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APA Format Style Guide: Periodicals

This guide will assist you in writing research papers using the American Psychological Association (APA) Style. It will help explain formatting your paper as well as proper citation for various resources.

Basic Citation

Periodicals include journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and online platforms that publish articles.  If information is missing form the resource (volume number, issue number, page range), omit it from the reference.

Author Date Title Source - Periodical Information** DOI or URL

Author, A.A., & Author, B.B.

Name of Group.

Author, C.C. [username].

Username.

(2020).

(2020, January).

(2020, February 16).

 Title of article.

Title of Periodical, 34(2), 5-14.

Title of Periodical, 2(1-2), Article 12.

Title of Periodical.

https://doi.org/xxxx

https://xxxx

**Volume numbers follow the Periodical Title, with the Issue number in parentheses.  Finally, include the page numbers when available.

Examples

Remember to indent the second and following lines of your references on the reference list.

Journal Article with a DOI or URL

McCauley, S.M., & Christiansen, M.H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review, 126(1), 1-51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126

  • Parenthetical Citation: (McCauley & Christiansen, 2019)
  • Narrative Citation: McCauley and Christiansen (2019)

Journal, Magazine or Newspaper Article, without DOI, from most Academic Research Databases or Print Version

Ahmann, E., Tuttle, L.J., Saviet, M., & Wright, S.D. (2018). A descriptive review of ADHD coaching research: Implications for college students. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 31(1), 17-39. https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/publications/jped/archived-jped/jped-volume-31

  • Parenthetical Citation: (Ahmann et al., 2018)
  • Narrative Citation: Ahmann et al. (2018)

Journal Article with a DOI, with 21 or more authors

Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M., Saha, S., White, G., Woollen, J., Zhu, Y., Chelliah, M., Ebisuzaki, W., Higgins, W., Janowiak, J., Mo, K.C., Ropelewski, C., Wang, J., Leetmaa, A., ... Joseph, D. (1996). The  NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 77(3), 437-471. http://doi.org/fg6rf9

  • Parenthetical Citation: (Kalnay et al., 1996)
  • Narrative Citation: Kalnay et al. (1996)

Journal Article with a DOI, individual and group authors

DeVries, R., Nieuwenhuijze, M., Buitendijk, S.E., & the members of Midwifery Science Work Group. (2013). What does it take to have a strong and independent profession of midwifery? Lessons from the Netherlands. Midwifery, 29(10), 1122-1128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2013.07.007

  • Parenthetical Citation: (DeVries et al., 2013)
  • Narrative Citation: DeVries et al. (2013)

Journal Article with an Article Number or eLocator

Burin, D., Kilteni, K., Rabuffetti, M., Slater, M., & Pia, L. (2019). Body ownership increases the interference between observed and executed movements. PLOS ONE, 14(1), Article e0209889. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209889

  • Parenthetical Citation: (Burin et al., 2019)
  • Narrative Citation: Burin et al. (2019)

Journal Article, advance online publication

Huestegge, S.M., Raettig, T., &Huestegge, L. (2019). Are face-incongruent voices harder to process? Effects of face-voice gender incongruency on basic cognitive information processing. Experimental Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000440

  • Parenthetical Citation: (Huestegge et al., 2019)
  • Narrative Citation: Huestegge et al. (2019) 

Journal Article, in Press

Pachur, T., & Scheibehenne, B. (in press). Unpacking buyer-seller differences in valuation from experience: A cognitive modeling approach. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.

  • Parenthetical Citation: (Pachur & Scheibehenne, in press)
  • Narrative Citation: Pachur and Scheibehenne (in press)

Journal Article Published in Another Language

Chaves-Morillo, V., Gomez Calero, C., Fernandez-Munoz, J.J., Tolendo-Munoz, A., Fernandez-Huete, J., Martinez-Monge, N., Palacios-Cena, D., & Penacoba-Puente, C. (2018). La anosmia neurosensorial: Relacion entre subtipo, tiempo de reconocimiento y edad [Sensorineural anosmia: Relationship between subtype, recognition time, and age]. Clinica y Salud, 28(3), 155-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clysa.2017.04.002

