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Citation Help for APA, 7th Edition: Dictionary

Help with common issues and questions with APA 7th edition

Variation - Editors

Multiple Editors?

Example:

Lyons, A. C., McCreanor, T., Goodwin, I., & Barnes, H. M. (Eds.). (2017). Youth drinking cultures in a digital world: Alcohol, social media, and cultures of intoxication. Routledge. 

Explanation:

List all of the editors in the order as they appear on the title page. Then, after the last editor, add the abbreviation for editors (Eds.) followed by a period and put within parentheses. End with a period after the parentheses.


Only One Editor?


Instead of Eds., use Ed. followed by a period and placed in parentheses. End with a period after the parentheses. 

Example:

Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). (2016). Career paths in psychology: Where your degree can take you (3rd ed.).  American Psychological Association.

More information: 

For more information about editors, see Section 9.10 on pages 287-288 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Variation - Edition?

Example

Smith, S. F., Duell, D. J., Martin, B. C. Aebersold, M. L., & Gonzalez, L. (2016). Clinical nursing skills: Basic to advanced skills (9th ed.). Pearson.

Explanation

Place the edition number in parentheses after the book title. Follow by "ed." and a period outside the parentheses. There is no period after the book title.

More Information

For more information about editions or volumes, see Section. 9.28 on page 295 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Variation - No Date?

No Date of Publication?

Example

Fellows, S. (n.d.). Seeing the moon rise. Paulson.

Explanation

For sources where the publication date is unknown or cannot be determined, use the abbreviation "n.d." which stands for no date. Use small letters and place a period after each letter. There should be no space between the letters.
 

More Information

For more information about sources with no date, see Section 9.17 on page 291 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Variations - URLs?

Long, Complicated URL?

 

Some URLs may be long and complicated. APA 7th edition allows the use of shorter URLs. Shortened URLs can be created using any URL shortener service; however, if you choose to shorten the URL, you must double-check that the URL is functioning and brings the reader to the correct website. 

Common URL Shortner websites include:

More Information

For more information about URLs, see Section 9.36 on page 300 of APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE: Check your instructor's preference about using short URLs. Some instructors may want the full URL. 

Variations - Live Hyperlinks?

Should my URLs be live?

It depends. When adding URLs to a paper or other work, first, be sure to include the full hyperlink. This includes the http:// or the https://. Additionally, consider where and how the paper or work will be published or read. If the work will only be read in print or as a Word doc or Google Doc, then the URLs should not be live (i.e., they are not blue or underlined). However, if the work will be published or read online, then APA advises to include live URLs. This would allow the reader to click on a link and go to the source. 
 

More Information

For more information, see Section 9.35 on pages 299-300 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE: Check your instructor's preference about using live URLs. Some instructors may not want you to use live URLs. 

Term in a Print Dictionary

Example

 

American Heritage. (2011). Noni. In The American Heritage dictionary of the English language (5th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

 

Explanation

 

Author: American Heritage. 

Begin with the group author, organization, or company that created the book. For group authors, list the group author or company name exactly as it appears on the title page. Do not abbreviate group authors or the company name in the reference list. Add a period after the group author.
 

Year of Publication: (2011).

Next, in parentheses, list the year of publication, which appears on the title page or the title page verso (backside of the title page). Add a period after the parentheses. 
 

Title in the form of the Term: Noni.

Next, add the term located or looked up in the dictionary. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle and all proper nouns or names. End with a period.
 

Title & Subtitle of the Book: In The American Heritage dictionary of the English language

Next, put the word "In" followed by the title. If there is a subtitle, separate it from the title by adding a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle and all proper nouns or abbreviations.  Italicize the title but do not end with a period as the dictionary has an edition.
 

Edition of the Book: (5th ed.).

After the title of the book, add the edition number in parentheses. Add the abbreviation "ed" after the number. Place a period after "ed" and outside of the parentheses.
 

