If there is no date use 'n.d.' (for 'no date') in both the in text citation and the reference list.
In text:
In the late 1950s, white Australians became more aware of indigenous living conditions reported in the news (National Museum Australia, n.d.).
The civil rights movements started to gain momentum in Australia as "events in the late 1950s brought the sufferings of the few into the living rooms of the many" (National Museum Australia, n.d.).
In the reference list:
National Museum of Australia. (n.d.). The fight for civil rights. https://indigenousrights.net.au/civil_rights
Regarding reference list order:
If you have several works by the same author, and one of the works has no date but the other works are dated, (n.d.) is treated as the oldest work for ordering your references
If you have multiple citations from the same author which also do not have a date, you will follow the same instructions as you would if there was a date: order the citations in your reference list alphabetically by title, and place an "a", "b", etc after the date.
National Museum of Australia (n.d.-a). Nelson the Newfoundland's dog collar. https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/nelson-the-newfoundlands-dog-collar
National Museum of Australia. (n.d.-b). Newcastle bakery cart. https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/newcastle-bakery-cart
Using n.d. for open-dated sources:
In APA 7th edition, it is recommended to use n.d. for sources that are constantly changing, such as social media pages and updating services. When using n.d., for open-dated sources you will need to included a "Retrieved" date.
E.g.:
James Cook University Library [JCU Library]. (n.d.). Library and Information Services [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved June 11, 2019, from https://www.facebook.com/JCULibrary
I'm using APA style, and I am citing a work that does not have page numbers. How do I give an in-text reference when I should have a page number, but there aren't any?
When giving an in-text citation for a work in APA, you should always include a page number or pin-point for a direct quote. It is not strictly necessary for paraphrased information, but might be required or desired by your lecturer (check with your lecturer). This information regards giving a pin-point reference for works that do not have page numbers.
If the work is relatively short (for example, a simple web page) and does not use section headings, use a paragraph number instead of a page number. For example, if the information is in the 5th paragraph on the website, use para. 5.
The colour maroon "has traditionally been associated with Queensland sport" (Queensland Government, 2017, para. 3).
For works that have section headings, use the section heading. If the amount of text under the section heading is particularly long, use a section heading and a paragraph number. In this case, the paragraphs are numbered within the section - so para. 5 is the fifth paragraph in the section, not in the document.
The Cooktown orchid "requires a well-drained, sunny position, protected from cold winds" (Queensland Government, 2017, About the Cooktown orchid section).
Flag protocols specifically state you should not fly the flag upside down, "even as a signal of distress" (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, n.d., Flying the flag section, para. 12).
Format the section heading in sentence case, beginning with a capital letter.
Provide a time stamp for video and audio material.
Cattleya orchids need to be planted off-center in a pot as the plants have "a back and a front" (Gardening Australia, 2020, 3:35).
For a work with canonically numbered sections such as classical plays, some poetry and scripture, use the appropriate canonical numbering. For example: chapter and verse for scripture; act, scene and line for a play. Do not include the words "chapter", "verse", "act", "scene", etc. just the numbers.
John, more than Paul, emphasises the importance of love in early Christian teaching: "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (New King James Version, 1982, 1 John 4:8).
Polonius, although often regarded as a clown, is the play's philosopher, extoling "This above all: to thine own self be true, / And it must follow,as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be fals to any man" (Shakespeare, 1623/n.d., 1:3.84-86).
(N.B.: Classical works are often republished works, and are therefore cited with a double date - the date the orginal work was published, and the date the copy you have cited was published. In the Shakespeare example used above, the original work was published in 1623, but was reproduced on a website with no date, which is why the second date was given as n.d.).
If you are citing a work that should include page numbers in the reference list entry (e.g. journal article, book chapter, conference proceeding, etc.) but there are no page numbers in the source, skip the missing information and move to the next part of the pattern. For journal articles with article numbers (e.g. e02003), use this in the place of page numbers in the reference list.
For example:
Smith, R. P., Easson, C., Lyle, S. M., Kapoor, R., Donnelly, C. P., Davidson, E. J., Parikh, E., Lopez, J. V., & Tartar, J. L. (2019). Gut microbiome diversity is associated with sleep physiology in humans. PLOS ONE, 14(10), Article e0222394. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222394
Please note: Unless you are studying literature or history, (or a similar subject in which long quotes might be necessary or desirable), it is highly unlikely that your lecturer will want you to use long quotations. Most subjects taught in JCU prefer you to paraphrase the information rather than provide lengthy quotes. Check with your lecturer if you are not sure.
Quotes of less than 40 words:
enter the quote in "double quotation marks" within the text with the in-text citation going before the final full stop (APA, 2010, p. 92).
Quotes with more than 40 words:
Enter the quote in an indented block without "quotation marks" with the in-text citation appearing after the final full stop (APA, 2010, p. 92).
For example:
It has been pointed out that:
If the quote has 40 words or more, display it in a freestanding block of text and omit the quotation marks. Start such a block quotation on a new line and indent the block about a half inch [1.27cm] from the left margin (in the same position as a new paragraph). If there are additional paragraphs within the quotation, indent the first line of each additional paragraph an additional half inch [1.27cm]....At the end of a block quotation, cite the quoted source and the page or the paragraph number in parentheses [brackets] after the final punctuation mark. Alternatively, if the quoted source is cited in the sentence introducing the block quote..., only the page or paragraph number is needed at the end of the quotation. (APA, 2010, p. 171)
The APA Blog has provided some more examples of how to layout a block quote. Please note, this document is for APA 6th edition.
In text citation:
If the name of the organisation first appears in a narrative citation, include the abbreviation before the year in brackets, separated with a comma. Use the official acronym/abreviation if you can find it. Otherwise check with your lecturer for permission to create your own acronyms.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2013) shows that...
The Queensland Department of Education (DoE, 2020) encourages students to... (please note, Queensland isn't part of the department's name, it is used in the sentence to provide clarity)
If the name of the organisation first appears in a citation in brackets, include the abbreviation in square brackets.
(Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2013)
(Department of Education [DoE], 2020)
In the second and subsequent citations, only include the abbreviation or acronym
ABS (2013) found that ...
DoE (2020) instructs teachers to...
This is disputed (ABS, 2013).
Resources are designed to support "emotional learning pedagogy" (DoE, 2020)
In the reference list:
Use the full name of the organisation in the reference list.
Example:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2017). Australia's welfare 2017. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/australias-welfare-2017/contents/table-of-contents
Department of Education. (2020, April 22). Respectful relationships education program. Queensland Government. https://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/stages-of-schooling/respectful-relationships
Manuscript in Preparation (not yet finished)
Cite and reference using the year the draft of the manuscript you read was written. After the title, describe the status of the work in square brackets. Include the department and institution where the work was produced if possible.
Kirk, J. T. (2011). Reprogramming the Kobayashi Maru test: A tale of an inside job and the genius behind it [Manuscript in preparation]. Department of Psychology, James Cook University.
Manuscript Submitted for Publication (not yet accepted)
If the manuscript has been submitted for publication, again use the year the manuscript was written (not the year it was submitted) as your date. Also, do not provide the name of the journal or publisher to which the manuscript was submitted.
Castle, R. (2012). Shadowing a police officer: How to be unobtrusive while solving cases in spectacular fashion [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department of Criminology, James Cook University.
Manuscript Accepted for Publication
Once an article is accepted for publication, the status changes to in press and you can include the name of the journal in the reference.
Castle, R. (in press). Shadowing a police officer: How to be unobtrusive while solving cases in spectacular fashion. Professional Writers’ Journal.
Advance Online Publication
Provide the author(s), year of posting, title of the article, name of the journal, the notation Advance online publication, and the DOI or the URL of the journal’s home page.
Muldoon, K., Towse, J., Simms, V., Perra, O., & Menzies, V. (2012). A longitudinal analysis of estimation, counting skills, and mathematical ability across the first school year. Developmental Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028240
For more details, please see the APA Style Blog.
