Health Informatics and Information Management

This section is a general overview of how to cite common types of sources using APA style. For more complex APA style questions, please consult the official APA formatting rules found in The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7^th ed. 

There is one copy available at each library branch for in-use only. The citation manual cannot be checked out to use outside the library.

General Rule: 

Last-name, First-initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Pages. DOI link

Example:

Madigan, R., Johnson, S., & Linton, P. (1995). The language of psychology: APA style as

epistemology. American Psychologist, 50(6), 428-436. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.50.6.428

What is a DOI, and where do I find it?

DOI stands for digital object identifier. It is a unique ID number ideally given to all digitized journal articles and ebooks. The DOI is listed along with the article citation in many databases. DOI numbers are also sometimes found on the first page of an article PDF. Alternately, DOI numbers can be found by searching the Crossref website http://www.crossref.org/guestquery/     

What if I can’t find a DOI?

If no DOI is available for an article that is widely available, such as an article found in a academic research database or in a print journal, end the citation with the page numbers. If the article does not have a DOI but is freely available on a website, include the URL for the work.    

Example of an article citation without a DOI from a database or in print:

Cuddy, C. (2002). Demystifying APA style. Orthopedic Nursing, 21(5), 35-42. 

Example of an article without a DOI from a website:

Akin, E. (2014). In Defense of "Mindless Rote." Nonpartisan Education Review, 10(2), 1-13.

https://nonpartisaneducation.org/Review/Resources/MindlessRote.pdf 

General Rule:

Last-name, First-initial. (Year). Title of book. Publisher Name. DOI Link or URL

• No need to include the DOI if referring to a print copy of a book, or an ebook from a database that does not include a DOI.
• If the author and publisher are the same leave off the publisher name. 

Examples:

Gelfand, H., Walker, C. J., & American Psychological Association. (2002). Mastering APA style: Student's

workbook and training guide.​

Moed, H. (2005) Citation analysis in research evaluation. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3714-7

Reagan, R. (2005). Citing unpublished opinions in federal appeals. Federal Judicial Center. 

https://books.google.com/books?id=D1AX4jtrv10C&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=citations&source=gbs_navlinks_s

General Rule:

Last-name, First-initial. (Year). Title of chapter. In First-initial. Last-name-of-editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. pages of chapter). Publisher Name. DOI or URL link

• For a chapter in an authored book, create a reference for the whole book and provide the chapter number in the text.

Example:

Folman, S. & Connor, U. (2005) Writing from sources in two cultural contexts. In T. Kostouli (Ed.), Writing in context(s): Textual practices and learning processes in sociocultural settings. (pp. 165-184) Springer.