More than 100 reference examples and their corresponding in-text citations are presented in the seventh edition Publication Manual. Examples of the most common works that writers cite are provided on this page; additional examples are available in the Publication Manual.

To find the reference example you need, first select a category (e.g., periodicals) and then choose the appropriate type of work (e.g., journal article) and follow the relevant example.

When selecting a category, use the webpages and websites category only when a work does not fit better within another category. For example, a report from a government website would use the reports category, whereas a page on a government website that is not a report or other work would use the webpages and websites category.

Also note that print and electronic references are largely the same. For example, to cite both print books and ebooks, use the books and reference works category and then choose the appropriate type of work (i.e., book) and follow the relevant example (e.g., whole authored book).

Textual Works

Textual works are covered in Sections 10.1–10.8 of the Publication Manual. The most common categories and examples are presented here. For the reviews of other works category, see Section 10.7.

Data and Assessments

Data sets are covered in Section 10.9 of the Publication Manual. For the software and tests categories, see Sections 10.10 and 10.11.

Audiovisual Media

Audiovisual media are covered in Sections 10.12–10.14 of the Publication Manual. The most common examples are presented together here. In the manual, these examples and more are separated into categories for audiovisual, audio, and visual media.

Online Media

Online media are covered in Sections 10.15 and 10.16 of the Publication Manual. Please note that blog posts are part of the periodicals category.

From the APA Style blog

How to cite an untitled music album reference

How to cite an untitled music album reference

Before you attempt to create a reference list entry for a music album in your paper, fact-check the recording artist or group’s discography to ensure the title of the album—or the lack of one—is accurate.

Key takeaways from the Psi Chi webinar So You Need to Write a Literature Review

Key takeaways from the Psi Chi webinar So You Need to Write a Literature Review

This blog post describes key tasks in writing an effective literature review and provides strategies for approaching those tasks.

image of a laptop with a giant x covering the screen

How to cite a work with a nonrecoverable source

In most cases, nonrecoverable sources such as personal emails, nonarchived social media livestreams (or deleted and unarchived social media posts), classroom lectures, unrecorded webinars or presentations, and intranet sources should be cited only in the text as personal communications.

Last updated: July 2022Date created: February 2020