8.10 – Creating Reference List Citations

Learning Objective

  • Apply the 4 W’s for reference citations
  • Identify the correct punctuation and font emphasis for the reference citations of difference source types

Next, we will use the 4 W’s to look at each reference citation for the works evaluated during the “Exploring Source Types” section. Pay close attention to the punctuation and font emphasis (italics) used for each source type.

The 4 W’s:

  • WHO: The author(s) or creator(s) of the work
  • WHEN: The date of publication of the work (year, month & day if needed)
  • WHAT: The title of the article, webpage, or other work
  • WHERE: The source location of the work (journal or newspaper name, book name, website name, etc)

 

The 4W’s

The 4W’s (Text version)

Who: Author

  • The first part of a reference citation is the author who may be one or more individuals, or a group (organization or government agency).
  • To write the work’s citation include each author’s family name and initials or name of the group.

When: Date

  • The second part is the date of the work in parentheses. Most works only include the year of publication, but some works are published more frequently.
  • APA uses Year-First formatting, followed by Month, Day.

What: Title

  • The third part is the title of the work in sentence-case. For books, this may also include an edition statement.
  • For stand alone works that are not a part of another source, the title is italicized.
  • For works that are a part of another source, the source is italicized and not the work.

Where: Source Location

  • The final part is the source location. The information included here has the most variety because it’s based on the source type of the work you are citing.

Check your Library to access your school’s APA guide. Here’s an example: Georgian College’s APA Guide is a great resource to have on hand for creating reference citations.

Activity Source: “Creating Reference List Citations” In APA Style Citation Tutorial by Sarah Adams and Debbie Feisst, University of Alberta Library, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International License

 

 

journal article example
Figure 1. APA reference citation for a journal article with a DOI. Citation: Kirkpatrick, L., Brown, H. M., Searle, M., Smyth, R.E., Ready, E.A., & Kennedy, K. (2018). Impact of a one-to-one iPad initiative on Grade 7 students’ achievement in language arts, mathematics, and learning skills. Computers in the Schools, 35(3), 171-185. http://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2018.1491771

 

Figure 1 (Text Version)
  • WHO/Author(s): Kirkpatrick, L., Brown, H. M., Searle, M., Smyth, R. E., Ready, E. A., & Kennedy, K.
  • WHEN/Publication date: (2018).
  • WHAT/Article title: Impact of a one-to-one iPad initiative on Grade 7 students’ achievement in language arts, mathematics, and learning skills.
  • WHERE/Journal name, volume/issue, page numbers & DOI: Computers in the Schools, 35(3), 171-185. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2018.1491771.

The example above is a typical reference citation for a journal article with a DOI.

  • Author: is the Family name, Initials. for each author, with a comma in between, and ampersand before the last author.
    • Authors are always ordered as they appear on the work.
  • Date: is the publication date (Year) of the article.
  • Title: is in sentence-case, as are all titles of works cited in APA Style.
  • Source location: is the Scholarly Journal Title (in Title-Case and italics), Volume and Issue number, the article’s page range, and hyperlinked DOI.
    • The article is part of a larger source (the scholarly journal), so the source is italicized and not the article.
trade publication example
Figure 2. APA reference citation for a trade publication article. Citation: Stone, A. (2020, January/February). The end of discipline in the classroom. Teach, 26-29. https://teachmedia.squarespace.com
Figure 2 (Text version)
  • Who/Author(s): Stone, A.
  • When/Publication date: (2020, January/February)
  • What/Article title: The end of discipline in the classroom.
  • Where/Trade journal name, volume/issue, page numbers & URL: Teach, 26-29. https://teachmedia.squarespace.com

The example above is an article in a trade publication accessed through its online version on a website.

  • Author: the article’s individual author.
  • Date: the journal’s publication date, which follows Year-First format, followed by the seasonal publication date.
  • Title: the article title in sentence-case.
  • Source location: is the Magazine’s Title (in Title-Case and italics), the article page range, and hyperlinked URL.
    • This example has no volume or issue numbers, so they are skipped.
webpage with group author example
Figure 3. APA reference citation for a webpage with a group author that is the same as the website title. Citation: CAST. (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2. http://udlguidelines.cast.org/

 

Figure 3 (Text version)
  • WHO/Author(s): CAST.
  • WHEN/Publication date: (2018).
  • WHAT/Webpage title: Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2.
  • WHERE/URL: http://udlguidelines.cast.org/

The example above is a webpage with a group author that is the same as the website title.

  • Author: CAST is the full organization’s name, not an acronym.
    • If the author is an acronym, spell out their full name.
  • Date: the publication date of the webpage.
    • Do not use the website’s copyright date for the date.
  • Title: is in sentence-case and italics as it is an individual work.
  • Source location: is the URL of the webpage.
    • Webpage citations usually include the website title, but here the author is the same as the title so only the author is included.
ebook example
Figure 4. APA reference citation for an eBook. Citation: Kanu, Y. (2011). Integrating Aboriginal perspectives into the school curriculum: Purposes, possibilities and challenges. University of Toronto Press.
Figure 4 (Text version)
  • WHO/Author(s): Kanu, Y.
  • WHEN/Publication date: (2011).
  • WHAT/Webpage title: Integrating Aboriginal perspectives into the school curriculum: Purposes, possibilities and challenges.
  • WHERE/Publisher: University of Toronto Press.

The example above is an eBook accessed through a library database with no DOI.

  • Author: is the book’s individual author.
  • Date: the copyright date of the book, found on the copyright page (©2011).
    • This is the guideline for all books and eBooks. The release date of a book is not used.
  • Title: is in sentence-case and italics as it is a stand alone work and it includes a subtitle separated by a colon (:) with the first word upper-cased.
  • Source location: is the book’s publisher. The book has no DOI and no URL is included because it’s located in a library database.

*If a work from a library database does not have a DOI, your instructor may prefer to have its URL. We advise asking your instructor.*

Attribution & References

Except where otherwise noted, this chapter (text, images & activities) is adapted from “Creating Reference List Citations” In APA Style Citation Tutorial by Sarah Adams and Debbie Feisst, University of Alberta Library, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International License / Updates for accessibility including long descriptions and adapting the initial text to outline the 4W’s, CC license notes.

Unless otherwise noted, screenshots were created by the University of Alberta Library and are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International.

License

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8.10 - Creating Reference List Citations Copyright © 2022 by Jen Booth, Emily Cramer & Amanda Quibell, Georgian College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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