In the social sciences, the American Psychological Association (APA) citation method or style is usually used in the process of writing research articles. If you're using a book as a reference, there's a basic format for that citation style. However, the format used is different if you access the book from the internet, or if the book used is a translation of a book from another language. You also need to use a different format if you are citing only one article or chapter in the book being edited, and not the complete book as a whole.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Creating Basic Entries for Reference List
Step 1. Begin the entry with the author's name
Book entries in the reference list usually begin with the author's last name. After the last name, insert a comma and enter the initials of the author's first and middle name.
- For example: "Doe, J. H."
- If there are two authors, separate the names with a symbol and an “&” (“Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C.”). For books with three or more authors, separate each name with a comma and insert an and (“&”) before the last author’s name (e.g. “Doe, J. H., Rowell, L. C. & Hoffman, M. A.”). Enter the names in the order they appear on the cover or title page of the book.
- If you are citing a translated work, the name that must be entered is the name of the original author, not the translator's name.
- If there is no author or editor name information, simply omit this section. However, prefix the reference entry with the title of the book.
Step 2. Enter the year of publication in parentheses
After a period after the initials of the last author's name, insert a space, then enter an opening parenthesis and type in the year the book was published. If the book has multiple editions, use the year of publication of the edition you are using. Add a closing parenthesis, then insert a period.
- For example: "Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009)."
- If you are citing a translated work, use the year the work was published, not the year the book was first published in the original language.
- If the book does not contain author information, enter the year of publication after the title.
Step 3. Include the title of the book in italics
Type the title of the book in sentence capitalization (sentence-case). This means capitalize the first letter only in the first word and in the title itself. If the book has subtitles, include them in the same capitalization. Place a period at the end of the title.
For example: "Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life."
Step 4. Name the edition of the book if necessary
When citing, especially academic books, the source text may have been revised. If you are citing a book that has multiple editions, include the edition number (in parentheses) after the title, followed by the abbreviation “ed.”. For Indonesian, you can use the “Xth edition” format. Insert a closing parenthesis and add a period after it.
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For example: "Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life (2nd ed.)."
Example in Indonesian: "Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life (2nd ed.)
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If you are accessing the book on an electronic reader (eg Kindle), mention the electronic version of the book (in parentheses) after the title. For example: "Tetlock, P. E., & Gardner, D. (2015). Superforecasting: The art and science of prediction [Kindle Paperwhite version]."
Example in Indonesian: "Tetlock, P. E., & Gardner, D. (2015). Superforecasting: The art and science of prediction [Kindle Paperwhite version]."
Step 5. Include the name of the editor or translator if available
For books that have not only author information but also editors or translators, list their names after the title and edition number. Use the same rules as the author's name when specifying the name of the editor or author. However, different from the order of writing the author's name, type the initials of the first name first, then the last name of the editor or translator. Continue with the appropriate position/task abbreviation.
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For the editors: "Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life (2nd ed.). R. Smith, H. G. Hernandez & C. H. Jacobs (Eds.).
For the Indonesian example, you can use the singular abbreviation (“Ed.”), regardless of the number of editors mentioned: "Doe, JH & Rowell, LC (2009). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life (twentieth ed. -2). R. Smith, HG Hernandez & CH Jacobs (Ed.)
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For translator: "Fujimoto, H. (1998). Learning to play the taiko drum. (C. J. Michaels, Trans.)."
For the example in Indonesian, you can use the same abbreviation as the English version
Step 6. End the entry with the location and name of the publisher
If the book is published in the United States, use the city name and state abbreviation (as applicable postal abbreviations) as location information. If the book is published outside the United States, use the name of the city or country. Enter a colon, then type the name of the book publishing company.
For example: "Doe, J. H. (2008). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life. R. Smith (Ed.). Beavercreek, OH: Small Town Press."
Step 7. Include additional information if necessary
If the book you are citing is a translated work, enter the original publication date (in parentheses) after the location and name of the publisher. For e-books, include the book access URL.
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Example of translation work: "Tolstoy, L. (2006). War and peace. (A. Briggs, Trans.). New York, NY: Viking. (Original work published 1865)."
Example in Indonesian: "Tolstoy, L. (2006). War and peace. (A. Briggs, Trans.). New York, NY: Vikings. (Original work published in 1865)."
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Example of an e-book: "Post, E. (1923). Etiquette in society, in business, in politics, and at home. New York, NY: Funk & Wagnalls. Retrieved from https://www.bartleby.com/95/.