Source Information: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Complete the reference with the name of the publisher. Put the publisher's name exactly as shown on the title page. Be sure to retain the spelling and capitalization as it appears on the title page. End the citation with a period.  NOTE: Do not include designations of business structure (e.g., Inc., Ltd., LLC, etc.). 
 

More Information: 

For more information about book references, see page 321 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. For author format, title format, or source (publication) information, see pages 285-289, pages 291-293, and pages 293-301 respectively in the APA Manual, 7th edition.

 

Parenthetical and Narrative Citation Examples

 

Parenthetical Citation Example:

(American Heritage, 2011)

Narrative Citation Example:

American Heritage (2011) ....

 

More Information:

For more information about the format of group authors, see Section 9.11 on page 288 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Print Dictionary

Example

 

Merriam-Webster. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). 

 

Explanation

 

Author or Creator: Merriam-Webster. 

Begin the reference with the group author or creator of the book. For group authors, list the group author or company exactly as it appears on the title page. Do not abbreviate group authors or a company name in the reference list. Add a period after the group author or creator.  
 

Year of Publication: (2003).

Next, in parentheses, list the year of publication, which appears on the title page or the title page verso (backside of the title page). Add a period after the parentheses. 


Title & Subtitle of the Book: In Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary

Next, begin by putting the word "In" followed by the title of the book. If there is a subtitle, separate it from the title by a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle and all proper nouns or names.  Italicize the title but do not end with a period as the dictionary has an edition.

Edition of Book: (11th ed.).

After the title of the book, add the edition number in parentheses. Add the abbreviation "ed" after the number. Add a period after "ed" and outside the parentheses.

Source Information: Blank - do not add anything

When the author and publisher are the same, do not repeat in the publisher spot. End the reference after the edition if there is no DOI. 



More Information: 

For more information about dictionary references, see Section 10.3 on pages 326-329 and example 47 on page 328 of the APA Manual, 7th ed. 

Parenthetical and Narrative Citation Examples

 

Parenthetical Citation Example: 

(Merriam-Webster, 2003).

Narrative Citation Example:

Merriam-Webster (2003) ...

 

More Information:

For more information about the format of group authors, see Section 9.11 on page 288 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Term in an Online Dictionary

Example

 

Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). Upcycling. In Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved November 10, 2019, from

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/upcycling

 

Explanation

 

Author or Creator: Cambridge University Press.

Begin with the group author or creator of the book. For group authors, list the group author or company name exactly as it appears on the title page, including capitalization. Do not abbreviate group authors or a company name in the reference list. Add a period after the group author or creator.  


Year of Publication: 
(n.d.).

Next, in parentheses, list the year of publication. If an online reference work is continuously updated and the versions are not archived, use "n.d." as the date. 


Title in the form of the Term: Upcycling.

Next, add the term located or looked up in the dictionary and treat it as the title. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle and all proper nouns or abbreviations. Add a period after the term. 


Title & Subtitle of the book: In Cambridge dictionary.

Next, put the word "In" followed by the title of the book. Follow the general capitalization rule that says to only capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle as well as proper nouns and abbreviations. Italicize the title and add a period after the title. 


Source Information: Retrieved December 10, 2019, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/upcycling

Complete the reference with a Retrieval statement and URL. If an online reference is continuously updated and the versions are not archived, add a retrieval statement and retrieval date as well as the URL. The form of the retrieval statement is "Retrieved", then the exact date the material was accessed, followed by the word "from" and the URL to the source. Do not put a period after the URL. ​

 

More Information:

For more information and additional examples, see Section 10.3 on pages 326-329 and example 47 on page 328 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Parenthetical and Narrative Citation Examples

 

Parenthetical Citation Example:

(Cambridge University Press, n.d.)

Narrative Citation Example:

Cambridge University Press (n.d.) ...

 

More Information:

For more information about the format of group authors, see Section 9.11 on page 288 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.