How to Cite Research Paper in APA If you’re citing a research article or paper in APA style, you’ll need to use a specific citation format that varies depending on the source. Assess whether your source is an article or report published in an academic journal or book, or whether it is an unpublished research paper, such as a print-only thesis or dissertation. Either way, you’re in-text citations will need to include information about the author (if available) and the date when your source was published or written
Part 1. Writing In-Text Citation • Name the author and the publication date in-text before a quote. To simplify the in-text citation, place the last name of the author in the text to introduce the quote and then the publication date for the text in parentheses. You can then leave the author’s name and the publication date out of the quote itself.
• Include the author’s last name in the citation if you don’t list it in-text. If you do not want to name the author in the text, start the citation with their last name in parentheses at the end of the quote or the information you wish to cite. If there is more than one author, list their last names, separated by commas. • Write the name of the organization if there is no author. If you are quoting from a research paper or article with no author, look for the name of the organization that published the paper. • Use 1-4 words from the title in quotation marks if there is no author or organization. If you cannot find an author or an
organization that published the paper, you can use the first 1-4 words of the title of the paper instead. • Include the year of publication for the paper. Place a comma between the author or title of the paper and the publication date • Use “n.d.” if you cannot find the date. For example, you may write, “‘Shakespeare may have been a woman’ (“Radical English Literature," n.d., p. 12).”.” Or, “Minaj (n.d., p. 45) notes, ‘The study of psychology has been underfunded. • Note the page number where the quote or information appears in the paper. Write “p.” for page number and place a dash between the numbers if the quote or information you are citing spans more than 1 page • Use “para.” if there are no page numbers in the research paper. Count the paragraphs in the paper and number them in order. Then, indicate which numbered paragraph the quote or information appears in by writing “para” and the number
Part 2. Creating a Reference List Citation for Published Sources • Determine that your source is published. There are a variety of ways to find out whether your source is considered “published.” One of the easiest is to look at the title page, header, or footer of the source for publication information. For example, if you’re citing a chapter from a book, check the title page for information about publishing company and the place and date of publication.
• Note the author of the paper by last name and first 2 initials. Place a comma between the author's full last name and their
first and second initials (if you know them). If there are multiple authors, list them by last name and then their initials, separated by a comma • Include the year the paper was published in parentheses, followed by a period. Put a period between the author or organization name and the publication year for the research paper or article. • List the title of the paper. Include the entire title of the research paper or article in the citation. If you’re citing an article that was published in a periodical or as part of an edited book, don’t put the title in quotes or italics. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the title, as well as any proper nouns • Note the title of the publication in which the paper appears. If you’re citing an article that was published in an academic journal, follow the title of the article with the title and volume number of the journal, followed by the page numbers. If the paper was published in a book, include the name(s) of the editor(s), the title of the book, the relevant pages, and the name and location of the publisher • Include the website where you retrieved the paper if it is web-based. If you accessed a research paper online, note this in the citation by including “Retrieved from.” Write the organization or publication’s name, followed by the URL for the paper
Part 3. Citing Unpublished Sources in Your Reference List • Determine that your source is unpublished. You’ll need to cite unpublished research papers a little differently from published ones. First, make sure that your source is definitely considered
unpublished. You’ll also need to check that you’re allowed to use unpublished or non-peer-reviewed sources in your writing assignment.
• Indicate the status of papers that are in the process of publication. If you’re citing a source that’s on its way to being published, you’ll need to show in your citation where it is in the publication process. Include the name of the author, the title of the paper, and a note regarding the status of the paper. • Note the status of papers that were never intended for publication. In some cases, you may need to cite a paper that was never submitted or accepted for publication. In these situations, provide the name of the author, the date of writing or presentation, the title (in italics), and the context of the paper (i.e., where and for what purpose it was written). • Clarify the status of unpublished dissertations and theses. If you cite an academic thesis or dissertation that is only available as a print source, you’ll need to indicate that it is unpublished. Include the name of the author, the date of completion, and the title of the dissertation or thesis in italics. Follow the title with “(Unpublished doctoral dissertation).” Complete the citation with information about the university where the dissertation or thesis was produced. Contact DhimanInfotech Publications for best research paper editing and proofreading in Delhi, Chandigarh, India