APA Referencing: a quick guide
Source to be referenced / In text of essay / In reference listBook / Picton (2014) suggests that efficient history takingbenefits patient care.
Or
Efficient history taking benefits patient care (Picton, 2014). / Picton, S. (2014).Developing clinical skills in nursing(2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Note the punctuation used.
Chapter in an edited book / Tomos (2013) confirms that the midwife’s ability to communicate will affect the quality of care given.
Chapter author only is given in the text. / Tomos, W. (2013). The midwife as communicator. InA. Picton,G. Huws, T. Parri (Eds.),Common midwives’ problems (pp.27-30). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Journal articles / In reflecting on his experiences, Huws (2012) found that there were ethical difficulties when using translators for non-English-speaking patients. / Huws, G. (2012). Reflections on communicating with non-English-speaking patients. British Journal of Nursing,11(11), 773-780.
Note the name of the journal is in italics not the title of the article.
For an e-journal article that is the same as the print version, can reference as a printed journal.
If not the same, then include the DOI after the page numbers,
e.g.: doi: 10.1037/A0019769
If no DOI, include URL after the page numbers,
e.g. Retrieved from
For 2 authors
Give both names. Both authors’ names must appear in the reference list.
Use of ‘et al.’
3 – 5 authors: 1st citation – all authors’ names given.
Subsequent citations - use
et al.All authors’ names must appear in the reference list.
6 authors or more: Use first author’s surname and et al throughout. All authors names in ref list.
Source to be referenced / (Lewenson & Porter, 2013)
Or
according to Lewenson and Porter (2013)
(Davies, Williams, Doris, & Wyn, 2012)
Patients in critical care units, prioritise the need to feel safe and the need for information above other physiological needs (Davies et al. 2012).
In text of essay / Lewenson, S., & Porter, R. (2013). Clinical decision-making for nurses (3rd ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Davies, R., Williams, R., Doris, P., & Wyn, N. (2012).Zen and the art of critical care nursing(8th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
Note ‘&’ is used between second to last and last name in list of authors.
In reference List
Secondary references – avoid using these. If you do have to use them, then give the full details ofthe item you saw and the author and date of the secondary item. / There are several reasons why the rectal route may be preferred for temperature measurement (Jones, 2012as cited in Tomos, 2014). / Tomos, W. (2014).The biological basis of nursing: clinical observations. London: Routledge.
Websites – treat these with caution. Remember that the onus is on you to ensure that they are credible sources of information
(date accessed not needed)
Reports – if they have been accessed online. they are referenced in the same way as websites, / One of the principles of the National Service Framework for Older People (Departmentof Health, 2001) is that older people should be given the information to enable them to become involved in their care.
Give the author and date NOT the URL / Department of Health. (2001).The nationalservice framework for older people. Retrieved from
If no personal author named, give the
organization name as the author.
If no date given, use (n.d.).
Don’t need to include the date accessed. The only exception would be if the information on the webpage is likely to change or be updated.
Use of direct quotes – limit your use of these. It is your ideas we are interested in, not long tracts of other authors’ words. / Twrcitena (2012) suggests that “the professional mask worn by health professionals can distort their relationships with clients.”(p.377)
Page number must be included for direct quotes from books. Quotes of more than 40 words must be indented in the text. / Twrcitena,I. (2012).Social behaviour andprofessional interactions. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Same author, same year entries - use if you are citing 2 or more publications by the same author which are published in the same year, in order to differentiate between them. / Confidentiality will be maintained in accordance with the guidelines of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2015a).
The patient’s identity was checked prior to administration in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2015b) guidelines. / Nursing and Midwifery Council.(2015a).The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London: NMC.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (2015b).Standards for medicines management. London: NMC.
KEY THINGS TO REMEMBER
- The full details of every item you have used are given in areference list at the end of your assignment. This list is to be arranged in alphabetical order, by the authors’ surnames.
- Titles of books, webpages, reports and journals are to be italicized in the reference list.
- For each reference, after the first line, any further lines need to be indented (by positioning your cursor at the beginning of the line and pressing CTRL and the Tab key simultaneously).
- To cite in your assignment, you need to put the surnames only of the author(s) and the date of publication. If you are directly quoting someone else’s work, then you also include the page number.
- In your assignment, link two authors’ names with and when cited outside brackets. Link with an ampersand, that is , if inside brackets.
- Remember the importance of maintaining confidentiality with regard to Health Board or other Placement Location policies. Refer to the full APA Guide (p.11) for how to do this.
- The NMC Code is to be cited in your assignment in a manner specific to the School of Healthcare Sciences. See the full APA Guide (p.11) for how to do this.
- Refer to the full APA Guide if you can’t find the answer in this short guide.