The American Psychological Association (APA) citation style is primarily used in the social sciences.
Currently in its 7th edition, APA offers guidelines to format and structure your paper, including citations. This guide focuses only on in-text citations and References.
As always, we strongly recommend you review your course syllabus or ask your instructor to ensure what citation style is required for any academic paper.
In-text citations are short acknowledgements that indicate the source of information in academic writing. They are inserted into the text of a research paper to direct the reader to the full source of the information located in the References section of the paper. Using in-text citations helps the author give credit to the originator of the quote, fact, or idea (et al.) and helps avoid plagiarism.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers this basic information for in-text citations, "When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper."
Further information about APA in-text citations can be found here: Purdue OWL APA In-Text Citations
The References section of an academic (research) paper is a comprehensive list of all sources that are cited (used) in a piece of writing, and is intended to help readers locate those sources. Along with in-text citations, the secondary purpose of the reference list is to credit the authors whose ideas or material were consulted, and to ensure all sources cited in the text are included in the list.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers this basic information about References: "Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text. Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page "References" in bold, centered at the top of the page (do NOT underline or use quotation marks for the title). All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay."
Further information about APA References can be found here: Purdue OWL APA References
The Cochise College Writing Lab (CCWL) has provided several videos to help with APA:
American Psychological Association (APA) Style Guide Site: APA
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) APA site: Purdue Owl APA