How do I cite a journal article APA style? 😎

You've done your research — now it's time to apply APA style referencing in your writing!

Yes, it's annoying, but it has to be done. Don't risk losing full credit or getting published just because you didn't cite a journal article APA style in the correct way.

Love it or hate it, when it comes to research papers, you'll likely be referencing journal articles. You might as well learn how to cite them right — in APA, of course!

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To cite a journal article APA style, you're going to need to know:

• author's name

• publication year

• article title

• journal title

• journal volume

• journal issue number

• article page range

• DOI or URL

But how do you actually cite a journal article APA style? That depends: are you doing an in-text citation or reference page citation?

These should be used every time you paraphrase or quote from a source — after all, that’s the purpose of citing in the text.

Here's an overview:

For in-text citations, you’ll need the author's last name, year of publication, and page number (if you are using a direct quote.) The format will depend if you're using a parenthetical or narrative citation.

What's the difference between these two anyway? Here's an explanation:

(Parenthetical Citations)

These citations are usually placed at the end of the sentence in parentheses, before the ending punctuation mark.

Setup:

• Single author?

  • (Author's Last Name, publication year, p. page number).

• Two authors?

  • (1st Author's Last name & 2nd Author's Last Name, publication year).

  • Add the & symbol

• Three or more?

  • (1st author's last name et al., publication year, p. page number).

  • Add et al., (With the period and comma too!)

Notes:

• The information is surrounded by two parentheses.

• Any punctuation such as periods or commas goes after the parentheses.

• Add a comma after the author's name

• Put p. before putting the page number

• If two authors have the same last name use their first initial followed by a period, then last name.

Example:

"Black tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water” (Ruxton, 2016, p. 34).

Narrative (Citations)

In these citations, the author's name is used as part of the sentence, followed by the year. In other words, adding the author's name should flow in your sentence.

Setup:

• One author?

  • Author's Name, (publication year)

• Two authors?

  • 1st Author's Name and 2nd Author's Name, (publication year)

    — You don't need the & symbol

• Three or more?

  • 1st Author's Name et al., (publication year)

    — Add et al., (With the period and comma too!)

Notes:

• When referencing the author you can put their full name or last name.

• It's better to start off with their full name when you first mention the author. If you refer to them again use their last name).

• If you're including page numbers, instead of putting it after the year, put it at the end of the sentence, but before the punctuation mark (p. page number).

• The parentheses are placed around the publication year and page number.

Example:

Is tea as great as it seems? Well Ruxton (2016) suggests, "unsweetened tea can be part of a recommended diet” (p. 40).

How do you cite a journal article APA style in your reference page?

Well, it's bit different then your in-text citations. In addition, to adding the author's name, publication year, and page number...

You'll add the article title, journal title, the journal's volume and issue number, and the journal's DOI too. Also this time your references are on its own separate page.

Here's a quick overview:

Setup:

Author's last name, first initial. (Year). Article title. Journal Title, Volume Number(Issue    number), Full page range. DOI or URL

Example:

Aspy, D. J., & Proeve, M. (2017). Mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation: Effects on    connectedness to humanity and to the natural world. Psychological Reports, 120(1),    102-117. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294116685867

Things you'll notice:

• For the article title, only the first word of the title and subtitle is capitalized.

• No period or comma is placed at the end of the DOI.

• If no DOI is available, include the URL.

• The journal title and volume number are in italics.

• Parentheses are only on the year, and issue number.

• There isn't a space between the volume and issue number.

• Indent every line after the first line.

Does the article have multiple authors? It would look something like this:

Two Authors

• Author's last name, first initial., & Author's last name, first initial. (Publication year).......

• Add an "&" after the first author's name

Example:

Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-   oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and    International Engagement, 6(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979

Three to Twenty Authors

• Author's last name, first initial., Author's last name, first initial., & Author's last name, first initial. (Publication year).......

• Add an "&" before the last author

Example:

Denny, H., Nordlof, J., & Salem, L. (2018). "Tell me exactly what it was that I was doing that    was so bad": Understanding the needs and expectations of working-class students in    writing centers. Writing Center Journal, 37(1), 67–98. https://www.jstor.org   stable/26537363

Twenty-one or More Authors

• 18th Author's last name, first initial., 19th Author's last name, first initial., ...25th Author's last name, first initial. (Publication Year)......

• List the first 19 authors, then add an "..." after that write the final author's name

• This time don't add an "&"

Example:

Khan, A., Huynh, T. M. T., Vandeplas, G., Joish, V. N., Mannent, L. P., Tomassen P., van Zele,    T., Cardell, L.O., Arebro, J., Olze, H., Forster-Ruhrmann, U., Kowalski, M. L., Olszewska-   Ziaber, A., Fokkens, W., van Drunen, C., Mullol, J., Alobid, I., Hellings, P.W., Hox, V.,    ...Bachert, C. (2019). The GALEN rhinosinusitis cohort: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal    polyps affects health-related quality of life. Rhinology, 57(5), 343-351. https://    doi.org/10.4193/Rhin19.158

Remember:

• If your journal article has multiple authors, list them in order of appearance not by alphabetical order.

• Always indent by half an inch if your reference goes to the next line (just hit the Tab key).

• Punctuation and capitalization matters, make sure you are putting periods and commas in the right places.

• "&" is used when referencing less then 19 authors, "..." is used afterwards.

• Even if you're referencing a print journal article, if it has a DOI, you must add it.

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So what are the three ways you can cite a journal article APA style again?

Narrative Citations

Author's name or last name, (Publication year)............(p. Page number: at the end of the sentence).

Example:

Aspy and Proeve (2017) have found that participants in the mindfulness and loving kindness meditation groups felt more connected to others and the natural world (p. 103).

Parenthetical Citations

(Author's last name, Publication year, p. Page number).

Example:

Compared to the control group participants in the mindfulness and loving kindness meditation groups felt more connected to others and the natural world (Aspy & Proeve, 2017, p. 103).

Reference Page Citation

Author's last name, first initial. (Year). Article title. Journal Title, Volume Number(Issue    number), Full page range. DOI or URL

Example:

Aspy, D. J., & Proeve, M. (2017). Mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation: Effects on    connectedness to humanity and to the natural world. Psychological Reports,120(1),    102-117. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294116685867

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Remember:

• When citing journal articles in the text, decide if you want to make the author name flow with the text which would be a Narrative Citation or you just want to point out that your quote was from an author (Parenthetical Citation).

• For reference page citations add an indent at the start of every line after the first line

• All punctuation matters! Make sure you're paying attention to commas and periods.

Pop Quiz!

Which of the following reference page citations correctly cite a journal article APA style?

A. Smith, J. (2020). The effects of sleep on memory. Psychology Today, 15(2), 45-60.

B. Smith, J. (2020). The effects of sleep on memory. Psychology Today, 15(2), 45-60.

C. Smith, J. (2020). The effects of sleep on memory. Psychology Today, 15(2), 45-60.

D. Smith, J. (2020). The Effects of Sleep on Memory. Psychology Today, 15(2), 45-60.

Now, that you know the "correct way" to cite a journal article APA style, there is a faster way you can cite, with a little help from AI and and online reference generators like:

• mybib

• citation machine

• scribbr

• ChatGPT

Caution: When using AI or any other online generator to cite a journal article APA style, there's always a risk that it may provide inaccurate citations. Always double check the citation!

Also make sure that the reference is actually cited in APA! Knowing how the information is supposed to be cited is absolutely crucial, since technology can make mistakes.