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APA 7th edition - Resource Guide: Books

The APA citation style is primarily used by disciplines in the business, social sciences, health, and education fields. The official guide is published by the American Psychological Association:

Books & eBooks

The 7th edition of APA does not differentiate between the format of the books, print or electronic. Cite both the same way. If you have an open-access eBook, you may provide the URL at the end, provided it directly takes you to the full text without logging in.

Template

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book. Publisher. https://doi.org/XXXXXX

Examples

  • George, M. W. (2008). The elements of library research: What every student needs to know. Princeton University Press.
  • (George, 2008)
  • Kleiser, G. (2008). Fifteen thousand useful phrases. Funk & Wagnalls; Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18362 (Original work published 1917)
  • (Kleiser, 1917/2008)
  • Samanez-Larkin, G. R. (Ed.). (2019). The aging brain: Functional adaptation across adulthood. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000143-000
  • (Samanez-Larkin, 2019)

Note: When citing in-text, it can be difficult if your eBook does not have a page number (most PDF books do). In this case, try to get as specific as possible by mentioning chapter, section, and paragraph numbers.

One of the author's main points is that "people don't rise from nothing" (Gladwell, 2008, Chapter 1, Section 2, para. 5).

Source: Publication Manual, 10.2 (examples 20-26)

 

Book with an Editor

Template

Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (Year). Title of book. Publisher.

Example

  • Johnson, C. L., & Tuite, C. (Eds.). (2009). A companion to Jane Austen. Wiley-Blackwell.
  • (Johnson & Tuite, 2009)

Source: Publication Manual, 10.2 (example 25)

 

Edition of Books Other Than the First

Template

Author, A. A. (Date). Title of book (xth ed.). Publisher.

Example

  • Rottenberg, A. T. (2003). Elements of argument: A text and reader (7th ed.). Bedford/St. Martin's.
  • (Rottenberg, 2003)

Source: Publication Manual, 10.2 (example 31)

Chapter in an Edited Book

Template

Author of Chapter, A. A. & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of chapter or entry. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx–xxx). Publisher.

Example

  • Shephered, S. (1988). Shakespeare's private drawer: Shakespeare and homosexuality. In G. Holderness (Ed.), The Shakespeare myth (pp. 96–110). Manchester University Press.
  • (Shephered, 1988).

Source: Publication Manual, 10.3 (examples 38-46)

Anthologies

Whole Anthology

Template

Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (Year). Title of book. Publisher.

Example

  • Grene, D. & Lattimore, R. (Eds.). (1959). The complete Greek tragedies. University of Chicago Press.
  • (Grene & Lattimore, 1959)

Work in an Anthology

Template

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. In A. A. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. XX–XX). Publisher. (Original work published Year)

Example

  • Ibsen, Henrik. (2002). A doll's house. In R. S. Gwynn (Ed.), Drama: A pocket anthology (2nd ed., pp. 209–277). Longman. (Original work published 1879)
  • (Ibsen, 1879/2002)

Source: Publication Manual, 10.2 (example 34) and 10.3 (example 46)

Entries in a Reference Book

Always look carefully for a byline/author; this is usually at either the beginning or the end of an entry.

With Entry Author

Template

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of entry. In A. Editor (Ed.), Title of reference work (xth ed., Vol. xx, pp. xxx–xxx). Publisher.

Example

  • Hodges, W. (2006). First-order logic. In D. M. Borchert (Ed.), The encyclopedia of philosophy (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 639–659). Thomson Gale.
  • (Hodges, 2006)

No Entry Author

Template

Title of entry. (Year). In A. Editor (Ed.), Title of reference work (xth ed., Vol. xx, pp. xxx–xxx). Publisher.

Example

  • Southeast Asia. (2003). In The new encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropedia (15th ed., Vol. 27, pp. 711–794). Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  • ("Southeast Asia," 2003)

Source: Publication Manual, 10.3 (examples 47-48)

Entries in Online Encyclopedias

Template

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of entry. In A. Editor (Ed.), Title of reference work (xx ed.). Website. http://xxxxx

Example 1: Individual Author

  • Masolo, D. (2006). African sage philosophy. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Fall 2008 ed.). Stanford University. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/african-sage/
  • (Masolo, 2006)

Example 2: Group Author

  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (n.d.) Antisemitism. In Holocaust encyclopedia. Retrieved October 7, 2019, from https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/antisemitism
  • (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d.)

Note: If the author is the same as the website, omit the website component. If an encyclopedia is continuously updated and does not have an archived version, include the retrieval date.

Source: Publication Manual, 10.3 (examples 47-48)

Foreign Language Books

Template

Author, A. A. (Year). Foreign title [Translated title]. Publisher.

Example

  • Paz, O. (1959). El laberinto de la soledad [The labyrinth of solitude]. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
  • (Paz, 1959)

Source: Publication Manual, 10.2 (examples 27-28)

Illustrated Books

Only include the illustrator if the pictures are essential to understanding content (e.g., picture books, graphic novels) and if they are listed on the front cover.

Template

Author, A. A., & Illustrator, B. B. (Year). Title of book. Publisher.

Example

  • Napoli, D. J., & Bates, A. (2014). Hands and hearts. Abrams Books for Young Readers.
  • (Napoli & Bates, 2014)

Adapted from: How to Cite an Illustrated Book [APA Style Blog]

Sacred Texts

Religious works are considered to not have a specific author.

Template

Title of religious work (A. A. Translator, Trans.). (Year). Publisher. (Original work published Year)

Examples

  • The Green Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (2008). HarperOne.
  • (The Green Bible, Luke 12:49)
  • The Qur'an (M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, Trans.) (2010). Oxford University Press
  • (The Qur'an, 5:3–4)

Note: Use chapter/verses for in-text citations as opposed to page numbers.

Sources: Publication Manual, 9.42 and 10.2 (example 35); APA Style: Religious Work