Books and eBooks

Books and eBooks

Books provide overviews, background, history and introductions as well as in-depth examinations of topics. Many people wonder about the differences between books and eBooks, and which one is better. The only difference between books and eBooks is access and format; print books are physical items and eBooks are digital files that can be accessed from a variety of devices. The content and quality are the same.

Examples of Books

  • Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
  • Elements of Indigenous Style by Gregory Younging
  • The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy by Robert S. Porter

Books with One Author

An image of a book cover and a title page verso. The title reads, “Canadian justice, Indigenous injustice: the Gerald Stanley and Colten Boushie case”. The author is Kent Roach. The title page verso lists 2019 as the date of publication. It gives McGill Queen’s University press as the publisher. Blue arrows point to the title, author, date of publication and publisher.
An example of a book with one author.

Reference List Entry: Format (10.2)

Author, A. (Date). Title of book. Publisher name.
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Hint! To find the date of publication and the name of the publisher for a book, check the title page verso. This page contains all the publishing information, and is usually the second or third page in a book. It appears before any indexes or introductions to the book.  

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Reference List Entry: Example

Roach, K. (2019). Canadian justice, Indigenous injustice: The Gerald Stanley and Colten Boushie case. McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)

(Author, Date), e.g.: (Roach, 2019)
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Remember! According to APA Style, it is not required to provide a page number when paraphrasing, only the last name(s) of the author(s), and the year of publication. However, a page number can be included if it would help interested readers to find the relevant section in the resource being cited. See section 8.23 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (the Publication Manual).

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Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)

(Author, Date, Page number), e.g.: (Roach, 2019, p. 33) 

Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)

Author (Date), e.g.: Roach (2019) 

Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)

Author (Date, Page number), e.g.: Roach (2019, p. 33)

 

Books with Multiple Authors

 

A book cover and title page verso - the second or third page which contains the publication information. Blue arrows point out the title, authors' names, date of publication, and the name of the publisher.
A book with multiple authors.

Reference List Entry: Format (10.2)

Author, A., Author, B., & Author, C. (Date). Title. Publisher. 

Reference List Entry: Example

Gomez, R., Isakov, A., & Semansky, M. (2015). Small business and the city: The transformative potential of small-scale entrepreneurship. (1st ed.). University of Toronto Press.
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Remember! In a reference list entry, up to 20 authors’ names can be listed. Each name is separated by a comma, with an ampersand (&) used before the final author’s name (9.8).  

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Remember! The edition statement is part of the title. If a work has an edition statement, the edition is included in parentheses following the title (10.2). The edition is not included in the in-text citation.  

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Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)

(Author & Author, Date) or (Author et al., Date) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: (Gomez, Isakov, & Semansky, 2015)   

Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)

(Author & Author, Date, Page number) or (Author et al., Date, page number) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: (Gomez, Isakov, & Semansky, 2015, p. 15)  

Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)

Author and Author (Date) or Author et al. (Date) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: Gomez, Isakov, and Semansky (2015)  

Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)

Author and Author (Date, Page number) or Author et al. (Date, page number) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: Gomez, Isakov, and Semansky (2015, p. 45)
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Remember! For in-text citations of works with two authors, list the last names of both authors. For works with three authors or more, list the last name of the first author followed by et al. For example, the book Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing was edited by Wendy Diane Duggleby, Barbara J. Astle, Patricia A. Stockert, Amy M. Hall, Anne Griffin Perry, and Patricia Ann Potter. The in-text citation for this book would read, (Duggleby et. al., 2019) or Duggleby et. al. (2019).  

Books in Translation

An image of a book cover and a title page verso. The title reads, “ Losing our voice : Radio-Canada under siege”. The author is Alain Saulnier. The title page verso lists 2015 as the date of publication. It gives Dundurn Press as the publisher. It lists Pauline Coutureas the translator. Blue arrows point to the title, author, date of publication and publisher.
An example of a book in translation. It can sometimes be difficult to tell, so read carefully and ask your library for help if you are unsure.

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Reference List Entry: Format (10.2)

Author, A. (Date). Title of book. (Translator). Publisher name.

What if the original work and the translated work were published in different years? (9.39)

If the original work and the translated work were published in different years, include the publication date of the original work at the very end of the reference list entry in brackets, e.g.: Author, A. (Date). Title of book. (Translator). Publisher name. (Original work published Date).  

