Citing Sources: APA, MLA & Chicago Styles

APA 7 HANDOUTS:  If your professor requests APA 6th edition, please click here for our APA Style 6th edition.  For further assistance, contact a John Jay librarian or the John Jay Writing Center.

 

APA 7 Reference List: Common Sources   (click for handout)

APA 7 Reference List: Social Media and Audiovisual Materials (click for handout)

APA 7 In-Text Citations (click for handout)

 

Additional sources:  

APA Style Blog  and APA Twitter Feed (American Psychological Association)

APA 7th Style (Excelsior College Online Writing Lab)

APA 7th Style Referencing Guide, AUT Library (Auckland University of Technology):

APA Style (7th ed.), Albert S. Cook Library (Towson University):

APA Style (7th ed.), OWL (Online Writing Lab at Purdue University) 

 

Many databases now create a citation for you.  Watch our video, How to Use Citation Tools in Databases and read the screen carefully in each database to locate the citation tool.  ALWAYS check the database citation for errors by checking it against our Library citation guides--learn how by watching our video Creating Flawless Citations.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) 

APA 7 has two paper formats--student and professional. This guide presents how to format student papers.*

APA format dictates the style of your title page, headings and References list. Consult the APA Style Blog for how to format tables, figures and abstract if requested by your professor. Requirements for how many and what kind of sources, sections and number of pages, etc. are determined by your professor.

View SAMPLE STUDENT PAPERS from the APA Style Blog:

Sample Paper (DOCX, 38KB )

Sample Paper with explanation (PDF, 2MB)

 

ORDER OF ARRANGEMENT:

• title page
• abstract (if requested)
• text
• references
• footnotes
• tables
• figures
• appendices

TITLE PAGE:

APA requires a title page. Students should follow the student format unless otherwise requested by their professor. (Find additional student title page example from the APA Style Blog.)

(Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association p. 32)

 

Title: centered, bold print, 3-4 lines from top of page. ​Capitalize major words.

Author's name: centered and 2 doubled space lines under title.

Author's affiliation: centered and 1 double spaced line under author's name. Include department and institution separated by comma.

Course number and name (separated by a colon) centered and 1 double spaced line under author's affiliation, as they are written on course material.

Instructor name: centered on 1 double spaced line under course information, as it is written on course material.​

Assignment due date: centered on separate line under instructor's name.  

 

PAGINATION:

Title page is page number 1. 

Set HEADER to add page numbers in sequence in the top right hand corner of each page.  HEADER IS PAGE NUMBER ONLY. 

 

LINE SPACING:

Double-space all parts of an APA Style paper--abstract, text, block quotations, table and figure (numbers, titles, and notes) and reference list. See APA Style Blog for line spacing exceptions.

 

HEADINGS:

Running title headers are NOT required for student papers.  HEADER IS PAGE NUMBER ONLY.

Short student papers may not require any headings. 

Headings outline different sections in your paper. Make headings concise and descriptive.  There are 5 heading levels (see APA Style Blog information on headings for more details). Use only when necessary to differentiate distinct parts of your paper. 

Your first paragraph is understood to be the introduction--the heading “Introduction” is not needed. Do not use numbers or letters in your headings. Double space headings with no added blank lines above or below.

Use title case for all headings--most words are capitalized (e.g., Beyond the Melting Pot).

 

(Format of Headings, APA Style) 

 

• * Consult the APA Style Blog for specifics on an APA professional paper with examples: Professional Paper (DOCX, 96KB) and Annotated Professional Paper (PDF, 3MB)

When using outside sources or others’ ideas to strengthen an argument in your paper, you must give the author(s) credit to avoid any charges of plagiarism (see John Jay College’s policy on Academic Integrity).

APA (American Psychological Association) is one style of formatting citations for outside sources for your Reference list (list of your sources at the end of your paper) and in-text citations (references, within the body of your paper, to a source you have listed on your Reference list).

This guide provides citation examples to the most common sources.  Use the tabs on the left for help with formatting your paper, citing different types of source and creating in-text citations.

If you need more guidance, contact your instructor, a Lloyd Sealy librarian or the John Jay Writing Center.

Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing are three ways to incorporate outside sources into your paper. See In-Text Citations: 2 Ways for options in the placement of your in-text citations and the In-Text Citation Format box for proper formatting.

Quoting

Quoting is reproducing text verbatim (exactly as written) from another source.  You must include an in-text citation to direct quotes that gives credit to the author/source AND refers the reader to your References page so they may find that source and the quote you've included.

(a) Short Quotations fewer than 40 words: Incorporate the quote into the narrative of your text by using quotation marks. Place the in-text citation in parentheses after the author's name or at the end of the quote:

According to Geppert (2019, p. 116), "it is imperative that development economists extend their research beyond purely economic factors and focus their attention on creating more inclusive, and hence more accurate, measures of development and national well-being." 

In ancient Egypt, black pigment “was the best-known form of makeup…used by people of all classes” ("Egyptian Body Decorations," 2013, p. 39).

(b) Long Quotations more than 40 words: Separate the quote by creating a double-spaced indented block without quotation marks. Indent 5 spaces from the left margin. Place the in-text citation in parentheses after the author's name or at the end of the quote:

According to Geppert:

Although this analysis has revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship between a variety of economic, political and social factors and happiness, it is important to note it is almost impossible to make a clear distinction between economic, political and social variables (2019, p. 116).

Jewelry was a form of body decoration ("Egyptian Body Decorations," 2013, p. 39):

Another way that Egyptians ornamented themselves was through the use of jewelry. The best-known pieces of jewelry were the highly decorated collars and pectorals (jewelry that was hung over the chest by a chain around the neck) that both men and women wore on their upper chests, under and around their necks.

 

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Paraphrasing is using your own words to present someone else's idea(s). Summarizing is stating the essence of another's idea(s). You need an in-text citation each time you paraphrase or summarize another's idea.  The citation refers the reader to that source on your References list and may include the specific page, chapter, section, etc. of the source being discussed. Use quotation marks for original words or phrases that come directly from the author or source:

According to Zapf & Jung (2006), “criminal responsibility” can be evaluated by referring to information from the defendant’s interview, and forensic test results (p.340).

