APA 7 guide

Citing according to APA 7

Below are some brief examples of the most commonly asked citation questions, for more in-depth information on how to use APA as a style guide we recommend you use the APA official website or check out one of the library's printed copies of the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association.

Keep an eye out for referencing classes on the library events page

Key points:

APA does NOT require you to include the date of access/retrieval date or database information for electronic sources.
You can use the URL of the journal homepage if there is no DOI assigned and the reference was retrieved online.
A DOI (digital object identifier) is an assigned number that helps link content to its location on the Internet. It is therefore important, if one is provided, to use it when creating a citation. A DOI replaces a URL link in referencing if both are available. All DOI numbers begin with a 10 and are separated by a slash.

Adding citations to your reference list

APA format structure: Author, A. (Year of Publication). Title of work. Publisher. APA format example: Roberts, Callum (2013). The ocean of life : the fate of man and the sea. Penguin Books. In text: (Callum, 2013, p.3) Be careful to: Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title as well as the first letter of any proper nouns. The full title of the book, including any subtitles, should be stated and italicized.

Ebook is short for “electronic book.” It is a digital version of a book that can be read on a computer, ereader (Kindle, Nook, etc.), or other electronic devices. They are structured in the same way as books but with a URL or DOI at the end of the reference. APA format structure: Author, A. (Year of Publication). Title of work. Publisher. http://xxxx APA format example: Rugg, G., & Petre, M. (2007). A Gentle Guide to Research Methods. McGraw-Hill Education. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

APA format structure: Author, A. (Publication Year). Article title. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp. APA format example: Nevin, A. (1990). The changing of teacher education special education. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 13(3-4), 147-148.

APA format structure: Author, A. (Publication Year). Article title. Periodical Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp. https://DOI:XX.XXXXX APA format example: Yan Sun, Chen Zhang, Kunxiang Dong, & Maoxiang Lang. (2018). Multiagent Modelling and Simulation of a Physical Internet Enabled Rail-Road Intermodal Transport System. Urban Rail Transit, Vol. 4(3), 141-154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40864-018-0086-4

Webpages can be tricky; first, determine if the page you are citing is another type of content. Often the webpage will be an online article or another format of information such as a blog and should be cited as such. If the website has a named author: APA format structure: Author, A. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Text title. Retrieved from URL APA format example: Trochim, M. (2006). What is the Research Methods Knowledge Base? http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/ If the web page does NOT have a named author: APA format structure: Article title. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Retrieved from URL APA format example: WMU Library. (2018, January 23). An introduction to library databases. http://library.wmu.se/basics/searching

This type of citation is applicable if you are citing lecture notes, for example from a slide show. However, when you are citing a lecture, consider whether you can trace the sources used in the lecture and read and cite these instead. APA format structure: Author, A. (Publication Year). Name or title of lecture [file format]. Retrieved from URL

If no author is specified, list the organisation behind the report in place of the author name. APA format structure: Author, F. (Publication Year). Title of report(Report No. XXX). Publisher. Organisation. (Publication Year). Title of report(Report No. XXX). Publisher.

APA format structure: Use fields as appropriate From/Adapted from Title [Type of media/Description], by Author, X. X./Organization, date, source. (URL). Licence Creator, X.X./Organization./User name. (Date). Title [Type of media/Description]. Source. URL

Introduction to legal references in APA 7

For more details on how to cite legal material please see the APA Guide and the Bluebook. Please be aware that both of these handbooks are US-centric and as such might need to be adapted in order to work for non-US legislation. The Bluebook includes some non-U.S. jurisdictions, but the list is somewhat limited.

In text citation of legal material should almost always be formed by the title of the law/code/act and the year of its enactment, if the title is long you may shorten it. (APA 7 2020, p.357). The title should be in italics (APA 7 p.358).

(Law n ° 2009-48, 2009)

Reference list entries of legal matter usually include:

the name of the case, e.g. Brown v. Board of Torts
Citation referring to a volume or page where published cases can be found, i.e. reporters . reporters typically contain decisions of courts in different jurisdictions.
Precise jurisdiction e,g. Supreme Court, given in parentheses
Date of decision in same parentheses as jurisdiction
Optional URL

Example

Law n ° 2009-48 of July 8, 2009 promulgating the Code of maritime ports. Official Gazette of the Republic of Tunisia 14 July 2009 (The President of the Republic, July 8 2009). http://www.legislation.tn/sites/default/files/fraction-journal-officiel/2009/2009G/056/Tg2009481.pdf

IMO Documents

IMO Docs consist of circulars, reports and other item types. In general they should be cited using the International Maritime Organization as author, section/document title, publication year and retrieval date.

Example:

International Maritime Organization. (2017). Maritime Safety. Retrieved: October 30, 2017. http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Safety/Pages/Default.aspx

United Nations: official records

UN official records principal organs should be abbreviated as follows in your references:

General Assembly: U.N. GAOR
Security Council: U.N. SCOR
Economic and Social Council: U.N. ESCOR
Trusteeship Council: U.N. TCOR

Resolutions of the UN

Resolutions and decisions cited in footnotes and text notes. When a resolution or decision or an item therein is mentioned in the text without the resolution or decision number, the number may be provided in a footnote or text note. The date of adoption is omitted from the reference. When a resolution or decision is cited in another resolution issued by the same body, the issuing body is not specified in the footnote.

Example:

The General Assembly, Reaffirming the purposes and principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1

__________

1. Resolution 217 A (III).

Resolutions and decisions of subsidiary bodies and United Nations conferences

The first time that a resolution or decision adopted by a subsidiary body of the General Assembly or Economic and Social Council or by a United Nations conference is mentioned in the text, a reference may be given to the supplement or conference report in which the resolution or decision is printed. The same applies to items contained in or annexed to such resolutions and decisions, such as a declaration or plan of action.

Examples:

Resolution adopted by a subsidiary body, cited in a document or publication:

The Council took note of Commission on Human Rights resolution 2004/46 (see E/2004/23).

Annex to a resolution adopted by a conference, cited in a resolution:

The General Assembly,

Recalling the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development,1

_______________

1. Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August–4 September 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.II.A.1 and corrigendum), chap. I, resolution 2, annex.

More on citing UN documents

For more on how to cite UN resources see:

Dag Hammarskjöld Library guides

United Nations Editorial Manual Online