Select a reference type from the box below for an example of an APA formatted reference. Be sure when adding a reference to your reference list that you use a hanging indent.
APA Style Reference for a Video:
Director, D. (Director). (Year). Title of video. [Video]. Production Company.
Example:
Doe, J. (Director). (2019). Exploring the universe. [Video]. Space Studios.
APA Style Reference for a Photograph:
Photographer, P. P. (Year). Title of photograph. [Photograph]. Website Name. URL
Example:
Smith, J. (2020). Sunset over the mountains. [Photograph]. Nature Photography. https://www.example.com
APA Style Reference for a Book with DOI:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Example:
Smith, J. (2020). Understanding psychology. Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.1000/xyz123
APA Style Reference for a Book without DOI:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.
Example:
Jones, R. (2021). Advanced mathematics. Academic Press.
APA Style Reference for One Volume of a Multivolume Work:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (Vol. X). Publisher.
Example:
Miller, L. (2018). History of ancient civilizations (Vol. 2). History Press.
APA Style Reference for a Work in an Anthology:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. In E. Editor (Ed.), Title of Anthology (pp. xxx–xxx). Publisher.
Example:
Davis, P. (2019). Modern poetry. In R. Carter (Ed.), Anthology of Contemporary Poetry (pp. 34–56). Poetry Press.
APA Style Reference for a Paper Presentation or Poster Session:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month).Title of paper or poster [Conference presentation]. Organization Name, Location.
Example:
Lee, M. (2022, March). Innovations in Education [Conferencer presentation]. Annual Education Conference, Boston, MA, United States.
APA Style Reference for a Data Set:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of data set [Data set]. Publisher. DOI or URL
Example:
Johnson, H. (2021). Global temperature data [Data set]. Climate Research Institute. https://doi.org/10.1000/data123
APA Style Reference for a Dissertation:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation (Publication No.). [Doctoral dissertation, University]. Publisher.
Example:
Martinez, R. (2020). Social dynamics in urban areas (Publication No. 123456). [Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
APA Style Reference for a Policy Brief:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of policy brief. Organization. DOI or URL
Example:
Brown, K. (2019). Health policy recommendations. World Health Organization. https://doi.org/10.1000/policy789
APA Style Reference for a Journal Article with DOI:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Example:
Doe, J. (2021). Cognitive development in children. Journal of Psychology, 25(3), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsycho.2021.03.002
APA Style Reference for a Journal Article without DOI:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.
Example:
Lee, S. (2020). Effects of sleep on memory. Health Journal, 34(2), 78–89.
APA Style Reference for a MOOC:
Instructor, I. I. (Year). Title of course. Platform Name. URL
Example:
Anderson, T. (2021). Introduction to sociology. Coursera. https://www.coursera.org/learn/sociology
APA Style Reference for an OER (Open Educational Resource):
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of OER. Publisher. Retrieved date, from DOI or URL
Example:
Williams, J. (2019). Introduction to economics. OpenStax. Retrieved January 6, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.1000/oer456
APA Style Reference for a Webpage (Individual Author, Dated):
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Website Name. URL
Example:
Thompson, L. (2020, May 5). How to learn Python. Programming Blog. https://www.example.com
APA Style Reference for a Webpage (Group Author, Dated):
Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. URL
Example:
World Health Organization. (2021, June 15). Global health initiatives. https://www.who.int/initiatives
APA Style Reference for a Webpage (Group Author, Undated):
Organization Name. (n.d.). Title of webpage. URL
Example:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Preventing chronic diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/preventing
Main Parts of a Reference
Identifying these four (4) elements will help you create a reference for almost any resource.
| Author | Who is responsible for the resource? |
| Date | When was the resource published? |
| Title | What is the name of the resource? |
| Source | How can others locate the resource? |
Please refer to these pages for additional reference examples.
