APA reference list

This page describes reference lists in APA:

• The reference list
• List format
• Author
• Year of publication
• Title
• Publication information
• Databases with original, proprietary content
• Order of entries
• Entries with the same author(s) and year of publication
• Punctuation
• APA Style Guides

New to referencing? See the introduction to referencing.

The reference list appears at the end of the assignment, under the heading “References.” It lists detailed information about each source that has been cited in the assignment. Every source mentioned in an in-text citation should be listed in the reference list. If a source doesn't have an in-text citation, it should not be listed here.

Example reference list:

The earlier (6th) edition of APA formats this differently. See 6th vs. 7th for details.

Every entry in an APA reference list has a hanging indent. This means that every line after the first is moved a few spaces to the right.

The entries are in alphabetical order according to the first author listed. See order of entries below for details.

Different types of source have different formats, and everything about each entry (from the punctuation to the capitalisation of words) is strictly prescribed. Getting it exactly right takes some practice, but these pages should highlight some common pitfalls.

Punctuation is important in the reference list. Look at the examples and use the same punctuation (commas, full stops, and brackets). The year of publication, for example, always appears in brackets.

Each entry has four basic parts:

• The name of the author
• The year of publication
• The title
• The publisher's name

The earlier (6th) edition of APA formats this differently. See 6th vs. 7th for details.

The author can be a person, people, an organisation (e.g. a group, company, ministry) or a combination of people and groups. In the reference list, the surname (family name) of an author comes first, followed by the first initials. Write the authors name exactly as it appears on the source including hyphenated or two part surnames, and preferred capitalisation:

Write out organisational authors in full not abbreviations:

If there are several authors, each is separated from the others with a comma, and there is an ‘&’ before the final author:

See 2+ authors for details.

If there is no author, see no author.

The year of publication appears in brackets after the author(s), with a full stop after the closing bracket.

If there is no year, see no year for details.

Some magazine, journal, and newspaper articles also include a date (or sometimes a season) here:

Months and dates should always appear after the year of publication. In the in-text citation, however, only the year is given. With a website, provide the most specific date available. If a last updated date is available for the specific page being cited, then use this in the reference list. In an in-text citation, however, only give the year. Note: a last reviewed date implies the web page content has simply been reviewed and not changed or updated so use the original date given, or the last updated date if available.

Sometimes there is more than one reference with the same author and the same year. In these cases, a letter is added after the year to differentiate the entries. See entries with identical authors and years of publication for details.

The main titles of printed material and web pages are written in italics.

Sometimes a reference will have two titles: the name of an article or entry, and the name of the whole work. For example, journals have a name, but each individual article also has a title. Edited books have both a book title and a chapter title. In these cases, the main title is written in italics, but the section (article or chapter) title is not written in italics:

Most titles (e.g., the titles of books) only have upper-case letters for the first word of the title, the first word of any subtitle, and any proper nouns (the names of places, people, organisations, etc.):

Upper-case letters are used for all the words in the name of a journal, newspaper, or magazine, however:

Put edition information, report numbers and volume numbers in brackets after the title without an intervening full stop. Do not italicise the information in brackets. If both edition and volume details are available place both in the same brackets, separated with a comma and the edition details first:

Sometimes you may need square brackets after a title to identify what kind of source it is. Examples include computer software, grey literature such as press releases, and audio visual material :

The publication information depends on the type of source. For a book, it is the name of the publisher. For a journal article, it is the name of the journal, the volume and/or issue number, and the page range of the article. For a website, or webpage it is the DOI or URL address and not a hyperlink.

Note: When the author and the publisher are the same, omit the publisher detail to avoid repetition.

If a work is not locatable by the reader (e.g. personal communication or in-house reports) treat it as having no source and do not include in the reference list.

Formatting details for each type of source are given on these pages:

• Books
• Journals
• Online material
• Other material

Only include database details if it publishes original, proprietary works such as UpToDate or the Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews. Treat these databases as you would a journal title- title case and in italics after the article title:

If you're not sure which source type to use, see what type of source is this?

See referencing elements for a more detailed discussion of the different types of publication information, including solutions to common problems.

The earlier (6th) edition of APA formats this differently. See 6th vs. 7th for details.

Entries are alphabetised according to the first author's surname, or whatever else appears first in the entry. You can use the sort text feature of Microsoft Word to do this quickly and easily.

If two authors have the same surname, alphabetise them according to their first initial.

If there are two entries with identical authors, order them chronologically, earliest first.

If two different entries begin with the same author, entries that have only that one author come before entries with 2+ authors. If two different 2+ author entries begin with the same author, alphabetise by the second author. If the second author is the same, use the third, and so forth.

If two entries have the same author(s) and the same year of publication, see same year, same author.

In some rare cases, you may need to reference two different sources that have the same author and the same year of publication.

The entries should be ordered alphabetically, according to the first word of the title (aside from “a,” “an,” or “the”). Then add a lower-case letter (“a,” “b,” and so on) after the year to distinguish them:

This letter also appears in the in-text citation:

 

APA has rules about punctuation.

Punctuation marks (most commonly commas or brackets) are used to separate different parts of reference elements.

Commas

Commas separate an individual author’s last name from their initial/s:

    Nguyen, J.

Commas also separate the names of different authors:

   Nguyen, J. A., & Singh, K.

   Nguyen, J., Han, K., Wyatt, E., & Singh, K.

For journal articles, commas also separate the volume number from the journal title and the page number/s from the issue number, and the issue number is inside brackets:

   International Journal of Stress Management, 15(2), 117–135.

Full stops

Except DOIs or URLs, include a full stop after all reference elements (author, date, title, and source). Full stops aren’t used after DOIs or URLs because it may prevent the link functioning.

Do not include a full stop after a question mark (the full stop is replaced by the question mark).

Italicisation of punctuation

Punctuation marks should be italicised if they are part of an italicised reference element (such as a colon that is part of a book title).

Punctuation marks between reference elements should not be italicised (such as a full stop of question mark after an italicised book title).

Referencing element spacing

Use one space after a full stop, comma, or any other punctuation mark after a referencing element.

The APA Style Guide website also has a number of pages and downloadable guides related to what is discussed on this page.

• Basic principles of reference list entries
• Works included in a reference list
• Reference examples
• Reference list vs bibliographies
• APA tutorials and webinars

References and further reading

Disclaimer

These pages are provided as a guide to proper referencing. Your course, department, school, or institute may prescribe specific conventions, and their recommendations supersede these instructions. If you have questions not covered here, check in the style guide listed above, ask your course coordinator, or ask at Academic Q+A.

Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success
Last updated on 22 August, 2024