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.
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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