Clifford Geertz (1973) is well known for discussing ethnography as “thick description.”

 

When incorporating external sources in the body of your paper you must include in-text citations that gives credit to those sources. In-text citations refer the reader to the source's listing on your References list.  It, therefore, helps to complete your References page listing all your sources first.

There are two ways to incorporate your in-text citations: 

Parenthetical Citations: Using parentheses (within or at the end of a sentence) with author(s) or title, publication year, and part quoted, summarized or paraphrased without naming that work in your sentence:

Among ancient Egyptians, "kohl, a black pigment, was the best-known form of makeup" ("Egyptian Body Decorations," 2013, p. 39). 

• Begin with author(s) OR title as listed on your References page 
  • Author: follow Author Format in box below
  • Title:
    • Shorten long titles
    • Use title case* 
    • Use italics if the title is italicized on your References list OR quotation marks if not italicized
  • Publication YEAR only
  • Part you are quoting, paraphrasing or summarizing
    • Usually page number(s)--see APA 7 Manual for citing a paragraph (para.), major heading (Introduction), entire chapter, figure or table as well as sources with no pagination
    • Use timestamp for video/audio sources
    • Use slide number for PowerPoint sources

 

Narrative Citations:  Some examples: 

Smith (2015) surveyed this phenomenon.

A famous survey of this phenomenon (Smith, 2015) showed that...

In 2015, Smith demonstrated that...

"White rats are the best subjects for this test," said Smith (2015, pp. 50-51).

Smith went on to explain, "Hamsters make better pets than lab rats" (2015, p.51).

(from APA Style (7th Edition, Albert S. Cook Library, Towson University)

 

* TITLE CASE: Beyond the Melting Pot.  (most words are capitalized)

   SENTENCE CASE: Beyond the melting pot.  (only first word is capitalized with the exception of proper nouns) 

Formating In-text Citations

See the Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing: Incorporating External Sources box in this guide for how to properly incorporate outside sources within the body of your paper. See the In-Text Citations: 2 Types box in this guide for detailed information.  For information and examples of how to cite parts of a source other than page numbers, see the APA Style Blog:  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parts-source

 

 

APA 7 Basic Rules

Author:

1. Follow author Reference List: Author Format in this guide for author(s) name--lastname, initial(s). 

2. Capitalize group author(s) such as an organization, association, corporation, government agency, etc. as a proper name.

3. Use title of the work when there is no author.  Make sure to check the About section of websites for group author if you do not see named individual(s).

4. When citing an edited work as a whole, format editor name(s) same as author(s)--lastname, initial(s).  See Edited Book as a Whole in this guide.

5. When citing part of an edited work (essay/article/chapter) the author of the part is listed first.  Editor(s) of the work as a whole is named as initial(s). lastname.  Include page number(s) for part you are citing.  See Part of an Edited Book in this guide.

6. Include those separately credited (translators/introduction or foreword authors) with name and role in parentheses after the title as follows: (with A. A. Author, Trans.).

Edition:

1. Include edition information (revised/update/number) after title of work. 

Publisher:

1. List publisher name only; do not include place of publication.

2. If author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher.

DOIs and URLs (for PRINT and ELECTRONIC sources)

1. Include DOI (digital objective identifier) as a hyperlink if available (p: https://doi.org/xxxxxxx. See DOIs and How to Find Them in this guide for more information.

2. Include URL only if link is stable and material is freely accessible to everyone.

3. Do NOT include database name or database URL. 

4. Avoid punctuation after the DOI or URL to avoid corrupting the link.

5. If URL is neither stable nor freely accessible to everyone, treat as print source even if you read it online.

WEBSITES: 

1. If you mention a website in your paper without quoting or paraphrasing, simply provide the website name and URL in parentheses--not necessary to list it in your References page. 

2. Use Webpage format ONLY when no other format applies---follow other formats in this guide if your source is an eBook; online Dictionary/Encyclopedia; online Journal, Magazine or Newspaper article; article from an Online News Source; Social Media page/post; Audiovisual item, or online government report.

3. Follow Newspaper Article format ONLY for online articles published from a newspaper website associated with a daily or weekly newspaper.

4. Follow News Webpage (Online News Sources) format for articles from ONLINE NEWS SOURCES such as CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, Reuters or HuffPost, that are NOT associated with a daily or weekly newspaper.

* List sources on separate page at end of your paper with title, References (centered in bold)

* List sources alphabetically by author (last name or group author) or title when there is no author (ignore initial articles like "A," "An," or "The")

* Double space throughout

* Follow examples for how to cite different types of sources using the format tabs on the left in this guide

* Use sentence case*--capitalize ONLY first word of title AND subtitle (word after a colon : or dash -), all other title words are lower case except for proper nouns

* Format entires with a hanging indent

 

* SENTENCE CASE: Beyond the melting pot.  (only first word is capitalized with the exception of proper nouns) 

   TITLE CASE: Beyond the Melting Pot.  (most words are capitalized)

Format author(s) name(s) as last name, first initial. middle initial. (if provided):

Single author: 

Schutt, R. K. 

2 authors: List both authors, separated by a comma and an ampersand (&) instead of “and:”  

Bachman, R., & Schutt, R. K.                    

3 to 20 authors: List each author up to 19 authors, separated by a comma, adding an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name:  

Kan, K. J., Beijsterveldt, C., Bartels, M., & Boomsma, D.

More than 20 authors: List first 19 authors, separated by a comma.  Use an ellipsis (...) in the place of all additional authors, ending with the final author's name directly after the ellipsis (no ampersand):

Juárez, U., Riyaziyyat, E., Wang, C., Zhang, I., Li, P., Yang, R., Kumar, B., Xu, A., Martinez, R., McIntosh, V., Ibáñez, L. M., Mäkinen, G., Virtanen, E., . . . Kovács, A. *

*Source provided by the APA Style website 

Scholarship is becoming more available online often with an assigned DOI or "digital object identifier." A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string and persistent link to a permanent location on the internet. 

