Citing in APA style (library fcj version march 2014)

Why APA?
APA citation style refers to the rules and conventions established by the American Psychological Association for
documenting sources used in a research paper. APA style requires both in-text citations and a reference list. For
every in-text citation there should be a full citation in the reference list and vice versa.
The examples of APA styles and formats listed on this page include many of the most common types of sources used
in academic research.
In APA style, in-text citations are placed within sentences and paragraphs so that it is clear what information is being
quoted or paraphrased and whose information is being cited.
(source: https://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa)
Why citation?
If you use information without referring to your source, it is plagiarism. And plagiarism is considered to be fraud.
If you are writing an essay or a (research) paper, you often start by doing desk research: you research what has been
written about the topic. To inform your readers about your use of sources and to present your text as professional and
reliable, you have to cite your sources twice (!). You quote or paraphrase the information with a short citation and you
mention the source in your reference list at the end of your report.
When do you paraphrase?
Paraphrasing is reproducing information using your own words. It is preferable to direct quotations. Paraphrasing is
allowed if you cite your source correctly (see the table below).
When do you use direct quotations?
Only use direct quotations if really necessary. For instance: if a thought, view or argumentation is described so
uniquely that you cannot improve on it. You have to learn to write your own papers using paraphrases where
possible: that means using your own words. Direct quotations are allowed if you cite your source correctly (see the
table below).
In your text
Copy exact text
< 40 words

Quote

Copy exact text

> 40 words

Paraphrase

Describe the
information in your
own words

Citation
-Text between quotation marks
-After the quote: authors
surname, and year of
publication between
parentheses
- Use an indented line, without
quotation marks.
-After the quote: authors
surname and year of
publication, between
parentheses
According to author (year of
publication) ..

Example
In the Netherlands live 30,000 Chinese people
(Jansen, 2013)

There are people of many different nationalities

living in the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands live 30.000
Chinese
....(CBS, 2013)

According to Jansen (2013) the Dutch

community exists of

Or

Or

After the paraphrased text:

authors surname and year of
publication, between
parentheses

The Chinese community exists of etc.

(Jansen, 2013)

The APA guidelines for citations are on the back of the paper.
However, it is also possible to use programs that will insert citations in the correct style, these include:
-

Word: You have quoted or paraphrased text, move the cursor to the end of this text: and choose, in the
th
menu bar, for references > APA 6 edition. > insert quotation > new source > fill in layout. At the end of
your document, you can add your reference list, using resource maagement (be careful, Word is not
completely reliable, so always check if the reference style is correct).
Refworks: you can use this online program once you have registered. For more information go to:
www.library.hu.nl > support > APA citation style or ask for a training via bibliotheek.fcj@hu.nl

Source
Book with
1 author

Citation
(Dawson, 2009)

Reference list
Author, A.A. (year). Title and
subtitle. Place: Publisher

Book with
2 or more
authors
Book with
6 or more
authors

(Solomon,
Barnossy &
Askegaard, 2013)
(Chaffey et al.,
2013)

Place an ampersand (&) in

front of the last surname

Books by
the same
author
published in
the same
year
Journal
article

(Kotler, 2013a,
2013b)

Newspaper
article

(Ward, 2014)

Newspaper
article
found via
LexisNexis

(Ward, 2014)

Text from
website

(Cohen, 2014)

Author, A.A. (year). Title of

the document. Consulted on
date, via http://url

Video from
Youtube

(University of
Applied Sciences
Utrecht, 2010)

Creator (year, day month)

Topic. [Videofile]. Consulted
on day month year via
http://url

University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (2010, 2

February). Students tell about ICM [Videofile].
Consulted on March the 3rd 2014, via
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J6tcwR9S0
U

Table

In table 1 you see..

(Eurostat, 2014)
and...

Creator (year). Topic table

[Datafile]. Retrieved from
http://url

Eurostat (2014). Population of the year

[Datafile].Retrieved from
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?ta
b=table&language=en&pcode=tps00001&tableS
election=1&footnotes=yes&labeling=labels&plugi
n=1

Tweet

(Wester, F. 2013)

Author, A. [First name,

surname] (data). Text.
[Tweet]. Retrieved from
http://url

Wester, F. [fritswester] (28 January 2013).

Tonight 19.00h speech of the queen on
television #abdication. [Tweet]. Retrieved from
https://twitter.com/fritswester/status/2959252956
03658752

(Bruun, 2014)

In case of eight or more

authors the first six names
are mentioned, then the
ellipsis (...), followed by the
sixth author, without an
ampersand (&).
Author, A.A. (year a). Title
and subtitle. Place: Publisher
Author, A.A. (year b). Title
and subtitle Place: Publisher

Author, A.A. (year). Title of

the article: subtitle. Name
journal, volume (issue
number), p. xx-xx
Author, A. (date). Title of the
article. Name newspaper, p.
xx-xx.
Author, A.A. (date). Title of
the article [Database]. Name
newspaper. Consulted on
date via http://url

Example
Dawson, C. (2009). Introduction to Research
Methods: A practical guide for anyone
th
undertaking a research project (4 ed.). London:
How to books
Solomon, M., Barnossy, G. & Askegaard, S.
(2013). Consumer Behaviour: A European
Perspective. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Chaffey, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F., Mayer, R.,
Johnston, K., Chaffey, D., (.) Ellis-Chadwick,
F. (2013). Internet Marketing: Strategy,
Implementation and Practice. Essex: Pearson
Education (example with 4 authors so I used Chaffey
en Ellis-Chadwick twice)

Kotler, P. (2013a). Marketing for Hospitality and

Tourism (6th ed.). Harlow: Pearson
th
Kotler, P. (2013b). Principles of Marketing (6
ed.). Amsterdam: Pearson

Bruun, H. (2014). Conceptualizations of the

audience in political talk show production.
European Journal of Communication, 29 (01),
p 3-16
Ward, L. (2014, 21 March). Access to student
data sold to phone and drinks firms. The
guardian weekly, p. 16.
Ward, L. (2014, 21 March). Access to student
data sold to phone and drinks firms.
[LexisNexis]. The Guardian Weekly. Consulted
on March 21, 2014, via
http://academic.lexisnexis.nl/
Cohen, H. (2014). 20 Best Content Distribution
Platforms. Consulted on March the 3rd 2014,
via http://heidicohen.com/best-contentdistribution-platforms-research-chart/

Your reference list contains an overview of all the sources you have used, in alphabetical order, by surname of the
first author.