APA 6th Edition Book Citation — A Simple Guide, Format & Examples

20.12.22 Examples Time to read: 3min

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APA-6th-edition-book-citation-Definition

As a college/university student, one will write numerous articles and assignments as part of their coursework. The APA 6th edition book citation is a popular format for acknowledging the author(s) of sources used in academic writing.

APA 6th Edition Book Citation – In a Nutshell

  • Traditionally, APA 6th edition book citation was mainly used by psychology students.
  • APA 6th edition book citation is an author-date referencing and citing style.1
  • APA 6th edition book citation helps to ensure a student’s academic integrity.

Definition: APA 6th edition book citation

An APA 6th edition book citation includes:

  • author’s name
  • year of publication
  • book title
  • name of the publisher

Reference list:

A student should organize the reference list alphabetically by the author’s name.2 If the author is responsible for more than one source, the student should list them chronologically based on the publication date— oldest to newest. Sources without an author should be listed using their first significant word.

Direct quotation (author’s last name, date of publication, and page number)
More than one author (author’s last name et al., date of publication)

 

Encyclopedias and dictionaries often lack the name of the authors as well as the date of publication. In-text citations take this format: (name of the organization, “n.d”).

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APA 6th edition book citation: The basics

Format Example
Reference include the name(s) of the author(s), the year of publication, the title of the source, and the name of the publisher. Kılıç, M. S., & amp; Sert, H. (2015). Primary School 5th Grade Science and Technology Lesson Book & Investigation of Multiple Intelligence Theory. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 2577-2581.
In-text citation Example
(author’s last name, date of publication). (Kılıç et al., 2015)

APA 6th edition book citation: E-books and online

An e-book reference includes the following; author, date, title, and e-book type in square brackets.

APA 6th edition book citation: Books accessed on e-readers

Format If a book accessed on an e-reader has no discoverable DOI, the student should end the reference after the publisher's name.
Example Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: The psychology of persuasion. HarperCollins E-books.
In-text citation (Cialdini, 2009)

APA 6th edition book citation: Books accessed online

Format • The student should italicize the title and the DOI.
• One should not include the bracketed information if the source is from an online library such as Google Books.[3]
• The student should use the commercial URL of the e-book supplier, not the database’s URL.
Example Haslam, S. (2003). Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology (SAGE Foundations ofPsychology series) [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com
In-text citation (Haslam, 2003)
In-text citation (no page number) (Author’s name, year of publication, chapter section, and paragraph number (Haslam, 2003, Chapter 1, Section 2, para. 5)

APA 6th edition book citation: Book chapter

Format APA 6th edition book citation for reference of an edited book includes the editor's last name and initials (Ed or Eds depending on the number of editors), year of publication, italicized title of the book, place of publication, and the publisher. 4
Example Everson, S. (Ed.). (1991). Psychology. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
In-text citation (Everson, 1991)

APA 6th edition book citation: Multivolume books

When citing multivolume books, give the number of volumes after the title and include the year of publication.

APA 6th edition book citation: Citing a single volume

When citing a single-volume book with a specific title, include the volume number as part of the title.

Example:

Eliot, T. S. (2015). The poems of T. S. Eliot: Vol. 1. Collected and Uncollected Poems (C. Ricks & J. McCue, Eds.). Faber & Faber.

If the book only has a single volume available and is numbered, the student should include the volume number after the book’s title and bracket it.

Example:

Scott, L. (2011). Parental Nutrition. Clinical Nutrition (2nd ed., Vol. 3).

APA 6th edition book citation: Citing a multivolume book as a whole

When citing a multivolume book, consider the years of publications for all volumes and enter the range of these years ( 1995-2017).

In the case of a multivolume book, the student should cite the whole book and bracket the volume after the title.

Example:

Eliot, T. S. (2015). The Poems of T. S. Eliot (Vols. 1–2) (C. Ricks & J. McCue, Eds.). Faber & Faber.

APA 6th edition book citation: Information

All information required for an APA 6th edition book citation is located in the title and copyright pages of a book.

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FAQs

The student should use the editor’s name with initials ed., instead of the author’s name.

When there are two authors, the in-text citation includes (Authors’ last names separated by & and the year of publication).

A student should quote the entire book even if they use information from just one chapter.

Sources

American psychological Association. “Publication manual (6th ed.).” 2010. http://web20kmg.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/66236884/APA%20Research%20Paper%20Sample%5B1%5D.pdf%20Medical.pdf

McDonald, Elizabeth. “Teaching the 6th Edition of APA Style of Writing in Counselor Education.” 2011. https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/jcps/vol3/iss2/5/

USEK Library. “APA 6th Edition Citation Style: How do  cite?” Accessed November 30, 2022.  https://libguides.usek.edu.lb/APA6th/how-do-i-cite

Mercy College Library. “APA 6th Ed. Guide.” June 24, 2018.  https://www.mchs.edu/Portals/0/APA%20Guide%206th%20Edition.pdf