APA recommends ending each citation with a DOI if available. DOIs remains fixed over a publication's lifetime where URLs may change over time.  

Not every publication has a DOI but many databases do include them. You may also find DOIs online by viewing the publication's webpage or searching here: https://doi.crossref.org/simpleTextQuery  

 

DOIs may look like any of the following formats (“xxxxx” refers to the DOI number): 

https://doi.org/xxxxx

http:/dx.doi.org/xxxxx 

doi:xxxxx or DOI:xxxxx

Whatever version you find, APA recommends using this format:

https://doi.org/xxxxx

 

 See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

  Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle of book. Publisher. DOI (if available) 

  Single Author

Saunders, G. (2000). Pastoralia: Stories. Riverhead Books.

  Two Authors*

Anaya, R., & Márquez, A. (1984). Cuentos Chicanos: A short story anthology (Rev. ed.). University of New Mexico Press.

  Group Author (include DOI if available for print books)

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5^th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596**

  Additional Named Authors and Reprint

Weber, M. (with Giddons, A.). (1992). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (T. Parsons, Trans.). Routledge. (Original work published 1930).

 

 *see Reference List: Author Format in this guide for 3 to 20 authors, and 21 or more authors

 ** Omit publisher name when same as author

 

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle of book. Publisher. DOI (if available) or URL (if stable and freely accessible)

  eBook with DOI

Thomas, H., & Ahmed, J. (Eds.). (2004). Cultural bodies: Ethnography and theory. Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470775837

  eBook with URL (stable and freely accessible)

Haffner-Ginger, B. (2012). California Mexican-Spanish cook book: Selected Mexican and Spanish recipes. Citizen Print Shop. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39586

  eBook without DOI or URL (treat as print book)

Menendez, D., & Marcella, A. J. (2008). Cyber forensics: A field manual for collecting, examining, and preserving evidence of computer crimes (2nd ed.). Auerbach Publications.

Saunders, G. (2000). Pastoralia: Stories. Riverhead Books.

 

 See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information. 

 Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (Year). Title of book: Subtitle of book. Publisher. DOI (if available) or URL (if stable and freely accessible)

 Two Editors (without DOI or stable and freely accessible URL)

Bowers, J. M., & Tick, J. (Eds.). (1986). Women making music: The Western art tradition, 1150-1950. University of Illinois Press.

 Three to 20 Editors*

Cullen, F., Agnew, R., & Wilcox, P. (Eds.). (2018). Criminological theory: Past to present: Essential readings (6th ed.). Oxford University Press.

 Edited eBook with DOI

Thomas, H., & Ahmed, J. (Eds.). (2004). Cultural bodies: Ethnography and theory. Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470775837

 Edited eBook with URL (stable and freely accessible)

Kroop, S., Mikroyannidis, A., & Wolpers, M. (Eds.). (2015). Responsive open learning environments: Outcomes of research from the ROLE project. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-02399-1

 

*see Reference List: Author Format in this guide for 21 or more authors

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

PRINT, DATABASE or without DOI/URL (stable and freely accessible):

Author, A. A. (Date). Title of entry. In Title of book: Subtitle of book (Edition, Vol., p. page or pp. pages). Publisher (if not author). 

Named Author (with volume number)

Collins, E. F. (2012). Tattooing and piercing. In M. Juergensmeyer & W. C. Roof (Eds.), Encyclopedia of global religion (Vol. 2, pp. 1265-1267). SAGE Reference. 

Publisher as Author (omit publisher name, with edition)

Merriam-Webster. (1997). Goat. In Merriam Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th ed., pp. 499-500). 

Individually Titled Volume

St. George, J., & Canavan, F. P. (2005). Crisis Intervention. In L. E. Sullivan & M. S. Rosen (Eds.), Encyclopedia of law enforcement: Vol. 1. State and local (pp. 122-125). SAGE Reference.

 

ONLINE Exact date:

Author, A. A. (Date). Title of entry. In Title of book or Website name (Edition, Vol.). Publisher (if not author). DOI (if available) OR URL (if stable and freely accessible)

ONLINE NO DATE:

Author, A. A. (n.d.). Title of entry. In Title of book or Website name (Edition, Vol.). Publisher (if not author). Retrieved date, from URL (if stable and freely accessible)*

Named Author (with date and edition)

Speaks, J. (2019). Theories of meaning. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Winter 2019 ed).  Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/meaning/

Publisher as Author (omit publisher name, no date)

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Phobic avoidance. In APA dictionary of psychology. Retrieved January 18, 2020, from https://dictionary.apa.org/phobic-avoidance*​

Title Entry (no author, no date)

Force majeure. (n.d.). In Thesaurus.com. Retrieved April 9, 2020, from https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/force%20majeure?s=t*

Wikipedia Title Entry for Archived Page **

Folk music. (2020, February 16). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music

 

*If there is no date, use n.d. for “no date” and add “Retrieved” followed by your date of access before the URL.

**Use a permanent (archived) page with date and URL whenever possible. For Wikipedia, click "View History” for archived pages.

 

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article: Subtitle of article. Title of Journal, Vol. Number(Issue Number), Pages. DOI (if available) or URL (if stable and freely accessible)

Print Article, Article from Database without DOI or Online without (stable or freely accessible) URL

Lawson, N. (2016). It’s a man’s prison: How the traditional incarceration model fails female offenders in Kansas. Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy, 25(2), 273–288.

