Technically, there is no "APA Format Bibliography." A traditional bibliography is a list of references that you use as you research and write. Some people use the term "bibliography" more liberally and interpret it as a list of literature cited in an article. In articles that use the APA format, you must provide a list of the articles you quoted directly. In APA format, this list is referred to as a Bibliography page.
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Method 1 of 3: Manually Creating A Bibliography In APA Format
Step 1. Use the author's surname (last name)
For each source, use the author's surname and the initials of the author's first name. Then end the initials of the first name with a period. If there are two authors' names for the same reference, use an ampersand (the "&") between the two authors' names instead of the word and. If you have to write more than two authors' names, use a comma to separate the authors' names and an "&" before the last author's name. To write more than seven names, put a comma between the names of the authors then use an ellipsis (…) to represent the names of the authors between the sixth and last authors. You may not write more than seven names for one reference
- Example for one author: Krauss, L. M. (1993).
- Examples for two authors: Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994).
- Examples for three or more authors: Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., Harlow, T., & Bach, J. S. (1993).
- Examples for more than seven authors: Miller, F. H., Choi, M. J., Angeli, L. L., Harland, A. A., Stamos, J. A., Thomas, S. T.,… Rubin, L. H. (2009). Book title. New York, NY: BasicBooks.
Step 2. Write the year of publication
After the author's name, write the year of publication. For unpublished references, use the date of creation of the article. Write the year in four digits in parentheses, followed by a period.
- For example, book: (1999).
- For example, newspapers, magazines, newspapers: (1993, June).
- For example, daily or weekly newsletter: (1994, September 28).
- Example, without issue date: (n.d.)
Step 3. Write down the title
After the year, you must write the title of the reference you cite followed by a period. Capital letters are only used for the first letters of the first word of the title and sub-headings if available
- Italicize the title of the book. For example, Call of the wild.
- Do not italicize the titles of journals, newspapers, or magazines. Write like plain text. For example, “Making the grade in chemistry: A story of trial and error.”
Step 4. Write down the location and name of the publisher
You only need to write down the name and location of the publisher for references coming from the book. After writing the title of the book, write down the place of publication. Enter the city and state names for books published in the United States, or the city, state (or province) and country names for books published outside the United States. Follow it with a colon (:), then the name of the publisher. End the publisher's name with a period.
- Example: Boston, MA: Random House.
- Example: New York, NY: Scribner.
- Example: Palmerston North, New Zealand: Dunmore Press.
Step 5. Write the full publication title
After the title, write the name of the publication. Use the full name of the journal, magazine, or newspaper, and use the same capital letters and punctuation used by the publication. Use capital letters for the first letter of each word in the name and italicize the whole name.
- For example, ReCall is not RECALL, and Knowledge Management Research & Practice is not Knowledge Management Research and Practice.
- Use an ampersand (&) if the journal uses an ampersand and does not use the word and.
Step 6. Write down the volume number, issue number, and page number for the periodical
After the title of the publication, write the volume number, issue number in parentheses, and the page number of the article you cited in your article. Volume numbers must be italicized, but issue numbers and page numbers need not be italicized. End the page number with a period.
- Periodic title, volume number (issue number), quoted page number.
- For example, Psychology Today, 72 (3), 64-84 or The Statesman Journal, 59 (4), 286-295.
Step 7. Include a link when citing an online publication
When citing articles or other online sources, include a link. At the end of the reference, include the phrase "Taken from" and include a link.
- Example: Eid, M., & Langeheine, R. (1999). The measurement of consistency and occasion specificity with latent class models: A new model and its application to the measurement of affect. Psychological Methods, 4, 100-116. Taken from
- You don't need to include the access date in APA format.
Method 2 of 3: Creating APA Reference Using Online Generator
Step 1. Choose an online generator
Many websites provide a service to set up your quotes automatically. Most of these services are free. Free online generators that provide automatic citations include Bibme and Citation Machine. Find an online generator, and select the box that says “WHAT.”
- Some online generators ask for your e-mail address and they will send you a quote by e-mail. It's best to avoid these kinds of services as they may sell your data to other businesses who will fill your inbox with spam.
- Many database libraries also provide citations in various formats, such as EBSCO. If you are using the university library database, you should be able to get APA format citations through the article's page in the database.
- Don't forget to check the accuracy of the references you get from online generators as errors can occur.
Step 2. Select auto or manual fill mode
Most online generators use the autofill method, but you should make sure you're on the right page. If you want to use the manual fill method, check the options now. You can freely choose the charging mode you want.
- The autofill method provides information instantly and you should check its accuracy.
- The manual filling method will provide an online form for self-filling and you will have to manually enter the author's name, date, and other required information.
- Make sure you choose the type of article you are citing. BibMe has five main categories: journals, websites, books, videos, and more. Select the appropriate category for the article you are citing.