Reference List Entry: Example

Saulnier, A. (2015). Losing our voice: Radio-Canada under siege. (P. Couture, Trans.) Dundurn Press. 

Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)

(Author, Date), or (Author & Author, Date), or (Author et al., Date) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: (Saulnier & Couture, 2015)  

Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)

(Author, Date, Page number), or (Author & Author, Date, Page number) or (Author et al., Date, Page number) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: (Saulnier & Couture, 2015, p. 25) 

Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)

Author (Date), Author and Author (Dater), or Author et al. (Date) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: Saulnier and Couture (2015) 

Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)

Author (Date, Page number), Author and Author (Date, Page number), or Author et al. (Date, Page number) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: Saulnier and Couture (2015, p. 25)
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Remember! For in-text citations of works with two authors, list the last names of both authors. For works with three authors or more, list the last name of the first author followed by et al. 

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Books with Chapter by Different Authors

An image of a book cover and a title page verso, and the first page of a chapter in the book. The title of the book reads, “One hundred years of wartime nursing practices, 1854–1953”. The editors of the book are Jane Brooks and Christine E. Hallett. The title page verso lists Manchester University Press as the publisher and 2015 as the date of publication. The chapter is titled, “Moving forward: Australian flight nurses in the Korean War” and it was written by Maxine Dahl. Blue arrows point to the titles, editors, author, date of publication and publisher.
An example of a book with chapters written by different authors.

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Reference List Entry: Format (10.3)

Chapter Author, A. (Date). Title of chapter. Editor, E. (Ed.) Title of book. (page numbers of chapter). Publisher name. DOI [if available]

Reference List Entry: Example

Dahl, M. (2015). Moving forward: Australian flight nurses in the Korean War. Brooks, J. & Hallett, C.E. (Eds.) One hundred years of wartime nursing practices, 1854-1953. (pp.254-277). Manchester University Press.
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Hint! When citing individual chapters, the chapter title and the author of the chapter can be found on the first page of the chapter.  

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Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)

(Author, Date), or (Author & Author, Date), or (Author et al., Date) for chapters with three or more authors, e.g.: (Dahl, 2015) 

Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)

(Author, Date, Page number), or (Author & Author, Date, Page number), or (Author et al., Date, Page number) for chapters with three or more authors, e.g.: (Dahl, 2015, p.45)

Narrative Citation (Paraphrase

Author (Date), Author and Author (Date), or Author et al. (Date) for chapters with three or more authors, e.g.: Dahl (2015)

Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)

Author (Date, Page number), Author and Author (Date, Page number), or Author et al. (Date, Page number) for chapters with three or more authors, e.g.: Dahl (2015, p. 45)
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Remember! For in-text citations of works with two authors, list the last names of both authors. For works with three authors or more, list the last name of the first author followed by et al. 

eBooks

An example of an eBook. The image shows the screen where a reader can download the eBook or read it online. Important pieces of information are highlighted with blue arrows - the title, the authors, the date of publication, the publisher, and the D. O. I.
An example of an eBook.

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Remember! The citation style for print books and eBooks is the same, except the addition of a DOI if one is available. 

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Reference List Entry: Format (10.2)

Author, A. (Date). Title of book. Publisher name. DOI [if available]
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Remember! Not all eBooks will have a DOI.

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Reference List Entry Example

Morris, T. & Goldsworthy, S. (2020). Public relations ethics: The real world guide. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003107491
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Hint! There are many different eBook platforms, so screens will look different depending on where the eBook is being accessed.  The image above is just one example.

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Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)

(Author, Year), or (Author & Author, Year), or (Author et al., Year) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: (Morris & Goldsworthy, 2020)

Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)

(Author, Year, Page number), or (Author & Author, Year, Page number), or (Author et al., Year, Page number) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: (Morris & Goldsworthy, 2020, p. 10)

Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)

Author (Year), Author and Author (Year), or Author et al. (Year) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: Morris and Goldsworthy (2020)

Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)

Author (Year, Page number), Author and Author (Year, Page number), or Author et al. (Year, Page number) for books with three or more authors, e.g.: Morris and Goldsworthy (2020, p. 10)
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Remember! For in-text citations of works with two authors, list the last names of both authors. For works with three authors or more, list the last name of the first author followed by et al. 

 

Sources

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style. (7th ed.).

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