Article with DOI (print or electronic)

Abraham, M., Bahr, S., & Trappmann, M. (2019, June 25). Gender differences in willingness to move for interregional job offers. Demographic Research, 40, 1537-1602. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2019.40.53

Article with URL (no DOI and only stable and freely accessible URL)

Geppert, K. (2019). Does money buy happiness? A cross-country look at the relationship between income and happiness. Issues in Political Economy, 28(2), 102–121. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Does-money-buy-happiness-A-cross-country-look-at-Geppert/d1e15e62f5d4457c769d96ae5c0a11bc473ef464

Article with 3 to 20 authors (with DOI)

Philips, L., Allen, R., Bull, R., Hering, A., Kliegel, M., & Channon, S. (2015). Older adults have difficulty in decoding sarcasm. Developmental Psychology, 51(12), 1840-1852. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000063

Article with 21 or more authors (with DOI)

Pegion, K., Kirtman, B. P., Becker, E., Collins, D. C., LaJoie, E., Burgman, R., Bell, R., DelSole, R., Min, D., Zhu, Y., Li, W., Sinsky, E., Guan, H., Gottschalck, J., Metzger, E. J., Barton, N. P., Achuthavarier, D., Marshak, J., Koster, R., . . .  Kim, H. (2019). The subseasonal experiment (SubX): A multimodel subseasonal prediction experiment. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 100(10), 2043-2061. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0270.1*

Article, Online Advance Publication

Standaert, W., Vlerick, S. M., & Cox, A. B. (2021). Business meetings in a post-pandemic world: When and how to meet virtually? Business Horizons. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2021.02.047       

Article in Press

Pachur, T., & Scheibehenne, B. (in press). Unpacking buyer-seller differences in valuation from experience: A cognitive modeling approach. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.**

 

*source provided by Owl Purdue Online Writing Lab

** source from APA 7 Publication Manual, p. 318

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Magazine Title, Vol. Number(Issue Number), Pages. URL (if stable and freely accessible) 

Article in Print, from Database or without DOI or URL (stable and freely accessible)

Shell, E. R. (2019). Obesity on the brain. Scientific American, 321(4), 38–45.

Online Article without Page Number(s)* (with stable and freely accessible URL)

Gregory, S. (2020, March 26). ‘Without empathy, nothing works.’ Chef Jose Andres wants to feed the world through the pandemic. Time, 195(12). https://time.com/5810564/without-empathy-nothing-works-chef-jose-andres-wants-to-feed-the-world-through-the-pandemic/

Online Article without Volume and Issue Number *(with stable and freely accessible URL)

Austen, B. (2018, June 21). Peace officers. New Republic. https://newrepublic.com/article/148854/peace-officers

 

  *When missing volume, issue and/or page number(s) simply omit that piece of information. 

IMPORTANT: ONLY articles published in print newspapers or from a newspaper website associated with a daily or weekly newspaper. Follow News Webpage format in this guide for articles from ONLINE NEWS SOURCES such as CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, Reuters or HuffPost, that is, news websites NOT associated with a daily or weekly newspaper.

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Newspaper Title, section/page(s). URL (if stable and freely accessible)

Article in Print, from Database OR no DOI or URL (stable and freely accessible)

Johnson, C. Y. (2019, October 20). 'Use it or lose it'? Study links excessive brain activity to shortened life. The Washington Post, A3.

Printz, L. (2012, September 30). Ready to plug in? Knowledge is power: Plenty to ponder if you plan to own electric car. Chicago Tribune.*

Article with URL (stable and freely accessible)

Hilts, P. J. (1999, February 16). In forecasting their emotions, most people flunk out. The New York Times, F2. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/16/science/in-forecasting-their-emotions-most-people-flunk-out.html

Article with No Author from Database or without URL (stable and freely accessible)

Voice of the people: Close Rikers, rethink mental health [Editorial]. (2019, February 18). New York Daily News, 20.

 

*If section and/or page number(s) information is missing, omit that piece of information

IMPORTANT: ONLY online news websites such as BBC, MSNBC, Salon or HuffPost not associated with a published newspaper. Use the Newspaper Articles format in this guide for websites that are online versions of daily or weekly newspapers. 

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information. 

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). News article title. News Website Name. URL (if stable and accessible)

Named Author

Heilweil, R. (2020, April 8). 6 things to know about telehealth: Due to Covid-19, video chats with doctors are becoming mainstream. Here’s how it all works. Vox. https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/8/21212432/telemedicine-how-to-video-chat-doctors

Oliver, T. (2020, April 5). Why overcoming racism is essential for humanity’s survival. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200403-how-to-overcome-racism-and-tribalism

No Author (Publisher/Organization as Author—omit Website Name)

BBC. (2016, May 17). How much of your body is your own? http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/the-making-of-me-and-you

Group Author (Publisher/Organization as Author different from Website Name)

The Associated Press. (2016, February 22). Judge bans enforcement of Biden’s 100-day deportation pause. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/judge-bans-enforcement-biden-s-100-day-deportation-pause-n1258707

 

IMPORTANT:  Use ONLY when no other format applies---follow other formats in this guide if your source is an eBook; online Dictionary/Encyclopedia; online Journal, Magazine or Newspaper article; article from an Online News Source;  Social Media page/post; Audiovisual item, or online government report.

Read “About Us” section for author and website information---it may be a person, institution, association, organization, government agency, etc. When no author is listed for the specific page you are viewing, list the organization/institution/government agency/association in the "About Us" section as the author.

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Webpage title: Webpage subtitle. Website Name. URL 

Named Author(s)

Brown, M., & Mendis, N. (2018, July 25). The separation of immigrant families: Historical anecdotes. Center for Migration Studies. http://cmsny.org/from-the-cms-archive-separation-of-families/

Group Author with Date (omit Website Name if same as Author)

Bloomberg. (2020, April 7). SBA computers crash in fresh blow to companies seeking virus aid. https://www.americanbanker.com/articles/sba-computers-crash-in-fresh-blow-to-companies-seeking-virus-aid 

Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases. (2019, June 13). Food safety: A changing landscape in a global world. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/features/worldfoodsafetyday.html

Group Author without Date (omit Website Name if same as Author, use n.d. for no date, add “Retrieved” date ONLY for webpages that may change over time)

Amnesty International. (n.d.). Cuba. Retrieved April 13, 2020, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/cuba/

 U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). U.S. and world population clock. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/popclock/*

 

*source provided by the APA Style website

ONLY for content originally published on a social media site. For sources you find through a particular social media post such as an article or video, make sure to cite that original source directly.

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

There are two formats for social media:

1. PROFILE, PAGE OR ACCOUNT: (“n.d.” for date with “Retrieved” and date of access because social media pages change over time).

