The purpose of citation is to give credit to the original source and allow your readers to find and verify the information you have used. According to the APA style guidelines, you should cite the source within the text of your paper, using an in-text citation, and include a complete reference list at the end of your paper.
The specific format of the in-text citation and the reference list entry will depend on the type of source you are citing (e.g., book, journal article, website, etc.) and the specific information you are citing (e.g., author, title, publication date, etc.).
Here are some examples of how to cite different types of sources in APA style:
- Book:
- In-text citation: (Author, Year)
- Reference list entry:
- Author, A. A. (Year). _Title of the book._ Publisher.
- Journal article:
- In-text citation: (Author, Year)
- Reference list entry:
- Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. _Journal Title,_ _Volume_(Issue), Page numbers.
- Website:
- In-text citation: (Author or Organization, Year)
- Reference list entry:
- Organization or Author. (Year, Month Day). _Title of the web page_. Retrieved from _URL_
- Personal communication:
- In-text citation: (Personal communication, Name of the individual, Year)
- No reference list entry needed since it's not retrievable by the readers.
It's important to note that these are just a few examples, and there are many other types of sources that you might need to cite. For a more comprehensive guide to APA style, I recommend referring to the official APA Publication Manual.