APA Style comes from the American Psychological Association; it "originated in 1929, when a group of psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers convened and sought to establish a simple set of procedures, or style guidelines, that would codify the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading comprehension."
Style guidelines are important because they encourage transparency in research and allow readers to quickly find the essential information with minor distractions.
The APA Publication Manual is currently on its 7th edition.
Online APA Style Guides
Basic Book Citation:
Author's Last Name, Author's first initial. Author's Middle initial. (year). Title of the book in sentence capitalization. Publisher. DOI if available in https://doi.html-link
Note: The 7th edition of APA does not include locations of publication in the citation.
Comey, J. (2018). A higher loyalty: truth, lies, and leadership. FLatiron Books.
Basic Journal/Magazine Article Citation:
Author's Last Name, Author's First Initial. Author's Middle Initial. (Year, Month/Date/Season). Title of article. Title of Journal/Magazine, Volume(Issue), Page(s). https://doi:xx.xxxxxxx
If a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is not available, but you retrieved the article online, include the URL for the page where you found the article using the following format: Retrieved from http://www.websiteaddress.com
Print Journal example:
Craun, J. R., & Henson, J. D. (2022). How servant leaders navigate conflict: An analysis of Acts 15:36–41. HTS Theological Studies, 78(1), 1–6.
Digital Journal Article with a DOI:
Craun, J. R., & Henson, J. D. (2022). How servant leaders navigate conflict: An analysis of Acts 15:36–41. HTS Theological Studies, 78(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v78i1.7676
Digital Journal without a DOI:
Craun, J. R., & Henson, J. D. (2022). How servant leaders navigate conflict: An analysis of Acts 15:36–41. HTS Theological Studies, 78(1), 1–6. https://www.stateu.edu/journal/url.html
Non-periodical Web document, Web page, or report:
The general rule for citing Web pages in APA format is to include as much information as possible. If there is no date available, use (n.d.), which stands for "no date". If the website URL you are citing runs onto the next line, be sure to break the address after a "/" (http:// is an exception).
Author's Last Name, Author's First Initial, Author's Middle Initial. (Year, Month Day of Publication). Title of report/document. http://webpage address
Use this APA Quick Guide to see all of the various ways to cite web pages and digital media.
- APA Sample Student Paper (Purdue OWL)Both can be found here: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_sample_paper.html