Author, A. A. or Group Name. (n.d.). Profile/Account/Page Title [Description]. Title of Platform. Retrieved date, from URL

Facebook:

American Library Association. (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved April 14, 2020, from https://www.facebook.com/AmericanLibraryAssociation/

John Jay College Library. (n.d.). Photos [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved April 16, 2020, from https://www.facebook.com/pg/johnjaylibrary/photos/?ref=page_internal

Twitter:  

Brooklyn Museum [@brooklynmuseum]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved April 24, 2020, from https://twitter.com/brooklynmuseum 

Lloyd Sealy Library [@JohnJayLibrary]. (n.d.). Likes [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved April 16, 2020, from https://twitter.com/JohnJayLibrary/likes

Instagram:

Food Network [@foodnetwork]. (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]. Instagram. Retrieved April 16, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/foodnetwork/?hl=en

National Geographic [@natgeo]. (n.d.). IGTV [Instagram profile]. Instagram. Retrieved December 8, 2019, from https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/channel/*

TikTok:

    Witherspoon, R. [@officialreesetiktok]. (n.d.). vsco mom [TikTok profile]. TikTok. Retrieved January 12, 2020, from https://vm.tiktok.com/xS3B86*

 

2. Post or published CONTENT (title is first 20 words of text; include hashtags, links and emojis, counting them as one word; provide name or description or emoji (https://unicode.org/emoji/charts/emoji-list.html) in square brackets (e.g. [winking face]) if unable to include actual emoji)

Author, A. A. or Group Name. (Date). Content exactly as written up to first 20 words [Description][Post type]. Title of Platform. URL

Facebook:

John Jay College Library. (2020, April 2). Did you know that #johnjaylibrary #digitalcollections has a collection of images from 1940-1945 of #mugshots #rapsheets & #criminalinvestigation #documents? [Images attached] [Facebook post]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pg/johnjaylibrary/posts/?ref=page_internal 

Official Jackson Browne. (2020, February 9) Photo from “A Human Touch” video, with @lesliemendelson. The song was written by Leslie, Steven McEwan and @jackson.browne.official for the [Image attached] [Photograph]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJacksonBrowne/photos/a.1015022333865708 /10157241626597087/?type=3&theater

Tweet:  

New York Times Arts [@nytimesarts]. (2019, February 1). Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s Blue House in Mexico City travels to the United States for the first time. Unearthed [Thumbnail with link attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/nytimesarts/status/1091546540215283712

NPR's Latino USA [@LatinoUSA]. (2019, February 11). A first-of-its-kind exhibit opened at the Brooklyn Museum gives fans of iconic artist Frida Kahlo a chance. [Thumbnail with link attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/LatinoUSA/status/1095087584609517568

INSTAGRAM:

BBC [@bbc]. (2020, January 12). Skywatchers have been treated to the first full moon of 2020-known as a “wolf moon”-at the same time as a [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7OkWqbBwcf/** 

The New York Public Library [@nypl]. (2020, January 4). Happy #NationalTriviaDay! Patience and Fortitude are the beloved lions located outside of our 42nd Street location. These timeless lions have [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B66XsTilYZG/

TikTok:

 Washington Post [@washingtonpost]. (2019, December 3). News is all around us #frozen #newsroom #newspaper [Video]. Tik Tok. https://vm.tiktok.com/x2sKUu*

 

*source provided by the APA Style website

**source provided by Purdue Owl Writing Lab

 

APA distinguishes between works that stand alone works (television series, music album, YouTube video, etc.) and works that are part of a whole (episode in a series, song from a music album or cd, etc.). 

It is not necessary to indicate how or where you listened to or viewed source.

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

AUTHOR: Creator(s) except YouTube (and other streaming videos platforms) where uploader (account holder) is named author.  Sources may have multiple authors and/or author roles. Some common author categories for audiovisual works:

Film (Director)
Television Series (Executive Producer)
Television Episode (Writer and/or Director)
YouTube or other Streaming Video (Uploader)
TED Talk (Speaker if from TED website/Uploader if from YouTube)
Podcast (Host)
Webinar (Speaker/Instructor)
Music Album or Song (Recording Artist or Composer)
Artwork (Photographer, Painter, Illustrator, etc.)
Conference/Presentation (Presenter)
PowerPoint (Creator)

DATE: may be range (e.g. 2001-2003 or 2017-present)

DESCRIPTION:  add a description of the source's format in brackets 

PUBLISHER:  production company, record label, museum, university department, etc. Sources may have multiple production companies (separate by semicolon)

URL:  ONLY if source is online, stable and freely accessible to everyone

 

FILM/MOVIE:

Director, A. A. (Director). (Date). Title of film [Film]. Production Company/Companies.

Dahl, R. (Writer), & Stuart, M. (Director). (1971). Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory [Film]. Wolper Pictures; The Quaker Oats Company.

Fleming, V. (Director). (1939). Gone with the wind [Film]. Selznick International Pictures; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.*

 

YouTube or STREAMING VIDEO:

Uploader/Account Holder, U. U. (Date of publication). Title of video [Video]. Website host. URL (if available, stable and freely accessible)

Caged Bird Songs. (2014, September 23). Still I rise by Maya Angelou (official lyric video) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UFMB4i1AJo&feature=emb_title

Chance The Rapper. (2019, July 26). All day long [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V846b5ETp-c

John Jay College. (2019, October 1). Get to know the Prisoner Reentry Institute with Ann Jacobs [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3RD1n8j-gw

 

TV SERIES:

Producer, A.A. (Producer(s)/Executive Producer(s)). (Date range). Title of series [TV series]. Production Company; Companies. 

Gorden, H., & Gansa, A. (Executive Producers). (2011-2020). Homeland [TV series]. Fox 21; Fox Television Studios.

Serling, R. (Executive Producer). (1959–1964). The twilight zone [TV series]. Cayuga Productions; CBS Productions.*

 

TV EPISODE:

Writer, A.A. (Writer), & Director, A.A. (Director). (Original Air Date). Title of episode (Season No., Episode No.) [TV series episode]. In A.A. Producer (Executive Producer), Title of TV series. Production Company; Companies. 

