APA References: Textual Works

Textual works include written and text-based sources, both in print and online: books and reference works, periodicals, edited book chapters and reference work entries, reports and gray literature, and more.

Periodicals
Books and Reference Works
Edited Book Chapters and Reference Work Entries
Reports and Gray Literature
Conference Sessions and Presentations
Dissertations and Theses

PERIODICALS

Periodicals refer to publications that are produced and released on a continuous schedule or at regular intervals. Periodicals include academic journals, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and more.

The reference structure for periodicals is as follows:

Author or Editor	Date	Title	Source
			Periodical Information	DOI or URL
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. Name of Group. Author, C. C. [username]. Username.	(2020). (2020, January). (2020, February 16).	Title of article.	Title of Periodical, 32(3), 7–28.	https://doi.org/xxxx https://xxxxxx

Tips:

The publisher information should include the title of the periodical, the volume number, and the issue number, followed by the page range of the specific article you are citing.
Most academic sources have DOIs (digital object identifiers). If your source does not have a DOI but you accessed that source through an academic database, do not include a URL. If your source does not have a DOI and you accessed it outside of a database, include a URL so the reader can locate the source.
Use the year for journal articles; use the full date for magazines and newspaper articles and blog posts.
When source information is missing (volume number, issue, page range, etc.), leave it out of the reference.
Your URL can have a live hyperlink, but it is not required.
If you are citing a newspaper that operates both in print and online, cite it as a news article. If you are citing an article from an online news site (CNN, Reuters, Vox, etc.), see the “Webpage on a news site” example, listed under the Webpage and Websites group.

SOURCE TYPE	REFERENCE EXAMPLE
Journal article with a DOI	Devereaux, A. (2015). Pandemic influenza: An evolutionary concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 71(8), 1787–1796. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12654
Journal, magazine, or newspaper article without a DOI, from most academic research databases or in print	Al-Rashidi, M. (2018). Using memes in English language instruction. Journal of English Education, 58(2), 120– 134. Barry, J. M. (2020, March 19). The single most important lesson from the 1918 influenza. International New York Times.
Magazine article	Law, T. (2020, January 7). Australia’s wildfires and climate change are making one another worse in a vicious, devastating cycle. https://time.com/5759964/australian-bushfires- climate-change/
Newspaper article* This is for newspapers that operate both in print and online, not news websites.	Darlin, D. (2014, August 5). How to talk about America’s newest arrivals. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/upshot/how- to-talk-about-americas-newest-arrivals.html
Blog post	McWilliams, K. (2020, March 30). What’s an appendix for anyways? CSU Global Writing Center Blog. https://medium.com/@csuglobalwritingcenter/whats- an-appendix-for-anyways-ac73d89e8423

BOOKS AND REFERENCE WORKS

This section provides information on how to cite books and reference works in their entirety. For chapters in edited books or reference work entries, go to the Edited Book Chapters and Reference Work Entries section.

The reference structure for books and reference works is as follows:

Author or Editor	Date	Title	Source
			Publisher Information	DOI or URL
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. Name of Group. Editor, E. E. (Ed.). Editor, E. E., & Editor, F. F. (Eds.).	(2020).	Title of book. Title of book (2nd ed., Vol. 4). Title of book [Audiobook]. Title of book (E. E. Editor, Ed.). Title of book (T. Translator, Trans.; N. Narrator, Narr.).	Publisher Name. First Publisher Name; Second Publisher Name.	https://doi.org/xxxx https://xxxxxx

Tips:

Assume a book is the first edition unless otherwise stated. First editions do not need to be noted in the reference.
For editors, translators, or narrators listed in the Title element of the reference, list their first initial followed by their last name.
When an online reference work is continuously updated and the versions are not archived, use “n.d.” as the year of publication and include a retrieval date with the URL: Retrieved May 18, 2020, from https://xxxxxxxx
For ebooks, you do not need to include the platform, format, or device (e.g., PDF, Kindle, etc.) in the reference. Only include [Audiobook] in brackets in the title of the book if the audiobook version is different (for example, an abridged version) from the print or digital edition of the book.

SOURCE TYPE	REFERENCE EXAMPLE
Authored book with DOI	Kinderman, P. (2019). A manifesto for mental health: Why we need a revolution in mental health care. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24386-9
Authored ebook (e.g., Kindle book) or audiobook without a DOI, with a nondatabase URL	Ferguson, Y. H., & Mansbach, R. W. (2012). Globalization: The return of borders to a borderless world? Routledge. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Globalization/ DsnfCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
Edited book without a DOI, from most academic research databases or in print	Ringel, S., & Brandell, J. R. (Eds.). (2020). Trauma: Contemporary directions in trauma theory, research, and practice. Columbia University Press.

EDITED BOOK CHAPTERS AND REFERENCE WORK ENTRIES

This category includes guidance on how to cite a specific chapter with an individual author in an edited book and a specific entry in a reference work, like a dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia.

