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Introduction to Social Work: APA Citations

This guide was created to help students find the best sources for their social work research papers.

What is APA Style?

 APA (which stands for American Psychological Association) format is a standardized method for giving credit to those whose work you use.   It is important to let your readers know where you got your information. This style is used in courses such as History, Allied Health, Education, Nursing, Psychology and Sociology.

 Every research paper or project that uses outside sources must include a list of those sources at the end of the paper. This is called References and should list all sources in proper APA format alphabetically by the authors' last names.

APA format has specific forms for each type of resource you use: books, magazine articles, journal articles etc. It even differentiates between online and print materials. It may require inclusion of a D.O.I. or Digital Object Identifier number.

With correct APA citations, you will never risk committing plagiarism. Plagiarism is considered stealing and could result in failure or worse!

This guide has many helpful ways to list your References correctly in APA style. Click on the APA Style Sheet to the right for specific examples.  Follow the tabs above for more information.

If you have more questions, speak with a librarian or consult a tutor in the Writing Center. 

Parts of an APA Citation

Every source you used must be included in your References page at the end of your paper.

Each source format has its own citation format. In addition to the author(last name, first initial) and title:

  • a book will require the city of publication, the publisher and copyright date.
  • a magazine article will require the date of publication, volume, issue number and page numbers. 
  • Online articles require the DOI or digital object identifier, if available. If not, the URL must be included.
  • Articles from databases do not require the name of the database.
  • Titles of books and journals are italicized.
  • Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of an article or chapter title.

 

In-Text Citations for APA

In APA style, indicate the source of your information within the sentence or paragraph. This is known as in-text citation.

Direct Quote with Author's Name

Include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

Maria Smith (2010) has found  "Rates of obesity among men have caused an increased risk of heart disease" (p. 42).

Paraphrase with Author's Name

When paraphrasing another's ideas, include the author and year of publication.

Smith (2010) noted a correlation between obesity and heart disease.

Citation with no Author

When there is no author, use the first word or two of the title in the sentence or at the end of the quote. Titles of books and reports are italicized or underlined; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks.

"Cases of obesity-related diabetes have increased 20 percent  in the last ten years" (Diabetes Statistics).

Citation with an Organization as Author

 If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization at the beginning of the sentence or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.

According to the Centers for Disease Control [CDC], (2011) obesity increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

When referring to the organization again in a later quote, you may use the abbreviation.

"Research  trials have shown that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed in people at high risk for the disease who make lifestyle changes" (CDC, 2011).

All references must appear in your References list at the end of your paper!

APA Publication Manual

Available at the Reference Desk!

APA Formatting

In addition to citing your work  and listing your resources in your list of References, APA style includes specific formatting rules:

  • 12 pt. font,
  • one inch margins,
  • double spacing,
  • Running header with your title on every page.

Check this the links from Purdue University"s Online Writing Lab (OWL) for specifics!