APA Style: 10. Reference Examples (p. 313).

How to Create the Reference List (Especially Journal Articles)

Example

Bentley, M., Peerenboom, C. A., Hodge, F. W., Passano, E. B., Warren, H. C., & Washburn, M. F. (1929). Instructions in regard to preparation of manuscript. Psychological Bulletin, 26(2), 57–63. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0071487

Two Basic-Formating Templates

Author name(s). (year of publication). Title of article, Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), starring page number–ending page number. https://doi.org/10.#####

Author, F. M., Author, F. M., & Author, F. M. (year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), ##–##. https://doi.org/10.#####

Overall Formatting of the Reference Page Itself

Note the Reference page should start on a new page. (Use the page break function). And here are the instructions about the heading and the entries.

The Formatting of the Heading “References.”

1. Appear at the top of the page
2. Sentence case.
3. Centered.
4. Boldface
   1. No italicizing
   2. No Period
5. The heading is followed by actual references immediately.
   1. No blank line between the heading and reference lists.

The Formatting of the Entries

1. Double-space all reference entries.
2. Do not separate articles by blank lines.
3. Use hanging indent.
   1. Meaning that the first line of each reference is set flush left and subsequent lines are indented.
      1. Select reference entries (so that all the reference lists are highlighted in the gray box).
      2. Move the hanging indent triangle of the ruler (i.e., the bottom arrow) by one 0.5” (the half point between the starting point and 1).
         1. If you do not see the ruller, then, select “View” tab from the top menu bar and check “Ruler.”
   2. Or do the following for the hanging indent:
      1. Select reference entries (so that all the reference lists are highlighted in the gray box).
      2. Locate the “Paragraph” section from the top ribbon – click the expand icon at the lower right corner of the Paragraph section.
         1. From the pop-up window, locate the second panel “Indentation” and click the drop down menu under the “Special:”
            1. Choose Hanging and hit OK.
4. Alphabetizing entries. That is, sort the entries by the authors’ last names.
   1. Use the AZ↓ function (after you select all the reference entries).

The Formatting of the Elements of Entries

*Note the following instructions are specifically designed for journal articles*

• Author name(s).
  • Invert the name:
    • Place the last name first followed by a comma
    • Followed by first name’s initial ending with a period (without a comma)
    • Followed by the middle name’s initial, and end with a period.
  • Use commas to separate authors and to separate initials and suffixes.
  • Use an ampersand (&) before the last author.
    • Note, when you cite a study in the main body using the parenthetical format and when there are two authors, you don’t need a comma before the ampersand.
    • However, in the reference list, even if there are two authors, you need a comma before the ampersand (in other words, in the reference list, always have a comma before the ampersand).
• Year
  • Year in parentheses and put a period after the closing parenthesis.
• Article Title
  • Sentence case: Capitalize only the first word of the article title, the first word of the subtitle (if any), and any proper nouns.
  • Finish the title with a period.
    • Do not italicize.
    • No quotation marks
• Publication Information
  • Periodical title (Journal title):
    • Give the periodical title in full (do not use abbreviation unless the official journal title includes abbreviations, like JAMA Pediatrics)
    • Title case
    • Italicize
    • Followed by a comma
  • Volume number
    • Comes after the periodical title
      • Have a comma in between the periodical title and the volume number.
      • Italicize the volume number.
        • Do not use Vol. before the actual volume number.
    • Followed by a comma (but see below for the issue number): If there’s an issue number, the comma comes after the issue number’s closing parenthesis.
  • Issue number (if available)
    • Give the issue number in parentheses immediately after the volume number
      • No space between the volumne number and the opening parenthesis of the issue number
        • Do not italicize the parentheses of the issue number
        • Do not italicize the issue number
    • Follwed by a comma
  • Page numbers
    • For the page range, use en dash, which is this: –
      • Do not use the minus sign next to the number 0 (-)
      • Do not use em dash, which is this: —
        • A keyboard short cut for en dash:
          • On a PC, hold the Control key and type the minus sign (specifically, the one on the numeric keypad to the right; this shortcut will not work with the one with the minus symbo next to 0 at the top of the keyboard).
          • Or, follow these steps:
            • Insert (from the top panel) – Symbol (from the right most panel) – More Symbols (from the bottom of the drop-down menu) – choose “Special Characters” tab in the top – select “En dash”
          • On a Mac, hold the Option key and type the minus sign (specifically, the one on the top line of the keyboard).
    • Finish the page number with a period (0.1 pt).
  • DOI
  • A Digital object identifiers (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string assigned to each online content to identify the content and provide a persistent link to its location on the Internet. Publisher assigns DOI to an article being published and made available electronically.
  • It has starting format of https://doi.org/10.#####
  • DOI is located after the page number.
  • No period at the end.
  • When DOIs are available for the article you are citing, you should include them for both print and electronic sources.
  • The DOI is typically located on the first page of the electronic journal article, near the copy right notice.
  • The DOI can also be found on the database landing page for the article.