Step 3. Enter a title or link
Depending on the type of reference you are citing, you may have to include a title or a link. You can enter a title or link into the box provided by the online generator.
- For journals, enter a journal title.
- For a website, enter a link or keyword. Generally, including a link as a source of information will give more accurate results.
- For books, enter the book title, author name, or ISBN. You can find the ISBN number on the cover of the book, generally next to the price and barcode. The ISBN will provide the most complete information.
- For videos, enter a link or main keyword. The link will give more specific results.
- If you select “Other,” you will see a list of alternatives. Choose the one that is most appropriate or approximate (e.g., magazine article, Blog/Podcast, Painting/Artwork), and follow the instructions that follow to enter the information manually.
Step 4. Select the right publication from the given list
The online generator will provide a citation list containing alternative references that match the one you want to cite.
- If you provide specific information (such as a link or ISBN), the list shown will be very short.
- If you provide less specific information (like keywords), you'll get a longer list. The reference you want to cite may or may not appear in the list, depending on whether or not online generators can find it. If the reference you want to cite is not listed, try entering more specific information using the manual fill method.
- If you enter a common book title, you will see a list of options. Check the author's name and date to make sure you are citing the correct references. For example, a book called Nemesis will produce a list of 20 different books, each one written by a different person.
Step 5. Click the appropriate title
The online generator will provide a form to enter relevant information regarding the reference you want to cite. Relevant information will be provided to you, but you may be asked to fill in some blanks.
Your references must include the title, author's name, date of publication, location of publication, and name of the publisher. If any of the information is not available, you should check the reference source directly for that information
Step 6. Click “Create Citation” or Create Citation
There will be a button below the form that you have to click on to create a quote. When you select “Create Quote,” the generator will organize your references according to APA format.
- Copy and paste the citations that have appeared if you wish to add them manually to your Bibliography.
- Add more references if you want the online generator to collect and sort all the sources in your Bibliography.
Step 7. Save the quote
If you choose to create multiple citations, most online generators will compile and refine a list of citations for you so that you can copy (or download) them once you have completed all the references. However, to prevent you from losing your work, it's a good idea to make a temporary list.
Step 8. Check your quote
Once you have collected all your quotes, read them and make sure there are no mistakes. The OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab has an APA format guide you can use to check your work.
- Check for misspellings or missing important information, such as no publication date or author name.
- Make sure you have included all the references you want to cite.
Method 3 of 3: Organizing and Sorting Your Bibliography
Step 1. Create a “Bibliography” page
This page should start on a new page after the end of your post. Type “Bibliography” in the first line and place it in the middle.
- Do not use bold, italics, or quotation marks when writing “Bibliography.”
- Use double spaces for the entire “Bibliography” page.
- Do not add a blank line between “Bibliography” with the first reference you write.
Step 2. Use hanging paragraphs
When inserting references, all rows must be indented except for the first line of each reference. The first line should align with the left margin of the page. The next row is set to indent inch or about 1.2 cm from the left margin. Using a word processing program (eg, MS Word and OpenOffice), you can use hanging paragraphs for all your references.
- To set a hanging paragraph, open the “Paragraph” dialog box by pressing the small arrow button in the lower-right corner of the “Paragraph” dialog box at the top of your MS Word document.
- Once the dialog box opens, see the “Indent” or Indentation section.
- Look at the list in the “Special” or Special menu and select hanging paragraph or Hanging.
- Your bibliography will be organized using hanging paragraphs automatically.
Step 3. Sort the references alphabetically
Sort your references alphabetically using the author's surname. If there is more than one author, use the first author's last name to sort the references.
- Sort letter by letter. Remember that if two names are nearly identical, the shorter name will precede the longer name. For example, Brown, J. R. should come before Browning, A. R.
- Sort the prefixes M', Mc, and Mac exactly as they are written, not pronounced. Don't sort the names as if they were spelled "Mac".
- Ignore the apostrophe (‘) in the name. For example, MacNeil should be placed before M'Carthy.
Step 4. Sort titles the same way you sort names
If you have two or more articles by the same author (or two authors with the same name), sort by year of publication. The first published article is placed first.
Place references with one author before references with two or more authors if the first author of the reference is the same. For example, “Alleyne, R. L. (2001).” should be placed before “Alleyne, R. L. & Evans, A. J. (1999).”
Step 5. Sort the name of the group of authors (for example, the name of a research group or organization) alphabetically as for the treatment of individual authors
Use the official name of the group or organization. The parent company or organization must be listed before the name of the subsidiary.
- For example, “American Society for the Prevention and Cruelty of Animals,” not “ASPCA.”
- For example, “University of Michigan, Department of Psychology,” not “Department of Psychology, University of Michigan”.
Step 6. Use the title of the book if the author's name is not available
If there is no author's name in the reference you are citing, the title replaces the name in the citation. Sort the bibliography according to the alphabet of the first significant letter in the title.
