How to Cite Primary Research in APA Style

Primary research is any research conducted firsthand. Examples include interviews and surveys that you carry out yourself. American Psychological Association style does not require that interviews and surveys be documented in the Reference section because they are not published sources. APA does require both interviews and surveys be documented in an in-text citation. Both interviews and surveys are considered equivalent in APA style and in-text citations use the same format with minor differences.

Instructions

    • 1

      Cite interview research by naming the subject interviewed, using the capitalized first initial. For survey research, use your own name, as the designer of the survey.

    • 2

      Follow the first initial by a period, for both interview and survey, then add the last name with the first letter capitalized, followed by a comma.

    • 3

      For an interview, enter "personal communication," followed by a comma. For a survey, enter "survey," followed by a comma.

    • 4

      Add the date in the format of the full month name, then add a comma. Add the day as a two-digit number, then add a comma, followed by the year as a four-digit number. Enclose the type of event and the date in a set of parentheses. The final in-text citation, when worked into the text of your writing, appears as follows. For an interview (using the subject's name) write something like this: "J. Doe (personal communication, January, 01, 1999) observed a pattern." For a survey (using your name), write something like this: "N. Doe (survey, January 01, 1999) observed a pattern."

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