Referencing a book: Examples
There is no separate category for government publications when it comes to APA. According to APA, government documents can be considered Books, Technical/Research Reports or Brochures.
Some Helpful Tips:
- Treat a government document as a book, report, or brochure.
- If a person is named on the title page, use her or him as author.
- If no person is named, use the government agency, department, or branch as a group author.
- Give the name of the group author exactly as it appears on the title page. If the branch or agency is not well known, include its higher department first.
- If the group author is also the publisher, just use the word Author after the location.
- If there is a series or report number, include it after the title.
General Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Author Surname OR Name of Government Organization, Year)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Author Surname OR Name of Government Organization, Year, page number)
References:
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. OR Government Name. Name of Government Agency. (Year). Title: Subtitle (Report No. xxx [if available]). Publisher.
Example 1
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Fossat et al., 2013)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Fossat et al., 2013, p. 5)
References:
Fossat, P., & Bua, M. (2013). Tax administration reform in the Francophone countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Example 2
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
( Woldegiorgis, et al., 2016)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
( Woldegiorgis, et al., 2016, p. 2)
References:
Woldu, M., & Woldegiorgis, G. M. (2016). Assessment of Principles and Practices of Good Governance in Tax Administration.
General Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Author Surname, Year)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Author Surname, Year, page number)
References: Whole Book
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle. http://doi.org/xx.xxxxxxxxx OR URL of the home page of the e-book provider.
References: Chapter
Author, A. A. (Year Published). Name of Chapter/Article. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Name of Book. http://doi.org/xx.xxxxxxxxx OR URL of the home page of the e-book provider.
Example
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Neville, 2010)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Neville, 2010, p. 55)
References: Whole Book
Neville, C. (2010). Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.unam.edu.na/lib/unamna/detail.action?docID=557102
References: Chapter
Neville, C. (2010). The shock of referencing: Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.unam.edu.na/lib/unamna/reader.action?docID=557102&ppg=16
General Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Book title [usually shortened], Year)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Book title [usually shortened], Year, page number)
References:
Book title: Subtitle. (Year). Publisher.
Example
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Merriam-Webster's, 2005)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Merriam-Webster's, 2005, p. 3)
References:
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2005). Merriam-Webster
General Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Author Surname [of Article], Year)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Author Surname [of Article], Year, page number)
References (Quotation):
Author Surname [of Article], First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title. In Editor First Initial. Second Initial. Surname (Ed.), Reference book title: Subtitle (# ed. edition, Vol. volume #, pp. page range of article). Publisher.
Example
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Hannan, 1999)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Hannan, 1999, p.468)
References:
Hannan, H. C. (1999). Stereotyping. In Encyclopedia of psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 468-469). Wiley.
General Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Author Surname [of Chapter or Article], Year)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Author Surname [of Chapter or Article], Year, page number)
References (Quotation):
Author Surname [of Chapter or Article], First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article
or chapter title. In Editor First Initial. Second Initial. Surname (Ed.), Book title:
Subtitle (pp. page range of article or chapter). Publisher.
Example
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Lawrence & Dodds, 2003)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Lawrence & Dodds, 2003, p. 526)
References:
Lawrence, J. A., & Dodds, A. E. (2003). Goal-directed activities and life-span
development. In J. Valsiner & K. Connolly (Eds.), Handbook of developmental
psychology (pp. 517-533). Sage Publications.
The format below refers to a book with three or more authors.
If you are dealing with a book that has three to five editors instead of authors, you would simply insert the names of the editors into the place where the authors' names are now, followed by "(Eds.)" without the quotation marks (as per the example). The rest of the format would remain the same.
General Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Author Surname et al., Year)
NOTE: The in-text citation for works with three or more authors is shortened to the first author's name followed by et al. and the year.
In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):
(Author Surname et al., Year, page number)
References:
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., & Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle. Publisher.
Example
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Shatona et al., 2018)
In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):
(Shatona et al., 2018, p. 72)
References:
Shatona, M. M., Claasen, M. C., & Mwiiyale, J. (Eds.). (2018). Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls. American Psychological Association.
The general format below is an example of a book with one author.
If you are dealing mainly with one editor instead of one author, you would simply insert the editor's name in the place where the author's name is now, followed by "(Ed.)" without the quotation marks. The rest of the format would remain the same.
General Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Author Surname, Year)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Author Surname, Year, page number)
References:
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle. Publisher.
Example
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Franks, 2005)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Franks, 2005, p. 148)
References:
Franks, A. (2005). Margaret Sanger's eugenic legacy: The control of female fertility.
McFarland & Company.
The general format below is an example of a book with one author.
If you are dealing mainly with one editor instead of one author, you would simply insert the editor's name in the place where the author's name is now, followed by "(Ed.)" without the quotation marks. The rest of the format would remain the same.
General Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Author Surname, Year)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Author Surname, Year, page number)
References:
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle. Publisher.
Example
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Franks, 2005)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Franks, 2005, p. 148)
References:
Franks, A. (2005). Margaret Sanger's eugenic legacy: The control of female fertility.
McFarland & Company.
Basic format to reference a book
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work. (Edition.). Publisher.