APA style is a widely recognised and used style guide for citing sources in academic writing. It has specific rules for different types of sources, including books. When citing a book in APA format, key compounds like the author’s name, publication year, book title, and publisher are required. Applying APA book citation standards correctly is crucial for maintaining academic integrity, giving credit to original authors for their work, and providing the information needed to track the sources. The following article will provide a detailed exploration with APA examples.
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APA Book Citation – In a Nutshell
- APA book citation stipulates the rules for citing different sources used in research.
- APA book citation gives credit to several research sources.
- Citing sources incorrectly or forgetting it completely often leads to plagiarism.
- APA book citation can be in the form of an e-book, multi-volume book, or a book with several authors.
Definition: APA book citation
APA book citation is the citation style that researchers use in the APA style of writing. There are different specifications for citing different types of sources, such as books, journals, videos, and other sources.
The APA book citation format includes:
- Author’s name
- Book title
- Year of publication
- Publisher’s name
Basic APA book citation format
The citation follows the following format:
- Last name, Initials. (Year). Book title (Editor/translator initials, Last name, Ed. or Trans.) (Edition). Publisher.
Example
- Author: Brian Adams
- Publication year: 2019
- Title: The Story of Bees
- Chapter: Communication of Bees, pg. 67
- Publisher: Jason
| In-text citation | Adams, 2019, pg. 67 |
| Reference list citation | Adams, B. (2019). The Story of Bees: Communication of Bees. Jason. |
APA book citation – E-books and online books
E-books and online books have changed the way we interact with information. Their digital formats make them easy to access and shop on several devices, making them valuable research tools.
APA book citation of digital literature usually includes Digital Object Identifiers (DOI). These unique string identifiers are used to search and retrieve online documents.
The APA citation style of e-books is structured as follows:
- Last name, Initials. (Year). Book title. Publisher. URL or DOI
Example
- Author name: Cassie Drew
- Year: 2020
- Title: World Sites
- Publisher: Thames & Kye
- DOI: https://witley.to/2ObKrVf
| In-text citation | (Drew, 2020, para. 7) |
| Reference page citation | Drew, C. (2020). World Sites. Thames & Kye. https://witley.to/2ObKrVf |
APA book citation – Chapter of an edited book
When citing a book with multiple contributors, such as a collection of works by different authors, you should start with the author of the chapter. Mention other contributors later on the reference page.
Example
| Format | Last name, Initials. (Year). Chapter Title. Editor initials. Last name (Ed. or Eds.), Title (pp). Publisher. DOI. |
| Reference page citation | Warren, P. (2007). Neocolonialism. In H. Parker & J. Willz (Eds.), Back To Our Roots (pp. 87–91). Routledge. https://wiltley.to/2ObKrVf |
| In-text citation | (Warren, 2007, p. 87). |
APA book citation – Multi-volume books
Many publications have several volumes. If you cite a single volume, cite the specific volume. In cases where you have used multiple volumes, you should cite the whole book.
If the title is missing, write the volume number in brackets without italics.
Example
Volumes with specific titles
James, P. H. (2014). The essays of P. H. James: Vol. 2. The Works of Yesterday (W. Ross & F. Wardell, Eds.). Thames & Kye.
Example
Volumes without titles
Fischer, B. (2004). Chronicles (Vol. 2). Thames & Kye.
Citing the whole multi-volume book in APA
Cite the whole book when you use several volumes for your research. The APA guide stipulates the format as following example shows.
Example
James, P. G. (2015). The Essays of P G. James (Vols. 6–9) (P. Ross & D. Hall, Eds.). Thames & Kye.
Finding the information for an APA book citation
The details to include in the APA book citation, including the title of the book, year of publishing, and the author, can be found on the title and copyright pages at the beginning of the book.
More information is available at the back of the book should you require it.
FAQs
Always mention:
- Author’s name(s)
- Title of the book (or chapter)
- Year of publication
- Publisher
Use the standard format, i.e., the author’s last name and initials, as well as bracket for volumes without titles.
An in-text citation is used throughout the body of the text. APA guidelines recommend the author-date format.
For example:
- We see a strong correlation in the data set in recent years (Barnes, 2019).
In addition to in-text citations distributed in the body of your research paper, you should include a reference page. This is the last page before submitting your paper.
It outlines the sources used in your research from different books and publications. List your references in a numbered list in the order that they appear in the text.
The American Psychological Association developed the APA style guide to create a uniform format for research papers.
This citation style is used to prevent plagiarism, which is one of the biggest problems in research.
