Authors/Editors
An author won't necessarily be a person's name. It may be an organization or company. These are called group or corporate authors.
If a book has no author or editor, begin the citation with the book title, followed by the year of publication in round brackets.
When the author is the same as the publisher (such as with an annual report written and published by the same company, a reference book published by a professional organization, or a work from an organizational website), omit the publisher from the reference to avoid repetition.
Titles
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title. If there is a colon (:) in the title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.
Capitalize the first letter of proper names in titles, such as names of places or people. Example: Canada
DOIs
If a print book has a DOI, include it at the end of your citation, after the publisher.
eBooks from Websites (not from library databases)
If an eBook from a website was originally published in print, give the author, year, title, edition (if given) and the url. If it was never published in print, treat it like a multi-page website.
When you are citing two different sources that share the same author and year of publication, assign lowercase letters after the year of publication (a, b, c, etc.). Assign these letters according to which title comes first alphabetically. Use these letters in both in-text citations and the Reference list.
Example In-Text:
Paraphrasing content from first source by this author (Daristotle, 2015a). "Now I am quoting from the second source by the same author" (Daristotle, 2015b, p. 50).
Example Reference List entries:
Daristotle, J. (2015a). Title of first book. Publisher.
Daristotle, J. (2015b). Title of second book. Publisher.
Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.
A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher Name often shortened.
| Reference List Example |
Watson, J. (2012). Human caring science: A theory of nursing (2nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Watson, 2012) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Watson, 2012, p. 70) |
Name of Corporate Author. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher Name often shortened.
| Reference List Example |
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000 Note: If the Corporate Author is also the publisher of the book, omit the Publisher Name. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Name of Corporate Author, Year) Example: (American Psychological Association, 2020) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Name of Corporate Author, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 205) |
Note: if the content of the eBook is identical to the print book, there is no need to distinguish between them. Only add [eBook edition] to your citation if the eBook is abridged, or varies significantly from the print version in any way.
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher. URL if NOT from library database
or
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition) [eBook edition]. Publisher. URL if NOT from library database
| Reference List Example |
Schildt, H. (2011). Java: The complete reference (5th ed.). Yale University Press. https://javaebooksbyshildt.com |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Schildt, 2011) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Schildt, 2011, p. 101) |
Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given., & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher Name often shortened. URL (if eBook)
Note: Put an ampersand (&) between the names of the two authors, not "and."
| Reference List Example |
Case, L. P., & Raash, M. F. (2011). Canine and feline nutrition : A resource for companion animal professionals (3rd ed.). Mosby. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Case & Rash, 2011) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Case & Rash, 2011, p. 101) |
Note: if the content of the eBook is identical to the print book, there is no need to distinguish between them. Only add [eBook edition] to your citation if the eBook is abridged, or varies significantly from the print version in any way.
Note: For Reference List entries, include all the same information (in the same order) as the examples above, just add more author names. Author's names should be separated by commas. Put a comma and an ampersand (&) before the name of the last author cited.
Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last name of Last Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher. URL (if ebook and NOT from library database)
| Reference List Example |
Simpson, M. T., Backman, K., & Corley, J. E. (2012). Hands-on ethical hacking and network defense. Safari Books. https://www.safaribooks.com/simpsonbackmancorley |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(First Author's Last Name et al., Year) Example: (Simpson et al., 2012) |
| In-Text Quote |
(First Author's Last Name et al., Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Simpson et al., 2012, p. 101) |
Note: if the content of the eBook is identical to the print book, there is no need to distinguish between them. Only add [eBook edition] to your citation if the eBook is abridged, or varies significantly from the print version in any way.
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of chapter, article, essay or short story. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if Given. Editor's Last Name (Ed.), Title of book: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. first page number-last page number). Publisher Name often shortened.
Note: If you have more than one editor, list their name(s) after the first editor listed in the book, giving their initials and last name. Put an ampersand (&) before the last editor's name and us (Eds.) instead of (Ed.).
| Reference List Example |
Stockert, P. A., & Taylor, C. (2014). Sleep. In P. A. Potter, A. G. Perry, J. C. Ross-Kerr & M.J. Wood (Eds.), Canadian fundamentals of nursing (pp. 993-1016). Elsevier. Note: If there is no editor given you may leave out that part of the citation. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) See chart above for in-text rules for 2 or more authors. Example (2 authors) (Stockert & Taylor, 2014) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) See chart above for in-text rules for 2 or more authors. Example (2 authors) (Stockert & Taylor, 2014, p. 998) |
Have a question about citing books that isn't answered on this page? Check out these webpages, created by authorities on APA style, for more detailed information:
