Skip to Main Content

Nursing

APA citation style

See these resources from The American Psychological Association to write your paper in APA Style

APA References, Electronic

Full-text journal article from a database:

  • Include digital object identifier (DOI) when available, regardless of whether you used the online or print version (Publication Manual of the APA, 2020, p. 299). No period follows the DOI.
  • For works without DOIs from most academic research databases, the reference should be the same as the reference for a print version of the work (Publication Manual of the APA, 2020, p. 299).

Owens, H., Christian, B., & Polivka, B. (2017). Sleep behaviors in traditional-age college students: A state of the science
            review with implications for practice. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 29(11),
            695-703. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2327-6924.12520

Ebook:

  • Include digital object identifier (DOI) when available.
  • If DOI is not available, cite the same as a print book.

Burgess, R. (2019). Rethinking global health: Frameworks of power. Routledge.

Website:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, November 18). People at high risk of developing flu-related
            complications
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/index.htm

21 or more authors?

Provide surnames and initials for up to and including 20 authors. When there are two to 20 authors, use an ampersand before the final author's name. When there are 21 or more authors, include the first 19 author's names, insert an ellipsis (but no ampersand), and then add the final author's name.

In-text citations:

  • Parenthetical citation: (Vos et al., 2020)
  • Narrative citation: Vos et al. (2020)

Reference list:

Vos, T., Lim, S. S., Abbafati, C., Abbas, K. M., Abbasi, M., Abbasifard, M., Abbasi-Kangevari, M., Abbastabar, H., Abd-Allah, F., Abdelalim, A., Abdollahi, M., Abdollahpour, I., Abolhassani, H., Aboyans, V., Abrams, E. M., Abreu, L. G., Abrigo, M. R. M., Abu-Raddad, L. J., Abushouk, A. I., … Murray, C. J. L. (2020). Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet396(10258), 1204–1222. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30925-9

APA References, Clinical Practice

Cochrane Review:

Lane, D. A., & Lip, G. Y. H. (2013). Treatment of hypertension in peripheral arterial disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviewshttps://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003075.pub3

  • Parenthetical citation: (Lane & Lip, 2013)
  • Narrative citation: Lane and Lip (2013)

Clinical practice guideline with a group author

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2019). Hypertension in adults: Diagnosis and management (NICE Guideline NG136). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng136

  • Parenthetical citations: (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2019)
  • Narrative citations: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2019)

Drug information

Sandoz. (n.d.). Prednisolone acetate (prednisolone acetate) suspension/drops [Drug information]. Guideline Central. https://www.guidelinecentral.com/share/drug-information/61314-637#section-title

  • Parenthetical citation: (Sandoz, n.d.)
  • Narrative citation: Sandoz (n.d.)

Lab or diagnostic manual

Pagana, K. D., Pagana, T. J., & Pagana, T. N. (2019). Mosby’s diagnostic and laboratory test reference (14th ed.). Elsevier.

  • Parenthetical citation: (Pagana et al., 2019)
  • Narrative citation: Pagana et al. (2019)

For more examples and guidance, visit the APA's guide for Clinical Practice References here.

APA References, Print

Book:

Coltrane, S. (1998). Gender and families. Pine Forge Press.

Book with two authors:

Goulding, M., & Mahar, D. (1996). Floods of fortune: Ecology and economy along the Amazon. Columbia University Press.

Journal article:

Egan, S. E., & Perry, D. G. (2001). Gender identity: A multidimensional analysis with implications for psychosocial
     adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 37(4), 451-464. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.37.4.4514

Essay in a multivolume work (each volume with a unique title):

Bloom, L. Z. (1985). Maya Angelou. In T. M. Davis & T. Harris (Eds.), Dictionary of literary biography: Vol 38
     Afro-American writers
 after 1955: Dramatists and prose writers. Gale.

Article in a reference work:

Diabetes. (2000). In The Columbia encyclopedia (6th ed., p. 2533). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

Citing secondary sources

From Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., p. 258, section 8.6:

"Cite secondary sources sparingly—for instance, when the original work is out of print, unavailable, or available only in a language that you do not understand. If possible, as a matter of good scholarly practice, find the primary source, read it, and cite it directly rather than citing a secondary source.

"When citing a secondary source, provide a reference list entry for the secondary source that you used. In the text, identify the primary source and then write “as cited in” the secondary source that you used. If the year of publication of the primary source is known, also include it in the text. For example, if you read a work by Lyon et al. (2014) in which Rabbitt (1982) was cited, and you were unable to read Rabbitt’s work yourself, cite Rabbitt’s work as the original source, followed by Lyon et al.’s work as the secondary source. Only Lyon et al.’s work appears in the reference list.

"(Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014)

"If the year of the primary source is unknown, omit it from the in-text citation.

"Allport’s diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003)"