The American Psychological Association (APA) format is a style guide widely used in the social and behavioral sciences to present research findings and other written materials. The APA format includes specific guidelines for organizing and formatting papers, as well as for citing sources. The reference page, also known as the "works cited" or "bibliography" page, is an important part of any APA-formatted paper. It provides a list of the sources that have been cited in the paper, giving credit to the original authors and helping readers to locate the sources for further study.
To create a reference page for a book in APA format, follow these guidelines:
Begin the reference page on a new page, after the main body of the paper.
Use a hanging indent, which means that the first line of each reference is flush left, and all subsequent lines are indented.
List the references in alphabetical order by the last name of the first author. If the reference has multiple authors, list them in the order they appear in the original source.
Use the following format for a book with a single author:
Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year of publication). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher.
For example:
Smith, J. (2017). The psychology of learning. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- Use the following format for a book with multiple authors:
Author's Last Name, First Initial., & Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year of publication). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher.
For example:
Jones, A., & Smith, J. (2015). The art of persuasion. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
- If the book has an editor or translator, include their name after the title of the book. Use the abbreviation "Ed." for editor and "Trans." for translator.
For example:
Brown, K. (Ed.). (2012). The psychology of emotion. London, UK: Routledge.
Or:
Sartre, J.-P. (2003). Being and nothingness (H.E. Barnes, Trans.). New York, NY: Washington Square Press.
- If the book is an edition other than the first edition, include the edition number after the title.
For example:
Lopez, S. (2013). The culture of poverty (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- If the book is an electronic version, include the URL or DOI (Digital Object Identifier) after the publication information.
For example:
Williams, R. (2018). The sociology of inequality. Retrieved from http://www.sociologyofinequality.com
Or:
Jones, A., & Smith, J. (2015). The art of persuasion. doi: 10.1234/persuasion.12345
By following these guidelines, you can create a clear and accurate reference page for a book in APA format. It is important to properly cite your sources in any academic paper, and the reference page is an essential part of this process.