Serling, R., Bixby, J., (Writers), & Sheldon, J. (Director). (1961, November 3). It's a good life (Season 3, Episode 8) [TV series episode]. In R. Serling (Executive Producer), The twilight zone. Cayuga Productions; CBS Productions.

Stiehm, M. (Writer), & Cuesta, M. (Director). (2011, November 13). The weekend (Season 1, Episode 7) [TV series episode]. In H. Gorden & A. Gansa (Executive Producers), Homeland. Fox 21; Fox Television Studios.

 

TED TALK: Author is speaker when video is directly from TED website. Author is uploader/account holder if video is from YouTube--add speakers' name in the tile of the talk.

Speaker, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of talk [Video]. TED Conferences. URL

Uploader, U. U. (Year, Month Day). Speaker: Title of talk [Video]. YouTube. URL

Foss, A. (2016, February). A prosecutor’s vision for a better justice system [Video]. TED Conferences.  https://www.ted.com/talks/ adam_foss_a_prosecutor_s_vision_for_a_better_justice_system

TEDx Talks. (2018, May 23). Michiel Vandeweert: Life's short, make the most of it [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZvLeMbJ_U

 

PODCAST: Format differs for a podcast episode or episode within a series AND podcast series.

Host, H. H. (Host). (Date). Title of podcast episode [Audio podcast episode]. Production company. URL (if accessed online)

Host, H. H. (Host). (Date). Title of podcast episode (Episode number if available) [Audio podcast episode]. In Title of podcast series. Production Company. URL (if accessed online)

Vedantam, S., Penman, M., & Boyle, T. (2020, February 17). Liar, liar, liar [Audio podcast episode]. In Hidden brain. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2020/02/13/805808486/liar-liar-liar 

Host, H. H. (Host). (Date range). Title of podcast series [Audio podcast series]. Production company. URL (if accessed online)

Vedantam, S. (2015-present). Hidden brain. [Audio podcast series]. NPR. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain 

WEBINAR (archived and available online):

Author, A. A. (Date). Title of webinar [Webinar]. Producer. URL

American Psychological Association. (2019, October 24). What’s new in APA style—Inside the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the APA. [Webinar]. American Psychological Association. https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/tutorials-webinars

 

ARTWORK (Painting, photograph, illustration, infographic, etc.): Format differs for artwork associated with a museum or gallery (part of a whole) and art that stands on its own, not associated with a museum or gallery. Do not use database name or database URL.

Artist, A. A. (Date). Title of work [Medium]. Museum Name, Museum Location. URL (if viewed online, stable and freely accessible) 

Klimt, G. (1907). Adele Bloch-Bauer I [Painting]. Neue Gallery, New York, NY, United States. https://www.neuegalerie.org/content/adele-bloch-bauer-i

Mitchell, T. (2019). Untitled [Group hula hoop] [Photograph]. International Center of Photography, New York, NY, United States. https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/tyler-mitchell-i-can-make-you-feel-good

Artist, A. A. (Date). Title of work [Medium]. Source. URL (if viewed online, stable and freely accessible) 

Day, B. (2014, August 20). Don't shoot. [Political cartoon]. Cale Cartoons. http://caglecartoons.com/sku/152568/

The Sentencing Project. (2001). Lifetime likelihood of imprisonment for U.S. residents born in 2001 [Infographic]. https://www.sentencingproject.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/10/lifetime-likelihood-of-imprisonment-by-race.png

 

MUSIC: Format differs between the whole (e.g. album or musical score) and piece of the whole.

Artist, A. A. (year). Title of whole [Description]. Recording Label.

The Beatles. (1968). The white album [Album]. Apple. 

Haydn, F. J. (2001). The creation [Musical score]. Dover Publications. (Original work published 1798).*

Artist, A. A. (year). Title of song [Song]. On Title of whole. Recording Label.

​The Beatles. (1968). Blackbird [Song]. On The white album. Apple.

Los Angeles Percussion Quartet. (2017). Fear release [Song]. On Beyond. Sono Luminus.

 

POWERPOINT or GOOGLE SLIDES/CLASS LECTURE NOTES:

Author, A. A. (Date). Title of slides or lecture [Description]. Source or Platform. URL (use login page for sources requiring a login)

Mack, R., & Spake, G. (2018). Citing open source images and formatting references for presentations [PowerPoint slides]. Canvas@FNU. https://fnu.onelogin.com/login*

McNeel, R. (n.d.) New hope for fading memories: Alzheimer's disease 

         [PowerPoint slide]​. BioEd Online. http://www.bioedonline.org/slides/hot-topics/new-hope-for-fading-memories-alzheimers-disease/

 

*source provided by the APA Style website

According to APA, personal communication is defined as those conversations or statements that are not published and, therefore, cannot be retrieved or accessed by others.  They are “nonrecoverable” pieces of information.

Examples include:

• Emails
• Text Messages
• Online Conversations
• Personal Interviews (not published)*
• Telephone Conversations
• Live Speeches
• Unrecorded Lectures
• Letters

Because these sources cannot be retrieved, they are not listed in your References page.  Instances of personal communication such as interviews should, however, be followed by an in-text citation—citation within the body of your paper.  Follow the format below and include the following information within parentheses:**

(Author’s first initial. Author’s last name, personal communication, Date as exact as possible)

Narrative citation: E.-M. Paradis (personal communication, August 8, 2019)

Parenthetical citation: (T. Nguyen, personal communication, February 24, 2020)

 

*Instances of personal communication retrieved from published sources will require a citation in your References list.  Follow the specific reference format for that published source as a whole.  For example, if you are mentioning or including the text of an interview or email found in a magazine article add a citation for that magazine article in your References list in addition to an APA in-text citation in the body of your paper. 

