Creating APA citations for a print book or e-book in your reference list is simple once you understand the format. APA uses the author-date system, which means the author’s last name, first initial and the date of publication are the most important elements of the citation.
Citing Print Books in APA Style
The specifics of how to cite a print book in APA style is slightly different, depending on the number of authors.
Book (Print): One Author
Example Format One Author:
Author, A.A. (2001). Title of work. Location: Publisher.
The formatting consists of the last name of author, initial first name, initial middle name (if available). (Year of publication in parentheses). Book title in italics. Location: Publisher.
Example Citation One Author:
Cunningham, J.B.. (1997. The stress management sourcebook. Los Angeles: CA, Lowell House.
Book (Print): 2 to 7 Authors
Creating source citations for books with two or more authors is simple.
Example Format 2 Authors:
Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (2000). Book title. Location: Publisher.
Example Format 4 Authors:
Author, A.A., Author, B.B., Author, C.C. & Author, D.D. (2000). Book title. Location: Publisher.
Example Citation 2 Authors:
Diamond, H., & Diamond, M. (1987). Fit for life. New York, NY: Warner Book.
Book (Print): 8 or More Authors
Include the first six authors’ names, insert three ellipsis points, and then the last author. The rest of the citation is the same as above.
Example Format 8 or More Authors:
Author, A.A., Author, B.B., Author, C.C., Author, D.D., Author, E.E., Author, F.F.,…Author, K.K. (2001) Book title. Location: Publisher.
Example Citation 8 or More Authors:
Beetle, F.H., Choi, M.J., Bard, L.L., Harland, A.A., Stanley, J.A., Tipman, S.T.,…Rubin, L.H. (2017). Technical documentation for software engineers. New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
Edited Books (Print): One Editor
If you need to cite a book in your APA reference list with an editor instead of an author, you need to add (Ed.) in parentheses after their name.
Example Format Edited Books with One Editor:
Editor, A.A. (Ed.). (2002). Title of book: Subtitle of book. Location: Publisher.
Example Citation Edited Books with One Editor:
Brown, J.A. (Ed.). (2010). How to buy a house: A real estate guide, Los Angeles, CA: Smith & Brown.
Edited Books (Print): 2 or More Editors
With multiple editors, the format is similar to multiple authors, except you add (Eds.) after their names.
Example Format Edited Books with 2 or More Editors:
Editor, A.A. & Editor, B.B. (Eds.). (2002). Title of book: Subtitle of book. Location: Publisher.
Example Citation Edited Books with 2 or More Editors:
Steinberg, M,. & Embruy, S.H. (Eds.). (1994). Sickle cell disease: Basic principles and clinical practice. New York, NY: Raven Press.
Chapter in Edited Book
If you are only citing a chapter in an edited book, then format your APA reference list entry as follows.
Example Format for Chapter in Edited Book One Editor:
Author, A.A. (2002). Title of Chapter. In A.A. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx-xx). Location: Publisher.
Example Format for Chapter in Edited Book Two Editors:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xx-xx). Location: Publisher.
Example Citation for Chapter in Edited Book:
Haybron, D.M. (2008). Philosophy and the science of subjective well-being. In M. Eid & R.J. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 17-43). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Multi-Volume Works
In cases where you are referencing a work in multiple volumes, you should include the volume numbers in the citation.
Example Format for Multi-Volume Works One Editor:
Editor, A. (Ed.). (2006). Title of volumes (Vols. x-x). Location: Publisher.
Example Format for Multi-Volume Works Two Editors:
Editor, A. & Editor, B. (Eds.). Title of volumes. (Vols. X-x). Location: Publisher.
Example Citation for Multi-Volume Works:
Thomson, A. W. & Lotze, M.T. (Eds.). (2003). The cytokine handbook (Vols. 1-2). Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.
E-Books
When you reference a digital book in you APA paper, you should include the format or source you accessed, like Kindle or Nook.
Example Format E-book:
Author, A. A. (Date). Work title [e-book name and version]. Retrieved from downloadsite.com
Example Citation E-book:
Keynes, R. (2017). Fossils, finches and fuegians: Charles Darwin’s adventures and discoveries on the Beagle [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com