Creating References
Transitioning from MLA Style (Handbook, 9th ed., 2021)
to
APA Style 7th edition (Publication Manual, 7th ed., 2020)
Created by Prof. Mike Strahan
Updated 10/24/2024
Found the following work while searching one of the Library databases, and retrieved online through direct subscription with publisher.
Floor Effects Associated With Universal Screening and Their Impact on the Early Identification of Reading Disabilities
Hugh W. Catts, Yaacov Petscher, Christopher Schatschneider, Mindy Sittner Bridges and Katherin Mendoza
Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 42, No. 2, 163-176 (2009). doi:10.1177/0022219408326219
MLA Works Cited entry (retrieved from publisher web site):
Catts, Hugh W., Yaacov Petscher, Christopher Schatschneider, Mindy Sittner Bridges
and Katherin Mendoza. "Floor Effects Associated With Universal Screening and
Their Impact on the Early Identification of Reading Disabilities." Journal of Learning
Disabilities, vol. 42, no. 2, Mar./Apr. 2009, pp. 163-176. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219408326219.
[Note that if we had found the full-text of this article in an online database, the name of the database
in italics would be inserted between the page numbers and DOI.]
APA Reference entry 7th edition. DOI assigned. Must include issue number when provided:
Catts, H. W., Petscher, Y., Schatschneider, C., Bridges, M. S., & Mendoza, K. (2009).
Floor effects associated with universal screening and their impact on the early
identification of reading disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42(2), 163-176.
Parenthetical: (Catts et al., 2009)
Narrative: Catts et al. (2009)
Direct quote: (Catts et al., 2009, p. 163)
| Reference Section |
APA format & notes |
| Author |
Use last name, first and middle initials. For works with one author, list it. For works with two authors, list both and separate by an ampersand ( & ). New for 7th edition: For works with 3 thru 20 authors, list all of them, and add an ampersand (&) before the last author. For works with 21 or more authors list first 19, an ellipse (three dots ... ) then last author. These are major changes from APA Style 6th edition guidelines. |
| Publication Year | For journal articles, only provide the year. For magazine articles, include year followed by month. For example: (2008, June). For newspaper articles, provide: year, month, and day (2008, July 10). |
| Article Title | Only capitalize first letter of first word for title and subtitle. Also capitalize proper names, acronyms, & abbreviations. Unlike MLA, no quotation marks. |
| Journal Title | Capitalize all words except articles. Entire title in italics. |
| Volume Number |
Italics If the publication year is also used for the volume number, provide that year in the volume position of the reference. |
| Issue Number | New for 7th edition: When issue number is provided, it must be included in the reference. |
| Page Numbers |
Include all page numbers where article appears. Do not use sloppy format, such as 163-76; instead write complete range: 163-176. New for 7th edition: If journal is published online-only and articles are numbered or assigned an eLocator, provide that number preceded by the word: Article Examples: Article 55 Article e4567 |
| DOI - Digital Object Identifier |
Unique number assigned to primarily journal articles, and some Note that not all articles are assigned a DOI, especially popular magazine and newspaper articles. The DOI always begins with 10 followed by a period and four digits and a slash. Example: 10.1177/ Remaining part of identifier may be all numbers, all letters, or combination of letters and numbers. APA style 7th edition continues with the following format of the DOI to begin with https://doi.org/ Example: https://doi.org/10.1080/14763141.2017.1391324 Researchers & students are expected to follow the current standard format for the DOI in their APA references. |
Created by Professor Mike Strahan
Updated 10/25/2024
Found the following work while searching one of the Library databases, and retrieved online through direct subscription with publisher.
Floor Effects Associated With Universal Screening and Their Impact on the Early Identification of Reading Disabilities
Hugh W. Catts, Yaacov Petscher, Christopher Schatschneider, Mindy Sittner Bridges and Katherin Mendoza
Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 42, No. 2, 163-176 (2009). doi:10.1177/0022219408326219
APA Reference entry 7th edition. DOI assigned. Must include issue number when provided.
Catts, H. W., Petscher, Y., Schatschneider, C., Bridges, M. S., & Mendoza, K. (2009).
Floor effects associated with universal screening and their impact on the early
identification of reading disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42(2), 163-176.
