APA 6 Style: Citing Other Sources

Notice: This guide provides information about APA 6th edition (2010) citation and referencing requirements. For information on citing and referencing in APA 7th edition (2020), please see our updated APA 7 guide.

1. Personal Communication (Including Lectures)
2. Entry in a Reference Book (Dictionary or Encyclopedia)
3. Published Doctoral Dissertation or Master’s Thesis
4. Government Documents/Reports
5. Report from Nongovernmental Organization
6. Film
7. Television Program (Single Episode from a Series)
8. Sound Recording

Personal Communication (Including Lectures)

Personal communications include private letters, personal and telephone conversations and interviews, some electronic communications, such as e-mails or messages on electronic bulletin boards, and lectures.

In-Text Citation

When citing personal communications in the text of the paper, give the initials as well as the last name of the person communicating and as exact a date as possible.

Example:

The question of when titles are put in italics in the reference list, according to APA rules, was clarified by D. Capell (personal communication, May 1, 2018).

References

Because personal communication does not provide data that someone else can look up or recover, it is not included in the References list. Make sure personal communication has scholarly relevance.

Entry in a Reference Book (Dictionary/Encyclopedia)

When citing information from an entry in a reference work with no byline, begin the reference with the term that the information is listed under. The examples below are references to information found under the term "cognitive dissonance."

Entry in Online Reference Work

In-Text Citation

("Cognitive Dissonance," 1999)

References

Article Title. (Year of Publication). In Title of Online Book. Retrieved from web address.

Example

Cognitive dissonance. (1999). In The Cambridge dictionary of philosophy.  Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.co/entry/cupdphil/antecedent

Article/Entry in a Print Reference Book

In-Text Citation

("Cognitive Dissonance," 1998)

References

Article Title. (Year of Publication). In Editor's First Initial and Last Name (Ed.), Title of Book (pp. #-#). City Where Published: Publisher.

Example

Cognitive dissonance. (1998). In D. A. Statt (Ed.), The concise dictionary of psychology (p.26).  New York: Routledge.

Published Doctoral Dissertation or Master's Thesis

In-Text Citation

(Penfold, 2002)

References

Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title. (Type of thesis/dissertation). Retrieved from database. (order number)

Example:

Penfold, S. (2002). The social life of donuts: Commodity and community in postwar Canada (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Library and Archives Canada. (28583405)

Notice:

• If it is a master's thesis, write "Master's thesis" in brackets after the title. Dissertations and theses can be retrieved from databases and other sources. The source of the dissertation in this example is Library and Archives Canada. The last number is an accession or order number. It is part of the information provided by the database. The titles of dissertations and theses are put in italics.

Government Report

In-Text Citation

(Environment Canada, 2004)

References

Name of Government Agency. (Year of Publication). Title of report. Editor's first initial and last name (Ed.). (Series or Paper number). Retrieved from web address

Example:

Environment Canada. Canadian Wildlife Service. (2004). The 1995 peregrine falcon survey in Canada. U. Banasch & G. Holroyd (Eds). (Occasional Paper no. 110). Retrieved from http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/AbstractTemplate.cfm?lang=e&id=...

Notice:

• When a URL is too long to fit on one line, create a break where there is punctuation (period, slash, dash). As you can see in the example, the punctuation starts the next line.  Do not end the URL with a period if it is not in the original.

Report from Nongovernmental Organization

In-Text Citation

(Kenney, Cook, & Pelletier, 2009)

References

Name of Group or Corporate Author. (Year of Publication). Title of report. Retrieved from name of NGO: web address

Example:

Kenney, G. M., Cook, A., & Pelletier, J. (2009). Prospects for reducing uninsured rates among children: How much can premium assistance programs help?  Retrieved from Urban Institute website: http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411823

Notice:

• If a document from an NGO has no author, follow the rules for a corporate author.
• If the document is in print, follow the rules for print publications, including the publishing information (city and publisher).
• When a URL is too long to fit on one line, create a break where there is punctuation (period, slash, dash); the punctuation starts the next line.  Do not end the URL with a period if it is not in the original.

Film

In-Text Citation

(Diamant, Rodgers, & Hark, 1997)

References

Producer's last name, first initial. (Producer), & Director's last name, first initial. (Director). (Year). Title of motion picture [Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio.

Example:

Diamant, M. & Rodger, D. (Producers), & Hark, T. (Director). (1997). Double Team [Motion picture]. USA: Columbia.

Television Program (Single Episode from a Series)

In-Text Citation

(Kerret, 2009)

References

Writer's last name, first initial. (Writer), & Director's last name, first initial (Director). (Year). Episode name [Television series episode]. In Producer's first initial and last name (Executive producer), Series Name. Location: Broadcaster.

Example:

Kerret, E. (Writer), & Wakaranai, Z. (Director). (2009). Monty serpent's citation circus [Television series episode]. In Y. Yutaka (Executive producer), Seven Feet Under. New York, NY: NBC.

Sound Recording

In-Text Citation

(Artist's last name, year of publication, side or track numbers)

Example:

(Lennon & McCartney, 1968, track 3)

References

Writer's last name, first initial. (Copyright year). Title of song [Recorded by B.B. Artist if different from writer]. On Title of album [Medium of recording: CD, record, cassette, etc.] Location: Label. (Date of recording if different from song copyright date)

Examples:

Lennon, J. & McCartney, P. (1968). Across the universe. On Let it be [record]. London: Apple Records.

Cohen, L. (1984). Hallelujah [Recorded by J. Buckley]. On Grace [CD]. New York: Columbia. (1994).