This article will show you how to write APA database citation. Actually, the format for citing database information is the same as the usual way of citing a particular reference (e.g. journals, magazines, newspapers). You will know more about this in the next part of the article. For now, take a look first at the guide in citing the authors.
Table of Content
Citing the Author
One Author
In-text citation | Reference list |
Last name
Kidder
*For all in-text citations, write only the last name without the initials. |
Last name, A. A.
Kidder, L. M.
*Reverse the name of the author, and write only the last name and initials separated by a comma. |
Multiple Authors
Note: In listing the authors, follow the same order as it is written in the source.
Two to Seven Authors
In-text citation | Reference list |
Last Name A & Last name B
Sanchez & Ku
*Use ampersand (&) instead of “and.” Up to five names can be included but in the subsequent in-text citation for works with more than two authors, write only the last name of the first author followed by et al. |
Last name, A. A., & Last name, B. B
Sanchez, T., & Ku, R.
*Use ampersand (&) instead of “and.” |
More than Seven Authors
In-text citation | Reference list |
Last name A et al.
Hirtle et al.
*Write only the first author’s last name followed by et al. |
Last name, A. A., Last name, B. B., Last name, C. C., Last name, D. D., Last name, E. E., Last name, F. F., . . . Last name, G. G.
Hirtle, B., Kluger, M. T., Smith, C. L., Hammond, E., Gibson, M., Nixon, L. R.,… Washington, R. C.
*Only seven authors can be included in the reference list. After the name of the sixth author, write three ellipsis points followed by the last author’s name. |
Corporate Author
In-text citation | Reference list |
Name of the organization or group
Australian Bureau of Statistics |
(same as in-text) |
No Author
In-text citation | Reference list |
Title of the article or work
“Music and Society”
*If the title is short, you can write the full title in the in-text citation. But for long titles; include only the first few words enclosed in double quotation marks. |
Title of the article or work
Music and Society
|
This part covers everything you need to know about in-text citation and reference list for databases. You will find here the elements, guidelines, formats and specific examples that will certainly help you in citing databases the APA style.
In-Text Citation
Elements
- Author
- Year of Publication
- Page or paragraph range
Guidelines
- In-text citations are usually written with the last name of the author and year of publication inside a parenthesis. But if the last name of the author is included within the text, only the year of publication is enclosed in a parenthesis.
Examples:
(De Waal, 2001)
De Waal (2001) found…
- For direct quotations, include the name of the author, year, and page number or the paragraph number.
Examples:
(Spinger, 1999, p. 7)
According to Springer (1999, p. 7)
- For works with no date, use n.d.
(Silva, n.d.)
Silva (n.d.) posited…
Reference List
Elements
- Author
- Year or Date of Publication
- Title of Article
- Title of Resource
- Volume number (issue number, if available)
- Page range
- URL or DOI
Guidelines
- Include as much reference information you can get from the source.
- For articles from a private database, locate the URL from the web.
- Write the homepage’s URL when citing an article which is also available from other sources.
- Italicize the title of newspapers, magazines, and journals.
- The date is written in this order: year, month day.
- Include the URL or DOI. Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string used by scholarly publishers to provide persistent link to content in the internet.
Journal from a database
Basic Format: Author. (Year). Title of article. Title of Online Journal, Volume number (issue number if available), pages. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/ or doi:0000000/000000000000 or http://dx.doi.org/10.0000/0000
Example: Martin, J., & Tokada, K. (2007, December). Face recognition in chimpanzees. Behavioral Sciences Journal 21(4), 39-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.121.6.1145
Magazine from a Database
Basic Format: Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Online Magazine, Volume number (issue number if available), pages. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/ or doi:0000000/000000000000 or http://dx.doi.org/10.0000/0000
Example: China’s export prospects: Fear of the dragon. (2010, January 9). The Economist. Retrieved from http://academic.lexisnexis.com
Newspaper from a Database
Basic Format: Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Online Newspaper, pages. Retrieved from http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Example: Spending at Humana trims profit. (2012, May 1). New York Times, p. B2. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com