How a reference is built in APA
Commonly used in: nursing, psychology, education, social sciences.
Journal article
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Title, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/…
Book
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book (3rd ed.). Publisher.
A real example
Kucsko, G., Maurer, P. C., Yao, N. Y., Kubo, M., Noh, H. J., Lo, P. K., Park, H., & Lukin, M. D. (2013). Nanometre-scale thermometry in a living cell. Nature, 500(7460), 54–58. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12373
In-text citation
(Kucsko et al., 2013)
(Author, Year). Two authors: (Kucsko & Maurer, 2013). Three or more: first author and “et al.” from the first citation.
Worth knowing
- Article and book titles take sentence case; the journal title keeps its capitals.
- List up to 20 authors before shortening.
- Write the DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link, with no full stop after it.
- The list is double-spaced with a half-inch hanging indent.