APA referencing style

This guide is intended to help students understand how to use APA referencing in their
assignments, but it is important that you check the assignment guidelines of your course as
there are some different requirements that might be required within your discipline. The
guide is partly based on material gathered and adapted from the Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association, 6th ed., which is the official manual published by the
associations; and Colin Nevilles The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism,
which supplements with the formatting of sources not covered by the APA manual.

What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct. In The Complete Guide to Referencing and
Avoiding Plagiarism (2010), Neville suggests three forms of plagiarism:
1.

Copying another persons work, including the work of another student (with or without
their consent), and claiming or pretending it is your own

2.

Presenting arguments that use a blend of your own and a significant percentage of
copied words of the original author without acknowledging the source

3.

Paraphrasing another persons work, but not giving due acknowledgement to the
original writer or organization publishing the writing, including Internet sites.

What constitutes plagiarism for different subject areas may vary. Check with your lecturer for
specific definitions of plagiarism.

Why referencing is important?

To avoid plagiarism by giving credit to the original source of an idea or piece of

information.

To demonstrate that you have read widely around your subject area

To help the reader easily locate the sources or ideas that you have used

To establish the credibility of your ideas and arguments

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APA referencing guide

By Beatrice Dang

What is a reference?
A reference consists of TWO parts:
1) In-text citations, and
2) The full reference in the reference list
In-text citation is included in the body of your text and referencing them at the end of your
assignment, it helps the reader to match the source cited in the text to a more detailed
description in your reference list.
In-text citation
Talcott Parsons, a leading functionalist thinker, concerned himself with the role of the
family in industrial societies (Parsons & Bales 1956). He was particularly interested in the
of children and believed that stable, supportive families are the key to
In-textsocialization
citation
successful socialization. Another functionalist perspective on childrearing was advanced
by Bowlby (1953), who argued that the mother is crucial to the primary socialization of
children.
Source: Giddens, A. (2001) Sociology. Cambridge: Polity

References
Author (surname first)

Book name (Italicised)

Publication details

List all
Bowlby, J. (1953). Child Care and the Growth of Love. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

entries in
alphabetical

Year of Publication

order by last
Parsons, T. & Bales. R. (1956). Family: Socialization and Interaction Process. London:

name of the

Routledge and Kegan Paul.

author(s)

At the end of your assignment, you will create a list that is headed either Bibliography or
References. (The MLA citation style refers to these lists respectively as Works Consulted
and Works Cited)
References (or Works cited)

Bibliography (or Works consulted)

The reference list only includes items you

Bibliography is not the same as References,

have read and particularly cited in the text

which use same style of referencing, but

of your assignment under the sub-heading:

also includes all items you have read in

References

preparation of your assignment

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APA referencing guide
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Books

In-text examples

Reference list examples

Single author

Gerson (2010) suggests that

Or
experienced unpredictable ups and
downs (Gerson 2010, p.5)

Kathleen, G. (2010). The unfinished revolution: how a new generation is

reshaping family, work, and gender in America. Oxford; New York; Oxford
University Press.

Only insert the page number when

using a direct quote.
2 authors

According to Whitem & Walker (2008)

Whitem, C., & Walker, T. (2008). Tooning in: essays on popular culture and
education. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

A book with 3 to 7
authors

(Smaldino, Lowther & Russell, 2012)

Cite all authors in the first reference

Smaldino, S.E., Lowther, D.L., & Russell, J.D. (2012). Instructional technology
and media for learning. Boston: Pearson.

(Smaldino, et al. 2012)

In the subsequent citations, include
only the first authors name followed by
et al

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APA referencing guide
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Reference to more
than one
publication in the
same year by the
same author

Storey, (2003a, 2003b) claims that high

culture

Storey, J. (2003a). Cultural studies and the study of popular culture.

Edinburgh; Edinburgh University Press
Storey, J. (2003b). Inventing popular culture: from folklore to globalization.
Malden, Mass: Blackwell Pub.

Use a/b etc. to differentiate between

works in the same year

Order alphabetically by title of publication in the reference list

Chapter in an
edited book

As discussed by Kaplan (2012)

Kaplan, E.A. (2012). Troubling genre/reconstructing gender. In C. Gledhill

(Ed.). Gender meets genre in postwar cinemas (pp. 71-83). Urbana:
University of Illinois Press.

Edited book

(Mathews, Riberiro & Vega, 2012)

Mathews, G., Ribeiro G.L., & Vega, C.A. (Eds.). (2012). Globalization from
below: the worlds other economy. Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge.

Dissertation/Thesis- (Dang, 2008, p.63)

published

Dang, B. (2008). Interpersonal relationship in computer-mediated

communication: Self-disclosing behaviors in Instant Messaging (MPhil
thesis). University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Dissertation/Thesis
- Unpublished

Author, A.A. (2012). Title of doctoral dissertation or masters thesis

(Unpublished doctoral dissertation or masters thesis). Name of institution,
Location.

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APA referencing guide
By Beatrice Dang

Print Journals

In-text examples

Reference list examples

Article

(Balsa & McGuire, 2001)

Balsa, A.I. & McGuire, T.G. (2001). Statistical discrimination in health care.
Journal of Health Economics, 20, 881-907.