Parenthetical: (Catts et al., 2009)
Narrative: Catts et al. (2009)
Direct quote: (Catts et al., 2009, p. 163)
| Reference Section |
APA format & notes |
| Author |
Use last name, first and middle initials. For works with one author, list it. For works with two authors, list both and separate by an ampersand ( & ). New for 7th edition: For works with 3 thru 20 authors, list all of them, and add an ampersand (&) before the last author. For works with 21 or more authors list first 19, an ellipse (three dots ... ) then last author. These are major changes from APA Style 6th edition guidelines. |
| Publication Year | For journal articles, only provide the year. For magazine articles, include year followed by month. For example: (2008, June). For newspaper articles, provide: year, month, and day (2008, July 10). |
| Article Title | Only capitalize first letter of first word for title and subtitle. Also capitalize proper names, acronyms, & abbreviations. Unlike MLA, no quotation marks. |
| Journal Title | Capitalize all words except articles. Entire title in italics. |
| Volume Number |
Italics If the publication year is also used for the volume number, provide that year in the volume position of the reference. |
| Issue Number | New for 7th edition: When issue number is provided, it must be included in the reference. |
| Page Numbers |
Include all page numbers where article appears. Do not use sloppy format, such as 163-76; instead write complete range: 163-176. New for 7th edition: If journal is published online-only and articles are numbered or assigned an eLocator, provide that number preceded by the word: Article Examples: Article 55 Article e4567 |
| DOI - Digital Object Identifier |
Unique number assigned to primarily journal articles, and some Note that not all articles are assigned a DOI, especially popular magazine and newspaper articles. The DOI always begins with 10 followed by a period and four digits and a slash. Example: 10.1177/ Remaining part of identifier may be all numbers, all letters, or combination of letters and numbers. APA style 7th edition continues with the following format of the DOI to begin with https://doi.org/ Example: https://doi.org/10.1080/14763141.2017.1391324 Researchers & students are expected to follow the current standard format for the DOI in their APA references. |
Please see tabs indicating "7th ed." for Manual Introduction and Instructional Aids for transitioning to new style as reflected in the Manual.
In March 2020 APA created a summary of the major changes between the 6th edition & 7th edition styles: https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/whats-new-7e-guide.pdf
For additional changes, please consult the Manual.
Note: Enforcement of APA style is up to course instructor or publication editor/reviewer. The student or professional researcher is responsible for preparing content which complies with APA style.
Notes on Spacing of reference entries: APA style 7th edition references remain as hanging indent & double-spaced entries (one blank line between lines of text). There is not an extra blank line between the line at the top entitled References and the first entry. Also, there is not an extra blank line between reference entries.
Note on space between sentences: Throughout entire paper/manuscript (not just references anymore), there is only one space between end of sentence punctuation and beginning of next sentence.
General notable changes in reference formats
1. Works with 1-20 authors: List all authors.
2. Works with 21 or more authors: List first 19, an ellipse, then the last author.
3. All titles of sources in references (except legal references) are italicized. This includes journal name, book title, webpage title, etc. Only for legal references are in-text citations italicized.
4. Place of publication is no longer included in book & report references. However, publisher is still required.
5. DOIs and URLs now appear as hyperlinks, beginning with either https:// or http:// and--depending on the word processor--may be underlined & in blue font. APA also allows these as plain black text not underlined.
As such, APA now accepts either https:// or http:// as correct format.
6. New format for the assigned DOI
In APA 7th edition, the format of the DOI begins with either https://doi.org/xxxx
or http://doi.org/xxxx
where xxxx refers to the DOI number.
Although the format of the DOI has changed over time, for example beginning with https://dx.doi.org/ or even doi: or DOI: before the number, researchers are advised to use the APA 7th edition format standard of beginning the DOI entry as: https://doi.org/
or http://doi.org/
Remember: you are applying APA style rules to the source, not changing APA style format according to what the source indicates/suggests.
See Manual, Section 9.35, pp. 299-300 for further details.
Examples on this guide now reflect what normally appears in word processing applications, namely blue font & underline.
7. Allow word processors to automatically split DOIs and URLs between lines, or place them on the next line leaving a partial line above.
8. APA 7th edition now allows for DOI or URL Shorteners (Section 9.36. p. 300). To create these, use the APA-recommended International DOI Foundation < http://shortdoi.org >, or the variety of URL shorteners available.
However, examples on this guide will not employ shortened DOIs/URLs.