Printed guides or manuals
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: the official guide to APA style (Seventh ed.) by 
Concise guide to APA style : the official APA style guide for students (Seventh ed.) by More APA Style's guides or manuals
APA format follows the author-date method of in-text citation. The author's last name and the year of publication of the source must appear in the text. Include page number(s) if you need to be specific (e.g. direct quotes).
| One author |
... (Ritter, 2013). OR Ritter (2013) found that ... ... (Azure OpenAI, 2023). OR Azure OpenAI (2023) pointed out .... |
| Two authors |
... (Conway & Chang, 2020). OR Conway and Chang (2020) found that ... |
| Three or more authors |
... (Fischer et al., 2006). OR Fischer et al. (2006) found that ... |
| Group author with abbreviation |
First citation ... (European Public Health Association [EUPHA], 2020). OR European Public Health Association (EUPHA, 2020) found that ... Subsequent citations ... (EUPHA, 2020). OR EUPHA (2020) found that ... |
| Group author without abbreviation |
... (University of Pittsburgh, 2020). OR University of Pittsburgh (2020) found that ... |
|
Citing specific parts of a source (e.g. direct quote) |
Page number(s) must be given for a direct quote. As pointed out by Tufte (2001), "a graphical element may also perform a design function" (p. 139). OR It was pointed out that "a graphical element may also perform a design function" (Tufte, 2001, p. 139). |
Reference lists in APA are arranged alphabetically by author.
When citing sources in the reference list, invert all authors' names, providing the surname first, followed by a comma and the initials. Use a comma to separate authors' names.
Give surnames and initials for up to 20 authors. Use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
When there are 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors' names, insert an ellipsis (but no ampersand), and then add the final author's name.
The following examples are based on information provided in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition.
Entire book
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of work: Subtitle (edition.)<if not the first>. Publisher.
Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work: Subtitle. Publisher.
Chan, T. C., & Sin, H. (2009). Construction project management: From theory to practice. Prentice Hall.
Gibert, D. G., McClernon, J. F., Rabinovich, N. E., Sugai, C., Plath, L. C., Asgaard, G., & Botros, N. (2004). Television: The critical view (5th ed.). Prentice Hall.
Note: Capitalize only the first word of the title and of the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Book chapter - in an edited book which contains a collection of chapters written by different authors and collated by editor(s)
Author of Part, A. A., & Author of Part, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book: Subtitle of book (edition, pp. xxx-xxx). Publisher.
Amtenbrink, F. (2011). Securing financial independence in the legal basis of a central bank. In S. Milton & P. J. N. Sinclair (Eds.), The capital needs of central banks (pp. 83-95). Routledge.
Note: Italicize the book title, but not the chapter/part title.
Journal article
Article Author, A. A., & Article Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of article: Subtitle of article. Title of Journal, volume number (issue number if necessary), pp-pp. https://doi.org/xxxxxxxxxx
Sperry, R. W. (1986). Science, values, and survival. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 26(2), 8-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167886262002
Stanev, E. V. & Kandilarov, R. (2012). Sediment dynamics in the Black Sea: Numerical modelling and remote sensing observations. Ocean Dynamics, 62(4), 533-553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-012-0520-1
Note: Capitalize all the major words in the journal title. Italicize the journal title and volume number.
Online journal article
Article Author, A. A., & Article Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of article: Subtitle of article. Title of Journal, volume number (issue number if necessary), pp-pp. https://doi.org/xxxxxxxxxx <or Internet address>
Sperry, R. W. (1986). Science, values, and survival. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 26(2), 8-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167886262002
Nguyen, K., Hignett, E., & Khachemoune, A. (2020). Current and emerging treatment options for metastatic melanoma: A focused review. Dermatology Online Journal, 26(7). https://escholarship.org/uc/item/24g3k7z5
Newspaper article
Article Author, A. A. (Year, Month date). Title of article. Title of Newspaper, pp-pp.
Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economics, social status. The Washington Post, A1, A4.
Harrabin, R. (2003, July 2). Dyslexics turn to coloured specs. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/3038848.stm
Doctoral dissertation or master's thesis available from a database service
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of dissertation or thesis [Doctoral dissertation or master's thesis, name of the institution awarding the degree]. Name of database.
Francis, J. (2001). Essays on globalization, unemployment, and economic geography (Publication No. 3009107)[Doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses A&I.
Unpublished dissertation or thesis
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of dissertation or thesis [Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master's thesis]. Name of Institution awarding the degree.
Chow, E. P. (2010). Decade of challenge: Youth elite sports development in Hong Kong [Unpublished master’s thesis]. City University of Hong Kong.
Internet document or website
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title: Subtitle. Source or supplier information. http://www.xxxx
Gebler, D. (2010, April 1). Ethics at a cross roads. Blog: Business Ethics, Culture and Performance. https://managementhelp.org/blogs/business-ethics/2010/04/01/ethics-at-a-cross-roads/
City University of Hong Kong. (2020). Rules on academic honesty: Effective from semester A 2020/21. http://www.cityu.edu.hk/provost/academic_honesty/rules_on_academic_honesty.htm
Fernandes, S. (n.d.). Importance of social media marketing in business. APAC Entrepreneur. https://apacentrepreneur.com/importance-of-social-media-marketing-in-business/
Note: If there is no author, title moves to the first position. When no date is available, "n.d." replaces the date.
Audiovisual media
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title [Type]. Publisher. http://www.xxxx
Roxanne, J., & Palmer, R. (2015). Sorting through our space junk. [Infographic]. World Science Festival. https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/infographics/space-junk-infographic/
Housand, B. (2016). Game on! Integrating games and simulations in the classroom. [PowerPoint slides]. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/brianhousand/game-on-iagc-2016
Run Run Shaw Library CityU (2019, May 3). What is a scholarly source? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9lKyRsH5gU
Kamin, H. S., Lee, C. L. & McAdoo, T. L. (2020). Creating references using seventh edition APA style [Webinar]. Choice. http://www.choice360.org/librarianship/webinars/creating-references-using-seventh-edition-apa-style
ChatGPT & other AI generative tools
Author of the model. (Year of the version used). Name of the model (Version number) [Descriptor]. https://www.xxxx
Azure OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (August version) [Large language model]. https://www.cityu.edu.hk/portal/category/5
Note: Detailed guidelines can be found on the APA Style Blog How to cite ChatGPT.
APA tutorials: