and alphabetized according to author. In the past, APA has required that the first line of each entry be indented (like a normal paragraph). But the 5th edition requries a hanging indent in which only the first line of an entry is all the way to the left while subsequent lines are indented.
Notice that titles of books and journals are italicized while titles of articles are neither italicized nor put in quotes. And only the first word of a title and the first word of a subtitle are capitalized.
The facilitator may also choose to reference students to the final pages on the Writing Lab APA handout, which also offers a sample reference.
* From “Shell Shock and the Great War” by Andrew J. Kunka, Purdue University (unpublished manuscript).
Purdue University Writing Lab

6. References: Some Examples
Book Shay, J. (1994). Achilles in Vietnam: Combat trauma and the undoing of character. New York: Touchstone.
Article in a Magazine Klein, J. (1998, October 5). Dizzy days. The New Yorker,
Examples: This slide provides examples of a few commonly used citation formats. The facilitator should note that titles of books, magazines, journals, and newspapers should be italicized or underlined.
Purdue University Writing Lab

7. References: Some Examples
A source with no known author Cigarette sales fall 30% as California tax rises. (1999, September 14). New York Times, p. A17.
Examples: This slide offers examples of citations for a newspaper article and for a source (in this case, a newspaper article) with no author. The facilitator might ask students how to alphabetize a source with no author within a reference page. They should alphabetize according to their next best piece of information--here, the first word of the article, “Cigarette.” When citing a reference in the text, use a short title for the parenthetical citation (e.g., “Cigarette sales”).
Purdue University Writing Lab

8. References: Some Examples
A newspaper article
Tommasini, A. (1998, October 27). Master teachers whose artistry glows in private. New York Times, p. B2.
Newspaper article online
Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New York Times. Retrieved from
Purdue University Writing Lab

9. References: Some Examples
A newspaper article Tommasini, A. (1998, October 27). Master teachers whose artistry glows in private. New York Times, p. B2.
Newspaper article online
Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New York Times. Retrieved from
Examples: This slide offers examples of citations for a newspaper article and for a source (in this case, a newspaper article) with no author. The facilitator might ask students how to alphabetize a source with no author within a reference page. They should alphabetize according to their next best piece of information--here, the first word of the article, “Cigarette.” When citing a reference in the text, use a short title for the parenthetical citation (e.g., “Cigarette sales”).
Purdue University Writing Lab

10. References: Some Examples
Edited Book:
Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (Eds.). (1997). Women’s ways of knowing. New York: Basic Books.
No Author or Editor:
Roget’s II: The new thesaurus (3rd ed.). (1995). New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Examples: This slide offers examples of citations for a newspaper article and for a source (in this case, a newspaper article) with no author. The facilitator might ask students how to alphabetize a source with no author within a reference page. They should alphabetize according to their next best piece of information--here, the first word of the article, “Cigarette.” When citing a reference in the text, use a short title for the parenthetical citation (e.g., “Cigarette sales”).
Purdue University Writing Lab

11. References: Some Examples
Two Authors:
Kane, D., & Thomas, B. (2000). Nursing and the “F” word. Nursing Forum, 35 (2),
Three to Seven Authors:
Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., Harlow, T., & Bach, J. S. (1993). There's more to self-esteem than whether it is high or low: The importance of stability of self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65,
Three to Seven Authors
List by last names and initials; commas separate author names, while the last author name is preceded again by ampersand.
Purdue University Writing Lab

12. References: Some Examples
More Than Seven Authors
Miller, F. H., Choi, M. J., Angeli, L. L., Harland, A. A., Stamos, J. A., Thomas, S. T., Rubin, L. H. (2009). Web site usability for the blind and low-vision user. Technical Communication, 57,
Purdue University Writing Lab

13. References: Some Examples
Article From an Online Periodical with DOI Assigned
Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography. European Journal of Marketing, 41(11/12), doi: /
Online Scholarly Journal Article: Citing DOIs
Because online materials can potentially change URLs, APA recommends providing a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), when it is available, as opposed to the URL. DOIs are an attempt to provide stable, long-lasting links for online articles. They are unique to their documents and consist of a long alphanumeric code. Many-but not all-publishers will provide an article's DOI on the first page of the document.
Note that some online bibliographies provide an article's DOI but may "hide" the code under a button which may read "Article" or may be an abbreviation of a vendors name like "CrossRef" or "PubMed." This button will usually lead the user to the full article which will include the DOI. Find DOI's from print publications or ones that go to dead links with CrossRef.org's "DOI Resolver," which is displayed in a central location on their home page.
Purdue University Writing Lab

14. References: Some Examples
Article From an Online Periodical with no DOI Assigned
Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 8. Retrieved from
Online scholarly journal articles without a DOI require the URL of the journal home page. Remember that one goal of citations is to provide your readers with enough information to find the article; providing the journal home page aids readers in this process.
Purdue University Writing Lab

15. References: Some Examples
Article From a Database
Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L., & Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas. Journal of Abnormal Eating, 8(3),
Article From a Database
Please note: APA states that including database information in citations is not necessary because databases change over time (p. 192). However, the OWL still includes information about databases for those users who need database information.
When referencing a print article obtained from an online database (such as a database in the library), provide appropriate print citation information (formatted just like a "normal" print citation would be for that type of work). By providing this information, you allow people to retrieve the print version if they do not have access to the database from which you retrieved the article. You can also include the item number or accession number in parentheses at the end, but the APA manual says that this is not required. For articles that are easily located, do not provide database information. If the article is difficult to locate, then you can provide database information. Only use retrieval dates if the source could change, such as Wikis. For more about citing articles retrieved from electronic databases, see pages of the Publication Manual.
Purdue University Writing Lab

16. References: Some Examples
Electronic Books
De Huff, E. W. (n.d.). Taytay’s tales: Traditional Pueblo Indian tales. Retrieved from taytay.html
Davis, J. (n.d.). Familiar birdsongs of the Northwest. Available from
Electronic Books
Electronic books may include books found on personal websites, databases, or even in audio form. Use the following format if the book you are using is only provided in a digital format or is difficult to find in print. If the work is not directly available online or must be purchased, use "Available from," rather than "Retrieved from," and point readers to where they can find it. For books available in print form and electronic form, include the publish date in parentheses after the author's name.
Purdue University Writing Lab

17. References: Some Examples
Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year
Berndt, T. J. (1981a). Age changes and changes over time in prosocial intentions and behavior between friends. Developmental Psychology, 17,
Berndt, T. J. (1981b). Effects of friendship on prosocial intentions and behavior. Child Development, 52,
If you are using more than one reference by the same author (or the same group of authors listed in the same order) published in the same year, organize them in the reference list alphabetically by the title of the article or chapter. Then assign letter suffixes to the year. Refer to these sources in your essay as they appear in your reference list, e.g.: "Berdnt (1981a) makes similar claims..."
Purdue University Writing Lab

18. References: Some Examples
Online Lecture Notes and Presentation Slides
Hallam, A. Duality in consumer theory [PDF document]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site: index.html
Roberts, K. F. (1998). Federal regulations of chemicals in the environment [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
Online Lecture Notes and Presentation Slides
When citing online lecture notes, be sure to provide the file format in brackets after the lecture title (e.g. PowerPoint slides, Word document).
Purdue University Writing Lab