Citation Guides

APA Style is a set of guidelines for clear and precise scholarly communication.  It is used by millions of people around the world in the field of psychology and also in nursing, social work, communications, education, business, engineering, and other disciplines.  APA Style includes guidance for writing manuscripts for publication as well as student papers, dissertations and theses. (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 2020, p.xvii)

When using content from a generative AI tool in APA style:

• describe any use of generative AI in the body of your paper whether that be in the introduction, methods sections, or elsewhere.
• include in your text the prompt used. 
• quote or paraphrase the AI results along with an in-text citation.
• list the company of the generative AI as the author you are citing.

Example in-text citation and reference list entry:

(OpenAI, 2023)

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

From How to cite ChatGPT, February 23, 2024.

The library has the APA style guide available to answer citation format questions.

Concise Guide to APA Style, Seventh Edition is the official APA Style resource for students.

In-Text Citations

• Parenthetical Versus Narrative In-Text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Quotations
• Quotations from Research Participants
• Personal Communications
• Secondary Sources
• Classroom or Intranet Sources

Selected Reference Examples

• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Book/Ebook
• Chapters in an Edited Book/Ebook
• Conference Presentation
• Conference Proceeding
• Data Sets
• Audiovisual Media
• Social Media and Webpages/Website

Visit APA Style Reference Examples page for additional reference examples.

What does an APA Style Paper look like?

Sample student and Professional Papers from the Publication Manual

Guidelines for paper formatting from the Publication Manual

includes title page setup, font, spacing, headings, margins, etc.

Other Helpful Formatting Tools

 This section was created by Tessa Withorn at CSUDH Library and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

How can I save time formatting my paper? 

Microsoft Word and Google Docs have a Format Painter tool that will copy and apply basic formatting to any text! 

1. Highlight the formatting you want to apply. 

2. Select Format Painter. 

3. Highlight the text you want to change. 

Note: If using the Format Painter on the Reference List, you'll need to go back and add italics. 

How do I make a hanging indent in Word?

1. Highlight the citaiton with your cursor. 

2. Right click. 

3. Select Paragraph.

4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging.

Reference examples for clinical practice:

1. UpToDate article
2. Cochrane review
3. Clinical practice guideline with a group author
4. Clinical practice guideline by individual authors at a government agency, published as part of a series
5. Drug information
6. Lab or diagnostic manual
7. Mobile app reference work
8. Entry in a mobile app reference work

Reference examples for diagnostic manuals:

1. Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
2. Edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)
3. Entry in the DSM
4. Entry in the ICD

For an APA Style paper, use standard legal citation style for court decisions, statutes, legislative materials, constitutions & charters etc.  Standard legal citation information can be found in the following resources.

• How do you reference a book review?
• How do you cite two or more references within the same parentheses?
• How do you cite a reference to a book when there is no author or editor?
• What is a digital object identifier, or DOI?
• When do you include a retrieval date in a citation?
• In referencing periodicals, what's the difference between using p. or pp. for page numbers?
• How do you cite an interview?

In-Text Citations

• In-Text Citations: The Basic
• In-Text Citations: Author/Authors

Reference List

• Reference List: Basic Rules
• Reference List: Author/Authors
• Reference List: Articles in Periodicals
• Reference List: Books
• Reference List: Other Print Sources
• Reference List: Electronic Sources
• Reference List: Audiovisual Media
• Reference List: Other Non-Print Sources

Visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab - Purdue OWL APA Style for additional examples.