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APA style examples: Book

The following table shows how to present each reference type in correct APA citation style.

Book Reference list entry
Book - general:
Author surname, author initial(s). (Year of publication). Title of the book (edition number if it is not the 1st edition). Place of publication: Name of the publisher.
  • only the first words of the book title, subtitle and proper nouns (if any) are capitalised
  • the title of the book is italicised
  • if the book is a second or later edition, the edition number is given after the book title (not in italics)
  • for US locations city and state are given in publisher location details. All other locations need city, province and country. (Actual practice does not follow the manual strictly, eg Sydney rather than Sydney, NSW, Australia)
1 author:
Mook, D. (2004). Classic experiments in psychology. Westport, CT: Greenwood.

2 authors:
Kosslyn, S.M., & Rosenberg, R.S. (2004). Psychology: The brain, the person, the world. (2nd ed.). Essex, UK: Pearson Education.

3 - 6 authors:
Barone, D.F., Maddux, J.E., & Snyder, C.R. (1997). Social cognitive psychology: History and current domains. New York: Plenum Press.

6+ authors:
Mussen, P., Rosenzweig, M.R., Aronson, E., Elkind, D., Feshbach, S., Geiwitz, P.J., et al. (1973). Psychology: An introduction. Lexington, MA: Heath.

Edited book:
  • the editor name(s) are given in place of the author name(s)
  • 'Ed.' is included to acknowledge the nature of the role
  • use 'Eds.' for more than one editor
 Williams, J. M. (Ed.). (2006). Applied sport psychology: personal growth to peak performance (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Lee-Chai, A. Y., & Bargh, J. A. (Eds.). (2001). The use and abuse of power: Multiple perspectives on the causes of corruption. New York: Psychology Press.
Chapter from edited book:
  • if the book is a later edition, the edition number is given in brackets after the book title with the page numbers of the chapter
 Russell, S. (1996). Machine learning. In M. A. Boden (Ed.), Artificial intelligence (pp. 89-133). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Cooper, J., Mirabile, R., & Scher, S.J. (2005). Actions and attitudes: The theory of cognitive dissonance. In T.C. Brock & M.C. Green (Eds.), Persuasion: Psychological insights and perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 63-79). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Electronic book:
  • cite electronic books as printed books unless it is only available electronically
  • to reference the entire book use "Available from" and the URL
  • use "Retrieved from" when directing readers to specific material
 Carr, A. (2001). Abnormal psychology. Philadelphia: Psychology Press. Available from www.eblib.com.au

Münsterberg, H. (1916). The photoplay: A psychological study. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15383/15383-8.txt
Chapter from electronic book:
  • cite electronic chapters as for printed book chapters but omit publishing place and name
  • replace publisher details with "Retrieved from" and the name of the database
Isler, W. C., Peterson, A. L., & Isler, D. E. (2005). Behavioral treatment of insomnia in primary care settings. In L. C. James & R. A. Folen (Eds.), The primary care consultant: The next frontier for psychologists in hospitals and clinics. Health psychology series (pp.121-151). Retrieved from PsycBOOKS database.
 

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