  • Parenthetical Citation: (Chaves-Morillo et al., 2018)
  • Narrative Citation: Chaves-Morillo et al. (2018)

Journal Article, Republished in Translation

Piaget, J. (1972). Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood (J. Bliss & H. Furth, Trans.). Human Development, 15(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1159/000271225 (Original work published 1970)

  • Parenthetical Citation; (Piaget, 1970/1972)
  • Narrative Citation: Piaget (1970/1972)

Journal Article, Reprinted from Another Source

Shore, M.F. (2014). Marking time in the land of plenty: Reflections on mental health in the United States. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(6), 611-618. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0100165 (Reprinted from "Marking time in the land of plenty: Reflections on mental health in the United States," 1981, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 51[3], 391-402, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1981.tb01388.x)

  • Parenthetical Citation: (Shore, 1981/2014)
  • Narrative Citation: Shore (1981/2014)

Special Section or Special Issue in a Journal

Lilienfeld, S.O. (Ed.). (2018). Heterodox issues in psychology [Special section]. Archives of Scientific Psychology, 6(1), 51-104.

McDaniel, S.H., Salas, E., & Kazak, A.E. (Eds.). (2018). The science of teamwork [Special issue]. American Psychologist, 73(4).

  • Parenthetical Citation: (Lilienfeld, 2018); (McDaniel et al., 2018)
  • Narrative Citation: Lilienfeld (2018); McDaniel et al. (2018)

Magazine Article

Bergeson, S. (2019, January 4). Really cool neutral plasmas. Science, 363(6422), 33-34. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau7988

Bustillos, M. (2013, March 19). On video games and storytelling: An interview with Tom Bissell. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/on-video-games-and-storytelling-an-interview-with-tom-bissell

Weir, K. (2017, January). Forgiveness can improve mental and physical health. Monitor on Psychology, 48(1), 30.

  • Parehthetical Citations: (Bergeson, 2019); (Bustillos, 2013); (Weir, 2017)
  • Narrative Citations: Bergeson (2019); Bustillos (2013); Weir (2017)

Newspaper Article

Guarino, B. (2017, December 4). How will humanity react to alien life? Psychologists have some predictions. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/12/04/how-will-humanity-react-to-alien-life-psychologists-have-some-predictions

Hess, A. (2019, January 3). Cats who take direction. The New York Times, C1.

  • Parenthetical Citations: (Guarino, 2017); (Hess, 2019)
  • Narrative Citations: Guarino (2017); Hess (2019)

Blog Post

Klymkowsky, M. (2018, September 15). Can we talk scientifically about free will? Sci-Ed. https://blogs.plos.org/2018/09/15/can-we-talk-scientifically-about-free-will/

  • Parenthetical Citations: (Klymkowsky, 2018)
  • Narrative Citations: Klymkowsky (2018)

Comment on an Online Periodical or Post

KS in NJ. (2019, January 15). From this article, it sounds like men are figuring something out that women have known forever. I know of many [Comment on the article "How workout buddies can help stave off loneliness"]. The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/2HDToGJ

  • Parenthetical Citation: (KS in NJ, 2019)
  • Narrative Citation: KS in NJ (2019)

Editorial

Cuellar, N.G. (2016). Study abroad programs [Editorial]. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 27(3), 209. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659616638722

  • Parenthetical Citations: (Cuellar, 2016)
  • Narrative Citations: Cuellar (2016)

Remember!

  • Capitalize only the first word in the document title and any proper nouns.  If there is a colon in the title (a subtitle), capitalize only the first word after the colon and any proper nouns.
  • Alphabetize your reference list by the first word of the citation, usually the author's last name.  If there is no author, alphabetize by the first main word in the title, ignoring "a," "an," or "the."
  • Double space all of the citations on your reference list.
  • Indent the second and following lines of the citation 5 to 7 spaces.

Changes from 6th Edition to 7th Edition

  • APA 7th Edition updates the number of authors listed from seven (7) to twenty (20). If there are 21 or more authors, use ellipses after the 19th author, followed by the final author.
  • Use the issue number for all periodicals that have issue numbers.
  • If an online journal has no DOI and was found through an academic database, you do not need to include a URL.  The reference will look like the print version.