APA 7: About Citations

Citations allow a reader to locate the sources you used in your research, and include these elements:

For articles: the author(s), publishing date, article title, journal or magazine title, volume, issue number, page numbers, and the DOI number (if available). Include the URL only if you retrieved the article online AND NOT THROUGH a Holy Family database.

For books: the author(s), editors, publishing date, chapter title, book title, page numbers (for a chapter), publisher’s name, and DOI number (if available). In some cases, you’ll include a URL for ebooks.

ATTENTION: Representing others’ work and ideas as your own is called plagiarism. If you summarize or paraphrase another’s work without giving proper credit, that is also plagiarism. Plagiarism is stealing, and it is a serious offense, whether you intentionally or unintentionally plagiarize other’s work. Self-plagiarism, reusing your own work, and representing it as new work, is also inappropriate. 

For more information about plagiarism, check out our Academic Honesty page. 

The purpose of using citations is to let the reader know where you obtained your information so sources can easily be located and consulted. You must document your sources when you provide information that you ordinarily would not have known before conducting your research.

You must cite when you:

• Discuss, summarize, or paraphrase someone else's ideas (even those in your textbook)
• Provide a direct quotation
• Use statistical or other data
• Use images, graphics, videos, and other media
• Class notes, your instructor's PowerPoint, materials posted on Canvas

NO! Often the information in these citation helpers is not completely correct. If you use the citation helper in Ebsco and other databases, BE SURE to double-check your references using all of the APA Style resources Holy Family makes available, including the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.