The citation style of the American Psychological Association (APA style) is frequently used in many disciplines, among which Psychology and Social Sciences.
The 7th edition has been released in October 2019 together with a new website and blog.
Caption:
Figure 1: Maslow's pyramid. Taken from P. Buddenberg, 2017 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File: Piramide_van_Maslow_kleur.png). CC0 2017, P. Buddenberg.
In the text:
... In Figure 1 (Buddenberg, 2017) we see Maslow's pyramid of needs in its original phrasing.
In the reading list:
Buddenberg, P. (2017). Maslow's pyramid [Graph]. Wikimedia. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File: Piramide_van_Maslow_kleur.png.
NB: When you publish a picture, always check if it is copyrighted!
More information about copyright: Utrecht University Copyright Information Office
Quoting a text that was generated by AI (for example ChatGPT) can be compared to sharing the output of an algorithm. Therefore you should mention the source, both in the text and in your reference list.
The maker of the AI tool is considered the author, the date is the year in which the version of the AI tool you used has been released and as title you mention the name of the AI tool:
Name of Company/creator of generative AI Tool. (Year). Name of the generative AI tool (version release date) [Large language model]. URL.
In the bibliography:
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat.
In-text citation:
When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).
Source, incl more information: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt
Note to students: teachers may request additional information from you when using GenAI, such as an explanation of what you did and why or even your specific prompts. Check with your teacher if, how and where you need to add this information.
Example:
OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (April 20 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
I used Chat GPT to ...
Below you can find a few examples of how to refer to sources in your bibliography in APA style.
For a complete overview of the APA style please use the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition.
Last name, first initial(s) of first name. (year of publidation). Title. Subtitle (edition if not the first). Publisher. DOI
NB only online books have a doi
NB Only the first word of a title or subtitle starts with a capital
Example:
Jameson, F. (1998). The cultural turn. Writings on postmodernism 1983-1988 (3rd ed.). Verso.
Example:
Robben, T. (2018). Argentina betrayed: Memory, mourning, and accountability. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Example:
Moerbeek, M. & Teerenstra, S. (2016). Power analysis of trials with multilevel data. CRC Press.
In the references list up to 20 authors are mentioned. Names are separated with a comma and only the last name with an ampersand (&). If you have a reference containing more than 20 authors, please list the first 19 add three dots (...) and add the last author.
Example:
Jameson, F., Holloway, N.L., Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., & Bach, J. S. (1998). The cultural turn. Writings on postmodernism 1983-1988 (3rd ed.). Verso.
example:
Central Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Employment monitor. CBS.
Publisher name:
The publisher name is mentioned (also with ebooks). Use the name on the title page of the book. Place of publication is no longer mentioned in the 7the edition. If you have more than one publisher, name them all, separates with a ; . If the name of the author organisation is the same as the publisher you can omit the publisher name.
Example:
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA Style (7th edition).
The edited volume itself:
Last name, first initial(s) of first name & Last name, first initial(s) of first name (eds.). (year of publidation). Title. Subtitle. Publisher. DOI
NB doi only with online publications
NB Only the first word of the title or subtitle of the edited volume starts with a capital
Example:
Torino, G. C., Rivera, D. P., Capodilupo, C. M., Nadal, K. L., & Sue, D. W. (Eds.). (2019). Microaggression theory: Influence and implications. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119466642
Article from the edited volume or book chapter:
Last name, first initial(s) of first name & Last name, first initial(s) of first name (Year of publication). Title of the article. In first initial(s) of first name, Last name, & first initial(s) of first name, Last name, (Eds.), Title of the edited volume (pp. pages). Publisher.
Example:
Kirschner, P.A. & Kester, L. (2016). Towards a research agenda for educational technology research. In N. Rushby & D.W. Surry (Eds.), The Wiley handbook of learning technology (pp. 523-541). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
NB Only the first word of chapter title or subtitle starts with a capital
Last name, first initial(s). (year of publication). Title. Journal Title, volume number (number of issue), pages. https://doi.xxx
NB Only the first word of an article title or subtitle starts with a capital
N.B. If it is a online journal, you add the DOI (if available and written as a url) after the page numbers. Otherwise you give the URL of the website on which you found the journal.
Examples:
Ünlüsoy, A., & de Haan, M. (2020). Expanding the notion of global learning: Turkish-Dutch teens’ networked configurations for learning. Frontline Learning Research, 8(2), 109 - 130. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v8i2.423
Wang, Y., Zhou, F., Zhang, D., Zhao, J., Du, R., Hu, Y., Cheng, Z., Gao, L., Jin, Y., Luo, G., Fu, S., Lu, Q., Du, G., Wang, K., Lu, Y., Fan, G., Zhang, Y., Liu, Y., Ruan, S., . . . Fu, S. (2020). Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of intravenous remdesivir in adult patients with severe COVID-19: study protocol for a phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial. Trials, 21(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-04352-9
Organisation as author:
example:
The Royal Marsden Hospital Bone-Marrow Transplantation Team (1977). Failure of syngenetic bone-marrow graft without preconditioning in post-hepatitis marrow aplasia. Lancet, 2, 242-244.
