[3:00 min.]

This tutorial explains the reasons why you need to acknowledge the work of others in your writing.

[Tutorial created by the Cooperative Library Instruction Project]

The basic format for a journal article citation in APA style is as follows (pay attention to capitalization in the article and journal titles and to where italics appear).

In-text Citation:

(AuthorLastName, Year)

Reference List:

Example

In-text Citation (3-5 authors)

(Bull, Levine, Black, Schmiege, & Santelli, 2012)

Reference List

So where do you find this information on the article?  See the image below for one example.

The basic format for a website citation in APA style is as follows (please follow the guidance from the APA Style Blog entry about when to use Format Description).

In-text citation:

(Author, Year)

Reference List:

Author, A. (Year, Month Day). Title of document [Format description]. Retrieved from http://URL

Example Citation

In-text Citation:

     (Mayo Clinic, 2014)

Reference List:

Many databases and search tools will help you create formatted citations for the sources you have chosen to save or email. Here are a few examples:

1Search: Under the Actions menu, look for the Citation option when using any of the main tabs like Item Details

Medline (an EBSCOHost database): Open the full record for the reference, look for the Cite option

Google Scholar: Look for the Cite option below each source (click the More option if you don't see Cite):