Molstead Library is a great place to conduct research and find perfect sources for your papers! For assistance in writing your research papers in the proper format, please visit the NIC Writing Center.
Click on the link below to access a recording of a past workshop.
Learn the basics of in-text and reference list citations
Learn how to format an APA paper, including the title page, headers, and references page
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use software to automatically embed citations into your papers
Did you use a library database to conduct your research? If so, the database probably has a cite tool to get you started on your reference list. Using the citation tools is a good way to get started crafting your citations, but every citation generator available is known to provide improperly formatted citations. It is your responsibility to know the required citation style and verify that all citations are properly formatted. Have questions about these database features? Ask a librarian for assistance.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition
APA is an author-date citation system. This means that only the author and date are included in the text of your paper. Additional details for the source, including the title and retrieval information, are included on the References page.
Works without an Author
"For works with an unknown author, include the title and year of the publication in the in-text citation. ... If the title of the work is italicized in the reference, also italicize the title in the in-text citation. If the title of the work is not italicized in the reference, use double quotation marks around the title in the in-text citation. Capitalize these titles in the text using title case, even through sentence case is used in the reference list entry. If the title is long, shorten it for the in-text citation." (APA, 2020, p. 264-265)
The title of the work moves to the author position in the full reference list entry as well.
| Example | Full reference list entry | In-text Citation |
| Journal article with no author | Proposed bill: Related to limitations on overtime for nurses. (2021). The Hawaii Nurse, 2(2), 9. | (“Proposed Bill,” 2021) |
Works with No Date
"Sometimes the publication date of a work is unknown or cannot be determined. For works with no date, write n.d. (which stands for "no date") in parentheses. Put a period after the n and after the d with no space between the letters." (APA, 2020, p. 291)
| Example | Full reference list entry | In-text Citation |
| Website article with no date | American Nurses Association. (n.d.). About ANA. https://www.nursingworld.org/ana/about-ana/ | (ANA, n.d.) |
Works with No Title
"For works without a title, include a description of the work in square brackets instead. When possible, specify the medium in the description of the untitled work rather than including two bracketed descriptions" (APA, 2020, p. 291).
| Example | Full reference list entry | In-text Citation |
| Photograph on a webpage with no title or author | [Photograph of black spider monkey]. (n.d.). World Wildlife Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/black-spider-monkey | ([Photograph of Black], n.d.) |