NB All words of a journal title start with a capital
Last name, first initial(s). (year, date). Title newspaper. Name of the newspaper. pages.
Example:
Orsman, B., & Vaughan, G. (2005, June 21). Rat blamed for latest Telecom blackout. The New Zealand Herald. p. A3.
If you have found the newspaper article online, you add the URL of the website of the newspaper.
Example:
Carey, B. (2019, March 22). Can we get better at forgetting? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/health/memory-forgetting-psychology.html
If you found the article on an online news site that is not associated with a daily or weekly newspaper (for example the Huffington Post), use the format for a webpage.
Example:
Bologna, C. (2019, October 31). Why some people with anxiety love watching horror movies. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anxiety-love-watching-horror-movies_l_5d277587e4b02a5a5d57b59e
Last name, initial(s). (year, month day). Title webpage. Website. url website
Gather as much information as you can get.
Example:
Walker, A. (2019, November 14). Germany avoids recession but growth remains weak. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50419127
Giovanetti, F. (2019, November 16). Why we are so obsessed with personality types. Medium. https://medium.com/the-business-of-wellness/why-we-are-so-obsessed-with-personality-types-577450f9aee9
In the 7th edition url's are no longer preceded with Retrieved from (except when a retrieval date is necessary because the information is not permanent).
Example:
U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). U.S. and world population clock. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/popclock/
Facebook post
Last name, initials or Name of Group. (year, month date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Type of post]. Site Name. URL
(indicate information on images, video etc in brackets after the content description)
Example:
News From Science. (2019, June 21). Are you a fan of astronomy? Enjoy reading about what scientists have discovered in our solar system—and beyond? This [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNOW/photos/a.117532185107/10156268057260108/?type=3&theater
X (Twitter)
Last name, initials. or Name of Group [@username]. (year, month date). Content of the tweet up to the first 20 words [Tweet]. Site Name. URL
(indicate If the tweet includes images, videos, or links to other sources in brackets after the content description)
Example:
Gates, B. [@BillGates]. (2019, September 7). Today, it’s difficult for researchers to diagnose #Alzheimers patients early enough to intervene. A reliable, easy and accurate diagnostic would [Thumbnail with link attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1170305718425137152
Blogpost
Last name, initials. (year, month date). Title of post. Publisher. URL
Example:
Ouellette, J. (2019, November 15). Physicists capture first footage of quantum knots unraveling in superfluid. Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/11/study-you-can-tie-a-quantum-knot-in-a-superfluid-but-it-will-soon-untie-itself/
When you refer to media such as audio or video, you refer to the web page where they can be found. The title is followed by form-specific information: [video file] or [photograph].
Last name, initial(s). [screen name]. (year, month day). Title of the video/audio. [Video]. Website host. url video/audio
Examples:
Harvard University. (2019, August 28). Soft robotic gripper for jellyfish [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRoWTYfxMs
Denali National Park and Preserve. (2013). Lava [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/denalinps/8639280606/
Mottram, L. (2020, January 8). Hazard reduction burning is not a panacea to bushfire risk: Expert [Radio broadcast]. ABC. https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/thinned-forests-can-be-more-prone-to-fire,-expert-says/1185328
Data set, software, mobile app or code
Author, A. A. (year). Name (Version number) [Data set / Computer software / Mobile app / Source code]. Publisher. https://
Examples:
Preprint
Example:
Hampton, S., Rabagliati, H., Sorace, A., & Fletcher-Watson, S. (2017). Autism and bilingualism: A qualitative interview study of parents’ perspectives and experiences. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/76xfs
Open Educational Resource
Example:
Fagan, J. (2019, March 25). Nursing clinical brain. OER Commons. Retrieved January 7, 2020, from https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/53029-nursing-clinical-brain/view
Published dissertation in an institutional repository
Example:
Zambrano-Vazquez, L. (2016). The interaction of state and trait worry on response monitoring in those with worry and obsessive-compulsive symptoms [Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona]. UA Campus Repository. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/620615
Characteristics of the APA style:
APA support from the American Psychological Association:
APA guides 6th edition :
Using capitalization in source titles can be confusing.
For APA applies:
If you mention a title of a source in the running text, you start every (important) word with a capital letter (title case).
Example: In the article “Turning Frowns (and Smiles) Upside Down: A Multilevel Examination of Surface Acting Positive and Negative Emotions on Well-Being” the author states that ...
In the bibliography you only use capital letters at the beginning of the title or subtitle or for words that would otherwise also be capitalized, such as names or abbreviations (sentence case). In journal names, on the other hand, all important words start with capital letters.
Example: Sanchiz, M., Chevalier, A., & Amadieu, F. (2017). How do older and young adults start searching for information? Impact of age, domain knowledge and problem complexity on the different steps of information searching. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.038
For more information on title case and sentence case, see the APA 7th edition manual.