Reference list entries are the second part of the author-date citation system. Reference entries contain four key elements separated by periods and a single space. Reference entries include:
- The author(s) - The person(s), and/or organization(s) responsible for the work
- Publication date - When the resource was published (can include month, specific date, season, etc.)
- Title of the work - What is the resource called?
- Source information - Place where others can find the resource (can be Journal Title, Volume, Issue, URL) (APA, 2020, p. 283).
- See Section 9.30 of Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) for more information regarding the inclusion of database and archival sources.
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
The linked Word document APA Style References Formatting Activity has been designed by APA to help seventh edition users become familiar with proper reference entry formatting. Many of the errors that need correcting in this document are similar to those users may see when using autogenerated citations in databases, and on websited. https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/references-formatting-activity.docx