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APA 7th Edition Guide

This guide provides an overview of the APA citation style and provides students with basic information to begin learning and applying this style in their academic writing.

Creating a Reference for a Journal Article

Article Reference

References are composed of four elements:

Author. (Date). TitleSource.

Use the chart below to identify the pieces of information needed to create a reference for a periodical article.

Note: Each element of the reference ends with a period except URLs or DOIs.

Note. Adapted from Reference Examples, Textual Works, section 10.1 in the Publication Manual (7th ed.) (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 316).

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th  ed.).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Example References for Articles

Use of Permalinks in APA References

According to Rule 9.34, "For works without DOIs from most academic research databases, do not include a URL or database information in the reference because these works are widely available...The reference should be the same as the reference for the print version of the work" (APA, 2020, p.299).

Rasmussen Rule

APA does allow institutions to modify rules in some instances.  When a resource from a library database does not have a DOI, and a permalink for that resource is available, the permalink is included in the source element of the reference for Rasmussen University course assignments.

NOTE: Professional scholarly works, such as DNP Projects or articles meant for publication, must follow Rule 9.34; permalinks are not included in the reference.

Journal Article with DOI
Reference In-Text Citation

Electronic or Print

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume Number(Issue Number), Page Numbers. https://doi.org/xx.xxxxxxx.xx.x

Van Steensel, F. J., Bogels, S. M., & Dirksen, C. D. (2012). Anxiety and quality of life: Clinically anxious children with and without autism spectrum disorder compared. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 41(6), 731-738. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2012.698725

(Van Steensel et al., 2012).

 

OR

 

In their study, Van Steensel et al. (2012), discovered...

Journal Article without DOI
Reference In-Text Citation

Electronic

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume Number(Issue Number), Page Numbers. https://Permalink

Isak-Ercan, Z. (2017). Culturally appropriate positive guidance with young children. Young Children, 72(1), 15. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=edb&AN=121665493&site=eds-live&custid=s9076023

Print

Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume Number(Issue Number), Page Numbers.
 

Isak-Ercan, Z. (2017). Culturally appropriate positive guidance with young children. Young Children, 72(1), 15.

(Isak-Ercan, 2017).

 

OR

 

Isak-Ercan (2017) describes guidance...

Journal Article with DOI, with more than 20 authors
Reference In-Text Citation

Electronic or Print

Author's Last Name, A. A., Last Name, B. B., Last Name. C. C., Last Name, D. D., Last Name, E. E., Last Name, F. F., Last Name, G. G., Last Name, H. H., Last Name, I. I., Last Name, J. J., Last Name, K.K., Last Name, L. L., Last Name, M. M., Last Name, N. N. Last Name, O. O., Last Name, P. P., Last Name, Q. Q., Last Name, R. R., Last Name, S. S. … Last Name, Z. Z. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume Number(Issue Number), Page Numbers. https://doi.org/xx.xxxxxxx.xx.x

Grasseli, G., Zangrillo, A., Zanella, A., Antonelli, N., Cabrini, L., Castelli, A., Cereda, D., Coluccello, A., Foti, G., Fumagalli, R., Iotti, G., Latronico, N., Lorini, L., Merler, S., Natalini, G., Piatta, A., Ranieri, M. V., Scandroglio, M., Storti, E., …Pesenti, A. (2020). Baseline characteristics and outcomes of 1591 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 admitted to ICUs of the Lombardy region, Italy. JAMA, 323(16), 1574-1581. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.5394

(Grasseli et al., 2020).

 

OR

 

In their study, Grasseli et al. (2020), discovered...

Magazine Article
Reference In-Text Citation

Electronic

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Article title. Magazine Title, Volume Number(Issue Number), Page Numbers. http://URL or Permalink

Hutson, M. (2020). A new map of mental illness: A data-driven approach offers a bold new model for diagnosing psychopathology. Psychology Today, 53(1), 44-48. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=a9h&AN=140452130&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s9076023

Print

Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Magazine Title, Volume Number(Issue Number), Page Numbers.
 

Hutson, M. (2020, January 1). A new map of mental illness: A data-driven approach offers a bold new model for diagnosing psychopathology. Psychology Today, 53(1), 44-48.

(Hutson, 2020).

 

OR

 

Hutson (2020) reports...

Newspaper Article
Reference In-Text Citation

Electronic

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Newspaper Title. http://URL or Permalink

Blunt, K. (2020, April 30). PG&E ordered by judge to overhaul tree trimming, line inspection; Company criticized for failing to maintain electric grid even as it paid shareholder dividends. Wall Street Journal. https://search.proquest.com/docview/2396069382/100855D821804377PQ/9?accountid=40836

Print

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Newspaper Title, Page Number.

Blunt, K. (2020, April 30). PG&E ordered by judge to overhaul tree trimming, line inspection; Company criticized for failing to maintain electric grid even as it paid shareholder dividends. Wall Street Journal, A3.

(Blunt, 2020).

 

OR

 

Blunt (2020) reports...

Nursing Reference Center Article
Reference In-Text Citation

Electronic

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Nursing Reference Center Source. https://URL for Permalink

Schub, T., & Avital, O. (2018). Abdominal aortic aneurysm. CINAHL Nursing Guide. https://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.rasmussen.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nup&AN=T704248&site=nup-live&scope=site

(Schub & Avital, 2018).

 

OR

 

Schub and Avital (2018) describe...

APA Academic Writer


Find example references for a wide variety of resource types in APA Academic Writer.  Click on the Learn tab, then click on the Go to Sample References button.  Scroll through the alphabetical list of resource types and click on the type that matches the resource you are citing to view an example reference.  Click the Learn More link for additional information.