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APA 7th ed. Citation Guide: Welcome

Contains the latest changes and updates to APA Style

APA Guide Overview

APA style was created by the American Psychological Association. It is a set of rules for publications, including research papers.

In APA, you must cite all information you have gathered from sources.  This includes information that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used to write your research paper.

Cite your sources in BOTH:

  1. The body of your paper where you add a brief in-text citation.
  2. In the Reference list at the end of your paper where you give more complete information for the source.

Navigating this Guide:

Video: How to use the APA Guide

Tabs - located above, each tab contains specific information on the various aspects of APA.  If you see a triangle in the tab, hover your mouse over the tab and a drop down menu opens.  Select one of the options to open that page.

"Citation by Source" - provides formatting structure and examples of the most common sources of information used in writing a research paper.

Do You Need Citation Help?

The Library has a variety of ways to help you with your Citation questions!
Information Literacy Workshops: (Sutherland Campus):
  • Every semester, the Library holds a series of workshops that assist students with research skills, including Citations.  Check out the schedule
Drop Ins:
  • Have a specific citation question? Just ask for assistance at the Library's Service Desk.  We have some great resources that provide examples of citations, both in-text and reference list.  See Below to access our Reference Desk Staff using WebEx.
Make an Appointment:
  • We offer individual appointments to assist with citations and need some extra help.
  • Appointments can be made during the week with Library staff. 
    • You can:
      • Visit the library to book an appointment
      • Email: library@flemingcollege.ca to request an appointment.  We will connect you with your subject specialist to book an appointment.

Commonly Used Terms

Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.

D O I (doi): Some electronic content, such as online journal articles, is assigned a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier (D O I or doi). Items can be tracked down online using their doi.

In-Text Citation: A brief note at the point where information is used from a source to indicate where the information came from. An in-text citation should always match more detailed information that is available in the Reference List.

Paraphrasing: Involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Plagiarism: Taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another.

Quoting: Copying "word for word" originally published text, retaining original spelling and punctuation.  Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.

Reference: Details about one cited source.

Reference List: Alphabetical list which contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.

Retrieval Date: Used for websites where content is likely to change over time (e.g. Wikis), the retrieval date refers to the date you last visited the website.

Summarizing: Involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Credits

NOTES:

  • This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca Libraries.
  • This research guide is based on the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge.
  • Contact: library@flemingcollege.ca to report any discrepancies or errors.

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