Citing Your Sources in APA

Alright guys, it is getting close to that time where you're going to need to learn how to cite your sources in your paper.

I'm going to give you the basic run down in this blog as to how to cite scholarly journal articles within your paper as well as how to create the bibliographic entry you'll need at the end of your paper.

First, let's start with how to create the bibliography.

Citing scholarly articles in APA is relatively simple. Just follow the following formula:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number. Retrieved from http://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/

For example:

Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 8. Retrieved from http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html

Make sure you indent your second line of your source entry.

In your bibliography, follow these simple rules:

1. Indent the lines after the first line of your entry. (Hanging indent)
2. Alphabetize your reference list by author's last name.
3. Always include the full journal title, which means you spell things and punctuate things exactly.



In-Text Citations:

If you are using a short quotation from your source, you need to use the author, publication year, and page number for the reference. Always introduce the quote using the author's last name and the year.

For example:
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

For longer quotations (40+ words), you need to leave off the quotations marks and put the quote in its own, indented block of text. Still introduce the quote using the author and year of publication. Add the page number at the end.

For example:

Jones's (1998) study found the following:
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

If you are summarizing or paraphrasing material from a source, you just have to include the author and year of publication. It's a good idea, though, to try to give the page number even though it is unnecessary.

How to Search for Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals - Belk Library

This blog post will teach you how to use the Belk Library online databases to find scholarly sources for your literature review.

Step 1: First, go to the Belk Library Website.

 Step 2: Click on "Article Search"

 Step 3: Click on "List of all article databases."

Step 4: Scroll down to where it says "By Subject"

Step 5: Click on the subject that best matches your topic. For the purposes of this demonstration, I am selecting "Marketing." When you click on the subject area, a list of databases will appear.

Step 6: Select the database that you feel will provide the best results. For the purposes of this demonstration, I am selecting the first database: "Business Source Complete."

Step 7: Click "Advanced Search." This will provide you with many more options that will help you control your search.

Step 8: As you can see, the next step is to enter your search terms. Use the Boolean operators (AND, OR, BUT, NOT) to help you narrow down your search. For this demonstration, I am using the terms "mass media" AND "advertising." Then scroll down to "Search Options."

Step 9: Select "Full Text" and "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals." This will ensure that the articles you are finding will be academic and reliable sources. Once you've done this, go ahead and search for your articles.

From a very simple search, I was able to find very good, full text articles that would help me write a paper on the effects of advertising in the media.

I will be more than happy to help you find the correct database, lead you through the search process, or help you with anything else you need! 

Hope this helps!

--Andi