**examples from the APA Style Blog

These sources may be published or unpublished.  Unpublished most likely in print at author’s institution. Published sources generally found in databases (ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, EBSCO Open Dissertations, PQDT Open), institutional repositories or archives, and/or personal websites. Some descriptions: “Doctoral dissertation,” “Master’s thesis,” "Unpublished dissertation," "Unpublished master's thesis" and “Undergraduate honors thesis.” 

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

Unpublished:

Author, A. A. (Date). Title of dissertation/thesis: Subtitle of dissertation/thesis [Unpublished doctoral dissertation/master's thesis]. Institution Name.

Harris, L. (2014). Instructional leadership perceptions and practices of elementary school leaders [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Virginia.*

Published:

Author, A. A. (Date). Title of dissertation/thesis: Subtitle of dissertation/thesis (Publication No. xxxxxx) [Description, Institution Name]. Source. URL (if stable and freely accessible)

Dajani, D. (2017). Tattoos and criminal behavior: An examination of the relationship between body art and crime (Publication No. 10285487). [Master’s thesis, City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Zambrano-Vazquez, L. (2016). The interaction of state and trait worry on response monitoring in those with worry and obsessive-compulsive symptoms [Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona]. UA Campus Repository. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/620615**

Zhou, X. (2018). Leggings are the new denim: An investigation of consumer activewear experience (Publication No. 10840578) [Doctoral dissertation, Temple University]. PQDT Open. https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/pubnum/10840578.html

 

*source from APA Style Blog

**source from Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.

Author may be an individual(s) or government agency/department.  Use the most specific agency listed on the source as author and parent agency as publisher. Omit publisher name if same as author.

See Reference List: Basic Principles, Reference List: Basic Format and Reference List: Author Format for additional information.

Author, A. A. (Date). Title of report: Subtitle of report (Report No. if available). Publisher Name. URL (if stable and freely available to all)

Named Individual Author

Rantala, R. R. (2004, March 1). Cybercrime against businesses: Pilot test results, 2001 computer security survey (NCJ 200639). Bureau of Justice Statistics. http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=770

Agency Author (omit publisher name if same as author)

National Cancer Institute. (2019). Taking time: Support for people with cancer (NIH Publication No. 18-2059). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/takingtime.pdf* 

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. (2019). Health of older adults in New York City. https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/episrv/2019-older-adult-health.pdf

 

*source provided by the APA Style website

APA recommends consulting The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (legal citation standard) or Cornell University's Legal Information Institution's Basic Legal Citation: https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/​

Find print copies of The Bluebook in the Lloyd Sealy Library at the 2nd floor Reference Desk (KF245 .B58). Consult The Bluebook for abbreviations and symbols.  Arrange citations alphabetically by the first significant word or abbreviation.  URLs are not required--add when useful, if stable and freely accessible, after the date.  

See the Citing Legal Materials tab in this guide for more detailed information.  Consult In-text Citations: 2 Types in this guide for the difference between parenthetical and narrative citations.

The abbreviation chart below and most of the following citation examples come from The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Consult Chapter 11 (Legal References) for more information.

 

Court Decisions: 

U.S. Supreme Court  (published in the United States Reports--abbreviate as “U.S.”)

Reference page: Name v. Name, Volume U.S. Page (Year). 

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). 

Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S___(2015).*

*include three underscores for page number for cases after 2012 published without page numbers

Parenthetical citation: (Name v. Name, Year)

(Brown v. Board of Education, 1954)

(Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015)

Narrative citation: Name v. Name (Year)

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

 Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

 U.S. Circuit Court (published in the Federal Reporter--abbreviate as "F.2d" or "F.3d.")

Reference page: Name v. Name, Volume F. [or F.2d, F.3d] Page (Court Year). 

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 951 F.2d 1128 (9th Cir. 1991). 

Parenthetical citation: (Name v. Name, Year)

(Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 1991)

Narrative citation: Name v. Name (Year)

           Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1991) 

U.S. District Court (published in the Federal Supplements--abbreviate as "F. Supp.")

Reference page: Name v. Name, Volume F. Supp. Page (Court Year). 

Burriola v. Greater Toledo YMCA, 133 F. Supp. 2d 1034 (N.D. Ohio 2001). 

Parenthetical citation: (Name v. Name, Year)

(Burriola v. Greater Toledo YMCA, 2001)

Narrative citation: Name v. Name (Year)

Burriola v. Greater Toledo YMCA (2001) 

State Court Decisions (find state reporter abbreviations in The Bluebook)

Reference page: Name v. Name, Volume Reporter Page (Court Year).

Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal.3d 425, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14, 551 P.2d 334 (1976). 

Parenthetical citation: (Name v. Name, Year)

(Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 1976)

Narrative citation: Name v. Name (Year)

Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976)

 

Federal and State Statutes (laws or acts passed by a federal or state legislative body):  Federal statutes are officially published in the United States Code (U.S.C.).  There are official and unofficial (commercial and/or electronic versions) publications of both federal and state codes.  The Bluebook recommends citing official codes whenever possible--consult The Bluebook Table 1 for preferred state code publications.  If citing unofficial/commercial codes, include the publisher in the parenthesis before the date (see the Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities example below).  Statutes are divided into sections called titles.  Begin with the popular name of the act, if available and commonly used.  Begin with the title number and abbreviation of the code source if a popular name is neither available nor commonly used.  URLs are not necessary but may be added if helpful and freely available to all.

State statutes citations generally follow federal statute citations. For NYS statutes, see specific information at the bottom of this section.

Statutes Codified in Single Section/Range of Sections: Not necessary to include public law number.

Reference page: Name of Act, Title#/Source § Section Number (Year). URL (if freely accessible)

Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2015). 

Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities, 42 U.S.C.A. § 12101 et seq. (West, 2005).

42 U.S.C. § 12101 (2006).

Parenthetical citation: (Name of Act, Year) 

(Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015) 

(Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities, 2005)

Narrative citation: Name of Act (Year)

Every Student Succeeds Act (2015)

Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities (2005)

Statutes not Codified/Codified in Scattered Sections: Add public law number to Reference page citation

Reference page:

Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (1964).  

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-2, 123 Stat. 5 (2009). 