Example in Indonesian: "Post, E. (1923). Etiquette in society, in business, in politics, and at home. New York, NY: Funk & Wagnalls. Taken from https://www.bartleby.com/95 /
Method 2 of 3: Citing Articles or Chapters from an Edited Book
Step 1. Begin with the author of the cited article or chapter
If you are citing only one article from an editorial volume with multiple contributors, and not a book written entirely by the contributors, list the name of the contributor of that text as the author's name. Type in the author's last name first, followed by his or her first and middle initials. If the text is written by multiple authors, separate their names with a comma and insert the word "and" before the last author's name.
- For one author: "Smith, R."
- To some authors: "Smith, R., Henderson, P. H., & Truman, I. G."
Step 2. Include the year of publication in parentheses
This information refers to the year the book or volume was published, even if the chapter or article you quoted has been previously published in other media. Insert a space after the period after the initials of the author's name, add an opening parenthesis, enter the year of publication, add a closing parenthesis, and insert a period.
For example: "Smith, R. (1995)."
Step 3. Write chapter titles
Type a space and enter the title of the article or chapter you are citing. Use capital letters for the first letter of the first word and only your own name. Insert a period after the title.
For example: "Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns
Step 4. Enter information about the book or volume containing the article or chapter
The next section may seem as if you made a book reference entry directly, and copied it into an article or chapter reference entry. Start with the name of the editor, then enter the title of the book in italics and sentence capitalization (sentence-case). Don't add a period to the end of the book title.
- For example: "Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.) Dreaming of other worlds"
- For books with multiple editors, follow the same rules as when citing books with multiple authors.
Step 5. State the page number of the cited chapter or article
After the title of the book, insert a space and an opening parenthesis. Use the abbreviation “pp.” (or “p.” in Indonesian), and enter the page range containing the selected chapter or article in the book.
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For example: "Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.) Dreaming of other worlds (pp. 44-52)."
Example in Indonesian: "Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.) Dreaming of other worlds (pp. 44-52)."
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If the book has multiple editions, include the edition number along with the page numbers in the same parentheses. For example: "Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.) Dreaming of other worlds (2nd ed., pp. 44-52)."
Example in Indonesian: "Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.) Dreaming of other worlds (2nd ed., pp. 44-52)."
Step 6. End the entry with the location and name of the publisher
If the book is published in the United States, include the city name and state abbreviation (as applicable postal abbreviations), and separate the two with a comma. For books published outside the United States, include the name of the city and country, and separate the two with a comma. Insert a colon, then enter the name of the book publishing company. End the entry with a period.
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For example: "Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.) Dreaming of other worlds (pp. 44-52). New York: Independent Press."
Example in Indonesian: "Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.) Dreaming of other worlds (pp. 44-52). New York: Independent Press."
Method 3 of 3: Creating In-Text Quotes
Step 1. Use the author-date format for in-text citations
In addition to reference entries, when you write a statement that refers to information in the quoted book/reading, the APA style of citation requires you to add the author's last name and the book's publication date at the end of the sentence. Put the two pieces of information in parentheses, before the sentence period.
- For example: "(Doe, 2008).
- For books with two authors, separate the names with the and symbol (“&”). For example: "(Doe & Rowell, 2008).
- For books with three or more authors, include all names in the first in-text citation. For example: "(Doe, Rowell, & Marsh, 2008). In subsequent in-text citations, simply use the first author's last name, followed by the abbreviation "et. al." or "etc." (for Indonesian).
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If you mention the author's name in a sentence, include the year of publication (in parentheses) after the name. For example: "Doe (2008) found that students who came home for Christmas often had difficulty re-adjusting to life with their parents."
Example in Indonesian: “Doe (2008) found that students who go home for Christmas often have difficulty adjusting to their lives with their parents.”
Step 2. Separate multiple works or books with a semicolon
You may include a single fact or question that is supported by several books in the reference list. If you need to cite more than one work or book within the same parentheses, insert a semicolon between them.
For example: "(Berndt, 2002; Harlow, 1983)."
Step 3. Format the title of the book that is used as a reference in the text correctly
When citing a book in the APA citation style, you need to type the title in the reference list in sentence capitalization. However, if you mention the title of the book in your writing, capitalize the title. Capitalize the first letter of all words that have more than 4 letters.
- Enclose short work titles (eg chapters or articles) in quotation marks. For example: "A New Story Dawns"
- If you're using the title of the book as a whole, type the title in italics. For example: Coming Home for Christmas: Stories About College Life
Step 4. Add page numbers for direct quotes or paraphrased results
If you include a direct quote from a source in your list of references, include the number of the page containing the citation (in parentheses) at the end of the citation.
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For example: According to Doe (2008), "students coming home on school breaks have trouble re-acclimating to their parents rules" (p. 24).
Example in Indonesian: According to Doe (2008), "students who go home during school holidays have difficulty adjusting to the rules set by their parents" (p. 24)
- Even if the citation is in the middle of a sentence, the page number should always be placed after the quote.
