You can leave out any parts that you don't have, like a DOI, the volume, issue, or page numbers.
Jump to more specific examples by using the table below:
| Online or Print, With DOI | Online or Print, No DOI |
| Two Authors | Magazine |
| Three to Twenty Authors | Newspaper |
| Report | No Author, Volume, or Issue # |
| Conference Session |
On all article citations, whether you read online or print, include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) if available. The DOI is like a digital thumbprint: its unique and permanent numbers and letters help identify it. It is typically on the first or last page of the article. It may also be listed in the CrossRef Database. If you are having trouble finding the DOI, ask a librarian. If there is no DOI, see this example.
Note that as of March 2017, CrossRef and APA both recommend that DOIs be formatted as such: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx with no period at the end.
Parenthetical Citation: The Coast Guard narrative provides meaning to the practice of modern day piracy (Bueger, 2013).
Narrative Citation: According to Bueger (2013) the coast guard narrative can be treated as a "meaningful fiction which gives coherence to the practice of piracy" (p. 1824).
List both authors in the order they appear in the article. Use an ampersand (&) rather than "and" between the author names.
Parenthetical Citation: In the fast fashion business model, retailers use enhanced design and quick response to complement each other (Cachon & Swinney, 2005).
Narrative Citation: Cachon & Swinney (2005) explain how enhanced design and quick response complement each other in the fast fashion retail model.
List each author in the order they appear in the article. Use an ampersand (&) rather than "and" between the last two.
If you have more than 20 authors, list the first 19 authors, then ..., then the last author (so there is a total of 20 names in the citation).
Parenthetical Citation: Group membership may determine the bias of language used by an individual describing a specific event (Wenneker et al., 2005).
Narrative Citation: According to Wenneker et al., (2005) an individual's group membership may determine the bias of language used to describe a specific event.
After the report title, include any report number if available and the Source, which can be thought of like the Publisher of a book.
In governmental reports, you can have multiple "levels," or offices/departments, in the Source element, separated by a comma.
The Author is the office that was most directly responsible for creating the content, and any parent offices are the Source. If you aren't sure which office created the content, look on Google or on their general webpage to figure out the structure -- which office is "under" another office?
Parenthetical Citation: Law enforcement agencies have started to increase the use of drones since 2016 for a variety of purposes (Police Executive Research Forum, 2020).
Narrative Citation: According to the Police Executive Research Forum (2020), law enforcement agencies have been using drones for a variety of purposes such as search and rescue, crime scene reconstruction, and disaster response.
Parenthetical Citation: A large share of the manufacturing labor force in certain developing countries consists of self-employed individuals (McKenzie, 2009).
Narrative Citation: McKenzie (2009) states that "Self-employment accounts for a large share of the labor force in most developing
countries" (p.211).
Italicize the journal title and volume number, but not the issue number in parentheses.
Parenthetical Citation: The limited academic presence of Latino scholars has led to non-Latino administrators and colleagues having a greater impact on Latino Studies programs (Aparicio, 1999).
Narrative Citation: According to Aparicio (1999), the limited academic presence of Latino scholars translates to non-Latino administrators and colleagues having a greater impact on Latino Studies programs.
Include the stable URL. Page numbers, volume, and issue may be omitted if not available.
Parenthetical Citation: Marcus Hutchins was lauded as the hacker who saved the internet for his work in stopping the WannaCry cyber security attack (Greenberg, 2020).
Narrative Citation: Greenberg (2020) outlined Marcus Hutchins journey from creating malware to being lauded as the hacker who saved the internet.
Italicize the magazine title and volume number, but not the issue number in parentheses. If a magazine has a month and/or date, you may include that.
Parenthetical Citation: Approximately 20 million Americans have been recruited for clinical trials each year (Rodgers, 2009).
Narrative Citation: Rodgers (2009) estimates that approximately 20 million Americans have been recruited for clinical trials each year.
Include the stable URL. Page numbers, volume, and issue may be omitted if not available.
Parenthetical Citation: Foreign language instruction supporters would prefer the integration of lessons into the core curriculum thus preventing their easy removal during budget cuts (Hu, 2009).
Narrative Citation: Hu (2009) reports that supporters of foreign language instruction would prefer lessons be integrated into the core curriculum to prevent their easy removal during budget cuts.
If an article appears on discontinuous pages, list each of the page numbers where it appears. For multiple pages, use "pp." Most newspapers have a month and/or date, so include that.
Parenthetical Citation: The recent migrant crisis has caused the police chief to reach out to state and federal elected officials for financial support (Fidlin, 2023).
Narrative Citation: According to Fidlin (2023) the police chief has reached out to state and federal elected officials for financial support to aid in the recent migrant crisis.
Remember that APA encourages researchers to use the name of a corporate author, a governmental organization, an office, a department, etc. as the author (see an example like this).
However, if no author can be found, as is sometimes the case with newspaper and magazine articles, begin the citation with the title of the article.
Parenthetical Citation: Close to three hundred deaths reported in Alberta in 2015 have been connected to illicit fentanyl (How Globe and Mail reporters traced the rise of fentanyl, 2016).
Narrative Citation: According to the article, How Globe and Mail reporters traced the rise of fentanyl (2015) close to three hundred deaths reported in Alberta in 2015 have been connected to illicit fentanyl.
Parenthetical Citation: The Hmong in Minnesota have continued their cultural traditions such as celebrating the Hmong New Year in spite of expatriation (In the US, Hmong New Year, 2023).
Note: Shorten the title for the in-text citation if it is too long.
Parenthetical Citation: Music therapy is a good way for teachers to help engage their students in the classroom (Fistek et al., 2017).
Narrative Citation: Fistek et al. (2017) argue that music therapy is a good way for teachers to help their students in the classroom.