Article with no
author

(Trends in Hong Kong, 2010)

Trends in Hong Kong. (2010). Gender and Work, (September/October),

78-85.

Newspaper article

(Fish, 2011)

Fish, S. (2011, May 3). The logic of suicide terrorism. South China Morning
Post, pp. C3-C4.
If electronic:
Fish, S. (2011, May 3). The logic of suicide terrorism. South China Morning
Post. Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com

Newspaper article
with no author

(Henry Tangs new vintage hideaway,

2013)

Henry Tangs new vintage hideaway. (2013, January 11). The Standard.
Retrieved from http://www.thestandard.com.hk

Put title in quote marks.

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APA referencing guide
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World Wide Web

In text examples

Reference list examples

Website with
author

(Salberg, Stewart, Wesley & Weiss, 2009)

Salberg, D., Stewart, R., Wesley, K., & Weiss, S. (2009). Postmodernism and its
critics. Retrieved from
http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php?culture=Postmodernism
and Its Critics

Website with no
author

(China Connection Tour, 2012)

China Connection Tour. (2012). China Nightlife & Entertainment. Retrieved

from http://www.china-tour.cn/China-Nightlife/

Website with no
date

(Pollution, n.d.)

Pollution. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/environment-how-can-you-help-prot
ect-it-/81#pollution

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Audiovisual Media

In text examples

Reference list examples

Video blog post

(e.g. YouTube)

(Lee, 2011)

Lee, H.M. (2011, May 3). Justice: what is the right thing to do [Video file].
Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9btigv8l4s&playnext=1&list=PL78B33
559ECC39370&feature=results_main

Television programme Single episode in a

series

(Zuiker, Donahue, Mendelsonhn,

Veasey & Barba, 2006)

Zuiker, A.E., Donahue, A., Mendelsonhn, C., Veasey, P., & Barba N.
(Writers/Directors). (2006). Live or let die [Television series episode]. In R.
Bailey (Producer), Crime Scene Investigation: New York. Hollywood, Calif.:
Paramount Home Entertainment.

Television
programme single
programme

(Ruan, 2011)

Ruan, X. (Producer). (2011, May 15). Sunday report [Television broadcast].

Hong Kong: Television Broadcasts Limited.

Films

(Weintraub & Chechik, 2010)

Weintraub, J. (Producer), & Chechik, J. (Director). (2010). The Avengers

[Motion Picture]. Burbank, Calif.: Warner Bros. Pictures.

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Secondary Sources

In text examples

Reference list examples

Book

Berlant argues that female complaint

is a (as cited in Halberstam, 2012,
p.69)

Halberstam, J.J. (2012). Gaga feminism: sex, gender and the end of normal.
Boston: Beacon Press.

The reference list entry will only refer to the book that you actually read

Other sources

In text examples

Reference list examples

Lecture notes
(Also see Frequently
asked questions,
question 6)

(Dang, 2012)

Dang, B. (2012, December 18) Lecture on Chinese idol worshipping. Hong

Kong and Chinese society in transition module. Second year associate
degree course 2012/2013. Hong Kong: HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk
Community College.

Non-English book
(Chinese)

(Ma, 2007)

Ma, J. (2007). Hou Jiu qi Xianggang ren tong. Xianggang: Voice

Chinese name of the book: . Author:
You can refer to HKU library catalog for the English translation of the
book title.

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APA referencing guide
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Frequently asked questions

1.What if I cannot find the publication
date of the source?

5.Do I need to cite common

knowledge?

If a publication date is not available, use

Some information is considered to be

(n.d.) in your citation and in the reference

common knowledge, for example,

list.

common observations, facts, events and

dates. It is unnecessary to cite them.

2.When should I use page numbers in

my in-text citations?

Example: Neil Armstrong was the first

You need to include the page number in

man on the moon

the citation when you

To determine whether the information you
1) Use the exact words from the source
in your text
2) Refer to a specific idea from the
authors perspective

want to use in your assignment constitutes

common knowledge, you can ask yourself
if you have known this information before
you started the course. If not, then the
information is not common knowledge to

3.Should I use secondary reference?

you. Always check with your lecturers if

A secondary reference is given when you

you are in doubt.

cite a source which you have quoted from

another source. For example, you cite

6.Do I need to cite lecture notes?

Harrisons work that you have read about

When you refer to an idea from the lecture

in Colemans article. Primary sources are

notes, you need to cite it, however, it is

essential. Try to avoid using secondary

not a good idea to use lecture notes as a

references wherever possible because of

source. Lecture notes are just basic

the interpretation of that source by

information. You are encouraged to do

another author may not be accurate. It

your own research.

may also give an impression that you are

too lazy to locate the original source.

Further information

4.What does et al. mean in citation?

APA. (2010). Publication manual of the

Et al. is a Latin abbreviation, meaning and

American Psychological Association (6 ed.).

others. It is used in the in-text citations

Washington, DC:APA

th

when a source has more than three

authors.

Neville, C. (2010). The complete guide to

referencing and avoiding plagiarism.
Maidenhead: Open University Press
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APA referencing guide

By Beatrice Dang