Florida Mental Health Act, Fla. Stat. § 394 (1971 & rev. 2009).

Parenthetical citation: 

(Civil Rights Act, 1964)

(Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, 2009) 

(Florida Mental Health Act, 1971/2009) 

Narrative citation: 

Civil Rights Act (1964)

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (2009)

Florida Mental Health Act (1971/2009)

 

*NYS statutes*:  There are two official annotated codifications of New York State laws:  McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York Annotated and the New York Consolidated Laws Service.  A free unannotated electronic version of New York Consolidated Laws Service is available on the New York Senate website: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/all   

Cornell's Legal Information Institute, following The Bluebook guidance, calls for including the publisher and/or brand of any commercial compilation in parenthesis before the date.  Click here for Cornell's Legal Information Institute examples:  https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/3-300#3-320_New_York or consult Cynthia Pittson's 2017 Basic Bluebooking in Legal Documents.

 

Bills and Resolutions: Includes bills and resolutions not yet passed through both houses of Congress AND enacted bills and resolutions that have not yet been signed into law.  Precede bill or resolution number by “H.R.” for House of Representatives or “S.” for Senate to indicate where the bill/resolution originated. Enacted resolutions are reported in the Congressional Record, abbreviated as “Cong. Rec.” 

Unenacted federal bill/resolution: (not yet passed in both houses)

Unenacted bill: Title [if relevant], H.R. or S. bill number, xxx Cong. (Year). 
Unenacted resolution: Title [if relevant], H.R. or S. Res. resolution number, xxx Cong. (Year).

Reference page: Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act, H.R. 1100, 113th Cong. (2013). 

Parenthetical citation: (Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act, 2013) 

Narrative citation: Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act (2013) 

Enacted federal resolution: (passed in both houses but not signed into law)

Senate: S. Res. xxx, xxx Cong., Volume Cong. Rec. Page (Year) (enacted). 
House of Representatives: H.R. Res. xxx, xxx Cong., Volume Cong. Rec. Page (Year) (enacted). 

Reference page: S. Res. 438, 114th Cong., 162 Cong. Rec. 2394 (2016) (enacted). 

Parenthetical citation: (S. Resolution 438, 2016) 

Narrative citation: Senate Resolution 438 (2016) 

 

Federal Regulations: Rules and regulations; and executive orders.  Include the URL of regulation if available online.

Federal Regulation (Codified): (published in the Code of Federal Regulations, abbreviated as "C.F.R.”) 

Title or Number, Volume C.F.R. § xxx (Year). 

Reference page: 

Protection of Human Subjects, 45 C.F.R. § 46 (2009). https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/sites/default/files/ohrp/policy/ohrpregulations.pdf

Parenthetical citation: (Protection of Human Subjects, 2009) 

Narrative citation: Protection of Human Subjects (2009) 

  Federal Regulation (Not Codified): (published in the Federal Register, abbreviated as "F.R.")

Title or Number, Volume F.R. Page (proposed Month Day, Year) (to be codified at Volume C.F.R. § xxx). 

Reference page: 

Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees, 81 F.R. 32391 (proposed May 23, 2016) (to be codified at 29 C.F.R. § 541).

Parenthetical citation: (Defining and Delimiting, 2016) 

Narrative citation: Defining and Delimiting (2016) 

Executive Orders:

Executive order:  Exec. Order No. xxxxx, 3 C.F.R. Page (Year). 

Reference page: Exec. Order No. 13,676, 3 C.F.R. 294 (2014). 

Parenthetical citation: (Exec. Order No. 13,676, 2014) 

Narrative citation: Executive Order No. 13,676 (2014)

 

Constitution: You do not need a citation in your Reference page if you are merely mentioning a federal or state constitution: "The U.S. Constitution has 26 amendments." or "The Massachusetts Constitution was ratified in 1780."  You need a citation when discussing specific articles or amendments.  The U.S. Constitution is abbreviated as “U.S. Const.”  Consult Cornell’s Legal Information Institute for state abbreviations when citing state constitutions: https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/4-500

U.S. Constitution article and amendment numbers are Roman numerals. State constitution article numbers are Roman numerals, amendment numbers are Arabic numerals. It is not necessary to include a date unless an amendment has been repealed (see below). URLs are not necessary.

U.S. Constitution: U.S. Const. art. xxx, § x. 

Reference page:  U.S. Const. art. I, § 3. 

Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Const. art. I, § 3) 
Narrative citation: Article I, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution  

State constitution: State Const. art. xxx, § x.

Reference page: S.C. Const. art. XI, § 3. 

Parenthetical citation: (S.C. Const. art. IX, § 3) 
Narrative citation: Article IX, Section 3, of the South Carolina Constitution 

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: U.S. Const. amend. xxx. 

Reference page: U.S. Const. amend. XIX. 
Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Const. amend. XIX) 
Narrative citation: Amendment XIX to the U.S. Constitution 

Repealed amendment to the U.S. Constitution: U.S. Const. amend. xxx (repealed year).

Reference page: U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933). 
Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933) 
Narrative citation: Amendment XVIII to the U.S. Constitution was appealed in 1933

 

TESTIMONY:

Include the title as it appears on the document.  Add subcommittee and/or committee names, separating multiple names by a comma. Indicate number of the Congress, the year in parentheses, and “testimony of” with name of the person who gave the testimony in separate parentheses. If the testimony is online, include a URL. 

Federal testimony: 

Title of testimony, xxx Cong. (Year) (testimony of Testifier Name).

References page: Federal real property reform: How cutting red tape and better management could

achieve billions in savings, U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,

114th Cong. (2016) (testimony of Norman Dong). 

Parenthetical citation: (Federal Real Property Reform, 2016) 
Narrative citation: Federal Real Property Reform (2016) 

 

Full federal hearing: 

Title of hearing, xxx Cong. (Year).

Reference page: Strengthening the federal student loan program for borrowers: Hearing before the U.S.

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, 113th Cong. (2014). 

Parenthetical citation: (Strengthening the Federal Student Loan Program, 2014) 
Narrative citation: Strengthening the Federal Student Loan Program (2014)