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Criminology: APA Style

Introduction

This guide has been updated to reflect the 7th Edition of the APA Manual.
The 7th Edition was published in October 2019. A handout with the major changes in the new editions is linked below. At the bottom of this page is a section on the 6th Edition for those who have not transferred to the 7th.

APA is the style and citation guide for Nursing, Psychology, Criminal Justice, Business, Human Resources, Education and other social sciences. 

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Citing Social Media and Current Events

TikToc Video Citation

  • Present the name of the individual or group author the same as you would for any other reference. Then provide the TikTok handle (beginning with the @ sign) in square brackets, followed by a period.
  • Provide the specific date of the post.
  • Provide the first 20 words of the caption as the title. Count a URL or other link, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. Do not italicize emojis.
  • Include the description “[Video]” in square brackets after the title.
  • Credit TikTok as the site name in the source element and then provide the URL of the video.

Source: American Psychological Association. (2020). TikTok references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/tiktok-references

Instagram Photo Citation

  • Present the name of the individual or group author the same as you would for any other reference. Then provide the Instagram handle (beginning with the @ sign) in square brackets, followed by a period.
  • Provide the specific date of the post.
  • Provide the first 20 words of the post as the title. Count a URL, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. Do not italicize emojis.
  • Include a description of the post (e.g., “[Photo],” “[Video]”) in square brackets after the title.
  • Credit Instagram as the site name in the source element and then provide the URL of the photo.

American Psychological Association. (2021). Instagram references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/instagram-references

Facebook Post Citation

  • Use the name associated with the account as the name in the reference.
  • Provide the specific date of the post.
  • Provide the first 20 words of the post as the title. Count a URL or other link, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. Do not italicize emojis.
  • If a post includes images, videos, thumbnail links to outside sources, or content from another post (such as when sharing a link), indicate that in square brackets.
  • Describe the post type (e.g., “[Status update],” “[Video]”) in square brackets after any description of attached content.
  • Credit Facebook as the site name in the source element and then provide the URL of the post.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Facebook references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/facebook-references

Tweet Citation

  • Present the name of the individual or group author the same as you would for any other reference. Then provide the Twitter handle (beginning with the @ sign) in square brackets, followed by a period.
  • In the case of a group identified by an abbreviation (as with the CDC example), use the group name as shown on the work, to aid in retrieval.
  • Provide the specific date of the post.
  • Provide the first 20 words of the tweet as the title, in italics. Count a URL, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. Do not italicize emojis.
  • If the tweet includes an image, a video, a poll, or a thumbnail image with a link, indicate that in brackets after the title: [Image attached], [Video attached], [Thumbnail with link attached].
  • Include the description “[Tweet]” in square brackets after the title.
  • Credit Twitter as the site name in the source element and then provide the URL of the tweet.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Twitter references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/twitter-references

Podcast Episode Citation

  • List the host(s) of the podcast episode as the author. Alternatively, provide the executive producers, if known. In either case, include their role in parentheses.
  • Provide the specific date on which the podcast episode first aired.
  • Provide the episode number after the episode title in parentheses. If the podcast does not number episodes (as with the Webster & Abumrad example), omit the episode number from the reference. Do not italicize the episode title or the episode number.
  • Specify the type of podcast episode in square brackets, for example: [Audio podcast episode], [Video podcast episode].
  • Write the word "In" and then the title of the podcast in italics.
  • In general, end the reference with the URL of the episode. If the URL of the podcast episode is unknown (e.g., if accessed via an app), omit the URL from the reference.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Reference examples. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples

Online Forum Post Citation

  • When the real name of the author is known, provide it first, in inverted format, followed by the screen name in brackets, as in the example.
  • When the real name of the author is not known, provide only the screen name without brackets.
  • Provide the title of the post in the title position, up to the first 20 words.
  • End with the site name (e.g., Reddit) and the URL of the post.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Online forum references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/online-forum-references

YouTube Video Citation

  • Use the name of the account that uploaded the video as the author.
  • If the account did not actually create the work, explain this in the text if it is important for readers to know. However, if that would mean citing a source that appears unauthoritative, you might also look for the author’s YouTube channel, official website, or other social media to see whether the same video is available elsewhere.
  • To cite the words of individuals featured in a video, name or describe the individual(s) in your sentence in the text and then provide a parenthetical citation for the video. For example, the Asian Boss video is an interview with the director general of the International Vaccine Institute; you should provide details about who spoke and what they said in the text of the sentence and then cite the video using the parenthetical citation shown.
  • Provide the specific date on which the video was uploaded.
  • Italicize the title of the video.
  • Include the description “[Video]” in square brackets after the title.
  • Provide the site name (YouTube) and URL of the video.

American Psychological Association. (2020). YouTube references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/youtube-references

Film or Movie Citation

  • Provide the director in the author element of the reference, followed by the notation “(Director).”
  • Provide the production company or companies in the source element of the reference. Separate multiple production companies with a semicolon.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Film and television references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/film-television-references

Episode of a TV Show

  • Include the writers and directors for the episode. Include the contributor’s role in parentheses after each name.
  • If one person performed multiple roles, combine the descriptions with an ampersand.
  • Provide the season number and episode number after the title in parentheses.
  • Provide the production company or companies in the source element of the reference. Separate multiple production companies with a semicolon.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Film and television references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/film-television-references

TED Talk from the TED website

  • When the TED Talk comes from TED’s website, use the name of the speaker as the author.
  • Provide as specific a date as possible; in the example, only the year and month are available.
  • Include the description “[Video]” in square brackets after the title of the talk.
  • Credit TED Conferences as the publisher of the TED Talk and then provide the URL.

American Psychological Association. (2020). TED talk references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/ted-talk-references

Webpage on a News Website Citation

  • Use this format for articles from news websites. Common examples are BBC News, BET News, Bloomberg, CNN, HuffPost, MSNBC, Reuters, Salon, and Vox. These sites do not have associated daily or weekly newspapers.
  • Use the newspaper article category for articles from newspaper websites such as The New York Times or The Washington Post.
  • Provide the writer as the author.
  • Provide the specific date the story was published.
  • Provide the title of the news story in italic sentence case.
  • List the name of the news website in the source element of the reference.
  • End the reference with the URL.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Webpage on a website references. http://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/webpage-website-references

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Subjects: Criminal Justice