When citing a book, it’s essential to follow a consistent citation style to maintain clarity and credibility. One of the most commonly used citation styles is the American Psychological Association (APA) style. Here’s how to cite a book correctly using the APA style:
Basic Format for a Book
For a book with one author, the citation would look like this:
Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of the book (Edition). Publisher.
Example: Smith, J. (2020). The psychology of learning (3rd ed.). Pearson.
Book with Two to Seven Authors
If the book has two to seven authors, separate their names with commas and use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name.
Example for two authors: Smith, J., & Johnson, K. (2020). Educational psychology (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Example for more than two authors: Smith, J., Johnson, K., Williams, P., & Davis, M. (2020). Introduction to psychology (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Book with More Than Seven Authors
For books with more than seven authors, list the first six authors, followed by “…”, and then the last author’s name.
Example: Smith, J., Johnson, K., Williams, P., Davis, M., Lee, S., Brown, T.,… Hall, J. (2020). Advanced psychology (5th ed.). Wiley.
Edited Book
For an edited book, the citation looks slightly different:
Editor’s Last Name, First Initial (Ed.). (Year of Publication). Title of the book (Edition). Publisher.
Example: Johnson, K. (Ed.). (2019). The handbook of cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Chapter in an Edited Book
If you’re citing a specific chapter in an edited book, the format is:
Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of the chapter. In Editor’s First Initial Last Name (Ed.), Title of the book (pp. Page Numbers). Publisher.
Example: Smith, J. (2020). Cognitive development. In K. Johnson (Ed.), The psychology of human development (pp. 123-145). Sage.
E-book
For e-books, include the DOI (digital object identifier) if available. If not, provide the URL or the name of the database.
Example with DOI: Smith, J. (2020). The future of psychology (2nd ed.). doi: 10.1037⁄0000165-000
Example without DOI: Smith, J. (2020). The psychology of learning (3rd ed.). Retrieved from https://www.books.com/the-psychology-of-learning
In-Text Citations
For in-text citations, APA style uses the author-date format. For a direct quote, include the page number(s) as well.
Example for a paraphrase: (Smith, 2020)
Example for a direct quote: (Smith, 2020, p. 12)
Reference List
Ensure all cited sources are listed in the reference list at the end of your document, formatted according to the guidelines above.
By following these guidelines, you can correctly cite a book in APA style, ensuring your work is properly referenced and maintains academic integrity.