The reference structure for edited book chapters and reference work entries is as follows:

Chapter Author	Date	Title	Source
			Edited Book Information	DOI or URL
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. Name of Group.	(2020).	Title of chapter.	In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. 3–13). Publisher Name. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (3rd ed., Vol. 4, pp. 233–253). Publisher Name	https://doi.org/xxxx https://xxxxxx

SOURCE TYPE	REFERENCE EXAMPLE
Chapter in an edited book with a DOI	Belliveau, G. (2018). Releasing trauma. In P. Tortell, M. Turin, & M. Young (Eds.), Memory (pp. 129–138). Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvbtzpfm.18
Chapter in an edited book without a DOI, from most academic research databases or print version	Lundgren, B., & Holmberg, M. (2017). Pandemic flus and vaccination policies in Sweden. In C. Holmberg, S. Blume, & P. Greenough (Eds.), The politics of vaccination: A global history (pp. 260–287). Manchester University Press.
Chapter in an edited ebook (e.g., Kindle book) or audiobook without a DOI, with nondatabase URL	Enos, T., Jones, J., Pearce, L., & Vorndran, K. R. (2012). Consumerism and the coopting of national trauma. In S. Borrowman (Ed.), Trauma and the teaching of writing (2nd ed., pp. 99–112). State University of New York Press. https://google.com/books/edition/Trauma_and_the_Teaching_of_ Writing/ZEoW1abqCn0C?hl=en&gbpv=0
Entry in a dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia, with group author* *When an online reference work is continuously updated and the versions are not archived, use “n.d.” as the year of publication and include a retrieval date.	Merriam-Webster. (n.d). Kairos. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved April 28, 2020, from https://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/kairos
Wikipedia entry	Marvel Cinematic Universe. (2020, May 10). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe Haymarket affair. (2020, May 5). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair

REPORTS AND GRAY LITERATURE

This category includes reports and gray literature. Examples of reports include government reports, technical reports, annual reports, research reports, and more. Gray literature refers to publications of information or original research that is not necessarily academic in nature or peer-reviewed. Examples of gray literature include press releases and policy briefs.

The reference structure for reports and gray literature is as follows:

Author	Date	Title	Source
			Publisher Information	DOI or URL
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. Name of Group.	(2020). (2020, May 2).	Title of report. Title of report (Report No. 123). Title of gray literature [Description].	Publisher Name.	https://doi.org/xxxx https://xxxxxx

SOURCE TYPE	REFERENCE EXAMPLE
Report by a government agency or other organization	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2019). Climate change and land: An IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/
Report by individual authors at a government agency or other organization	Perez, J. (2019). Notes from the field: Tackling gun violence as a community issue. National Institute of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/notes-field-tackling-gun-violence- community-issue
Annual report	NPR. (2019). 2019 annual report. https://www.npr.org/documents/about/annualreports /2019_Annual_Report.pdf
Policy brief	Scott, A. (2020). Maintain funding for USDA rural development programs [Policy brief]. National Association of Counties. https://www.naco.org/resources/maintain-funding-usda-rural- development-programs-3
Press release	Scholastic. (2020, March 13). Scholastic creates free, open-access digital hub to help keep students learning while schools are disrupted by coronavirus [Press release]. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scholastic-creates-free- open-access-digital-hub-to-help-keep-students-learning-while-schools- are-disrupted-by-coronavirus-301023010.html

CONFERENCE SESSIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

This category includes conference sessions and presentations. If a conference paper has been published in a journal, cite it as a journal article. If conference papers and presentations have been included in a published volume of the proceedings, you can cite that volume as an edited book, or you can cite the individual paper/presentation as a chapter in an edited book.

The reference structure for conference sessions and presentations is as follows:

Author	Date	Title	Source
			Conference Information	DOI or URL
Presenter, A. A., & Presenter, B. B.	(2019, September 1–3). (2020, April 30–May 2).	Title of contribution [Type of contribution].	Conference Name, Location	https://doi.org/xxxx https://xxxxxx

Tips:

Include the dates of the full conference in the Date element of your reference (2019, April 12–13), even though the presentation likely took place on just one day of the conference.
Describe the type of source in brackets after the title. Typically, you’ll use [Conference session], [Poster presentation], or [Conference paper].

SOURCE TYPE	REFERENCE EXAMPLE
Conference session	Cohoon, J. M., Nable, M., & Boucher, P. (2011, Oct. 12–15). Conflicted identities and sexism in computing graduate programs [Conference session]. Frontiers in Education Conference, Rapid City, SD, United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2011.6142915
Poster presentation	Dean, L. R. (2016, April 27). A decade in the Buckeye State: The effect of unemployment, home value, and local taxes on population change in the counties of Ohio between 2000 and 2010 [Poster presentation]. 20th Annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day, Baltimore, MD, United States. https://ur.umbc.edu/files/2016/06/deanLoganSm.pdf

DISSERTATIONS AND THESES

This category includes doctoral dissertations as well as master’s and undergraduate theses.

The reference structure for dissertations and theses are as follows:

Author	Date	Title	Source
			Database or archive name	URL
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B.	(2020).	Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Title of thesis [Master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree].	Database Name. Archive Name.	https://xxxxxx

Tips:

Only include a URL if the dissertation is published online but not through a database.

SOURCE TYPE	REFERENCE EXAMPLE
Dissertation or thesis from a database	McWilliams, K. M. (2014). Responding to trauma: How presidential discourses reshape the dialogues of healing (UMI No. 1556870) [Master’s thesis, University of Colorado Denver]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. Tenorio, R. (2018). Deconstructing trauma (Order No. 10809919) [Doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

APA References: Textual Works

PERIODICALS

BOOKS AND REFERENCE WORKS

EDITED BOOK CHAPTERS AND REFERENCE WORK ENTRIES

REPORTS AND GRAY LITERATURE

CONFERENCE SESSIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

DISSERTATIONS AND THESES

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