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APA 7th Edition Citation Style Guide

A quick guide to using APA citation style

Technical & Research Reports

General Rule:

Author. (Year). Title of report (Report No. if given). Publisher. DOI or URL

  • If the author and the publishing agency are the same omit the publisher from the citation. 

Examples:

  Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. (2013). America’s children: key national indicators of well-being. http://childstats.gov/americaschildren/index2.asp.

Data Sets

General Rule:

Author or name of group. (Year). Title of data set [description of form]. Publisher Name or Source of

unpublished data. Retrieved month day, year, from DOI or URL

  • Include a retrieval date only if the data set is designed to change over time. 
  • If a version number and/or database number is available include it with the data set title. 
  • No need to include a publisher name if it is the same as the author.
  • If the data is unpublished provide the source (e.g. university) if known. 
  • If the dataset is untitled, give a description of the data and publication status in square brackets.

Examples:

Pew Internet & American Life Project. (2012). November 2012- library services [Data file and code book]. http://www.pewinternet.org/Shared-Content/Data-Sets/2012/November-2012--Library-Services.aspx

Jeffri, J., Schriel, A., & Throsby, D. (2003) The aDvANCE Project: A study of career transition for professional dancers (ICPSR 35598; Version V1) [Data set].  IPCSR. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR35598.v1 

Tests, Scales, & Inventories

Whenever possible, give a citation for the measurements' supporting literature (e.g. manual, book, or journal article). If the supporting literature is unavailable, cite the the test itself or database record using the following rule.

General Rule:

Author name. (year). Title of the test. URL

Author name. (year). Title of the test database record [Database record]. Test Database Name. URL

Examples:

Hofstede, G & Hofstede, G. J. (2013). Values Survey Module 2013. https://geerthofstede.com/research-and-vsm/vsm-2013/

Castellanos, I., Kronenberger, W.G., & Pisoni, D.B. (2018). Learning, Executive, and Attention Function Scale

(LEAF) [Database record]. PsycTESTS. https://doi.org/10.1037/t66008-000