Forrer Learning Commons Library Services: BIOL 309 Genetics Class Guide: Citing with APA

Additional Resources on APA

APA Reference Style Guide
From Lydia M Olson Library (Northern Michigan University)
Basics of APA Style Tutorial
from the American Psychological Association
Online Writing Lab
From Purdue University
Writer's Handbook - Documentation Styles
From University of Wisconsin - Madison Writing Center

Where to Start

The purpose of each citation is to indicate where the information came from, and to provide the reader with enough information to access the original source. The type of source can effect the citation, but typically every citation requires the following information:

Author
Title (of book, article, or journal)
Publisher
Publication date
Page numbers
Volume and issue number (for journals)
URL (if a web source)
Database name (if from a library database)
Access date (if it's an electronic source)

In a print book or journal, most of this can be found at the beginning of the source:

Title page of the book The World Without Us

Image of the publication information inside a book

In online databases, the article's record (what you see when you first discover the article) should contain all the necessary information:

Citation information from article