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APA - Referencing Guide

Books

Information

  See Book Chapters guidance page to reference book chapters, as this page has guidance for referencing whole books.


  Only the author's initials are included regardless of the presentation of the author's name in the source document.

  The given name may be cited in full to identify the author when different authors have the same surname and initials.

  Capitalisation practice should be consistent.

  Titles and subtitles of books are given minimal capitalisation.

  Only the first letter of the first word of the title (and subtitle, if given) and proper nouns (the names of people, places or organisations, etc.) are capitalised.

  Book titles are italicised when typed, or underlined when handwritten.

  When the author and the publisher are the same, do not include the publisher name in the reference.

•  Include the DOI for e-books in your reference, if given.

•  Use the DOI as given in the source - either the modern alphanumeric string format ("doi:0000000/000000000000") or the older doi.org format ("https://doi.org/10.0000/0000"). 

Format

Standard format for citation

Authored work:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of work: Subtitle (edition.). (Volume(s).). Publisher.

 

DOI available:

Author, A., & Author, B. (date of original publication). Title of e-book: Subtitle. Publisher. DOI

 

URL available:

Author, A., & Author, B. (date of original publication). Title of e-book: Subtitle. Publisher. URL

 

Edited work:

Editor, A. A., & Editor, B. B. (Eds.). (Year). Title of work: Subtitle (edition.). (Volume(s).). Publisher.

 

Australian Medicines Handbook:

Title of entry. (Year). In Australian Medicines HandbookURL

Examples

Single author

Matthews, J. (1999). The art of childhood and adolescence: The construction of meaning. Falmer Press.

Single author e-books

Eckes, T. (2000). The developmental social psychology of gender. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. https://prospero.murdoch.edu.au/record=b1600608

Bass, L., Clements, P., & Kazman, R. (2003). Software architecture in practice (2nd ed.). Addison-Wesley. https://prospero.murdoch.edu.au/record=b3165895

Two authors

Colclough, B., & Colclough, J. (1999). A challenge to change. Thorsons.

Three to twenty authors

Rosenthal, R., Rosnow, R. L., & Rubin, D. B. (2000). Contrasts and effect sizes in behavioral research: A correlational approach. Cambridge University Press.

More than twenty authors
When authors number twenty-one or more, include the first nineteen authors' names, then insert three ellipses and follow with the final author's name.

Edited work

Snyder, C. R. (Ed.). (1999). Coping: The psychology of what works. Oxford University Press.

Later edition

Newcomb, H. (Ed.). (2000). Television: The critical view (6th ed.). Oxford University Press.

No author

The Blackwell dictionary of cognitive psychology. (1991). Blackwell.

Allergy. (2024). In Australian Medicines Handbook. https://amhonline.amh.net.au/chapters/allergy-anaphylaxis/allergy?menu=vertical. 

No date of publication

Mandl, H., et al. (Eds.). (n.d.). Learning and instruction: European research in an international context. (Vol. 2). Pergamon.

Two or more books by the same author published in the same year

Kubler-Ross, E. (1993a). AIDS: The ultimate challenge. Collier Books.

Kubler-Ross, E. (1993b). Questions and answers on death and dying. Collier Books.

Multivolume work

Russell, B. (1967). The autobiography of Bertrand Russell (Vols. 1-3). Allen & Unwin.

Translation

Bonino, S., Cattelino, E., & Ciairano, S. (2005). Adolescents and risk: Behavior, functions, and protective factors. (L. McDonald, Trans.). Springer. (Original work published 2003)

Organisation

American Educational Research Association. (1985). Standards for educational and psychological testing. American Psychological Association.

Government publication

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (1999). Australia's young people: Their health and wellbeing, the report on the health of young people aged 12-24 years. AIHW.

Government department reports

Department of Health and Aged Care. (1999). Mental health: A report focusing on depression, 1998. Australian Government Publishing Service.

Office of Citizenship and Multicultural Interests. (2000). 2000 migrant services directory: A Western Australian guide for migrants and service providers. Western Australian Government.

List of government publishers:
Australian Capital Territory Government
Australian Government
Government of South Australia
Government of Western Australia
New South Wales Government
Northern Territory Government
Queensland Government
State of Victoria
Tasmanian Government


See the All Examples page for examples of in-text and reference list entries for specific resources such as articles, books, and web pages.