If you are referring to the same work multiple times in one paragraph, and no other works, you do not need to put a complete in-text citation for every single clause or sentence as long as it is clear that you are still talking about the same information from the same work.
At the beginning of the discussion of the work, you will need to put a full citation. If you have already used a date for a narrative citation, then you can refer to the author by name without the date for subsequent narrative citations. However, all parenthetical citations must have both the author's name and year. You should also include some in-text citations throughout the paragraph for any sentence that does not make it clear you are still referring to the same work. Include a full in-text citation at the end of the paragraph.
Example:
Among epidemiological samples, Wagtail (2003) found that early onset social anxiety disorder results in a more potent and severe course. Wagtail also found …. It can also be seen in Wagtail’s study that … Wagtail confirmed that ... The study also showed that there was a high rate of cat related incidents (Wagtail, 2003).
However, if you are citing more than one work in the paragraph, you will need to use full and correct citations for every sentence or clause where the information from those works has been used.
Same author and date
In the reference list:
Order the references in the reference list alphabetically by title (excluding 'A' or 'The'). Assign the letters after the date according to their order in the reference list (not the order of appearance in text).
Longley, L. (2008a). Anaesthesia and analgesia in rabbits and rodents. In Practice, 30(2), 92-97. https://doi.org/10.1136/inpract.30.2.92
Longley, L. (2008b). Clinical refresher: Intubation of rabbits. Companion Animal, 13(5), 68-70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-3862.2008.tb00289.x
In text citation:
Longley (2008a) notes that many small animals are susceptible to...
"Positioning of the rabbit is paramount to the technique of intubation" (Longley, 2008b, p. 68).
…the use of a laryngoscope (Longley, 2008a, 2008b).
Different authors, same surname, different first initial:
If the reference list includes two or more primary authors with the same surname, order the references alphabetically by the first author's first initial.
Smith, K. T. (2017). Hospital marketing and communications via social media. Services Marketing Quarterly, 38(3), 187-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332969.2017.1363518
Smith, S. A., & Brunner, S. R. (2016). The great whoosh: Connecting an online personal health narrative and communication privacy management. Health Communication, 31(1), 12-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2014.930551
Include the first author's initials in all in-text citations, even if the years are different:
…including the use of social media (K. T. Smith, 2017).
…such as online health narratives (S. A. Smith & Brunner, 2016).
Different authors with the same surname and the same first intial:
In the reference list:
If multiple first authors share the same surname and the same initials arrange it by the year of publication.
Multiple-author entries with the same first author and different subsequent authors should be arranged alphabetically by the surname of the second author (refer to the APA manual, 7th edition, p. 305).
Jones, L., & Mays, N. (2016). The experience of potentially vulnerable people during cold weather: Implications for policy and practice. Public Health, 137, 20-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2015.12.008
Jones, L., & Tanner, T. (2017). ‘Subjective resilience’: Using perceptions to quantify household resilience to climate extremes and disasters. Regional Environmental Change, 17(1), 229-243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-0995-2
In text citation:
Cite the works in the standard author-date format (APA, 2020, p. 267)
Jones and Tanner (2017) show that...
...and associated health implications (Jones & Mays, 2016).
Academically, it is better to find the original source and reference that.
If you do have to quote a secondary source:
In text citation:
Wembley (1997, as cited in Olsen, 1999) argues that impending fuel shortages ...
Wembley claimed that "fuel shortages are likely" (1997, as cited in Olsen, 1999, pp. 10-12).
Some have noted that fuel shortages are probable in the future (Wembley, 1997, as cited in Olsen, 1999).
In the reference list:
Olsen, M. (1999). My career. Gallimard.
You need to cite all the sources you have used in a sentence.
If you wish to put two or more in-text citations in the same brackets, they go in the same order that they appear in the reference list (i.e. alphabetically and then, if the names are the same, by year).
Separate the in-text citations by different authors with a semicolon ; and a space. Two works by the same author are separated by a comma.
(Drongo, 2014; Frogmouth et al., 2000).
(Drongo, 2014, p. 5; Frogmouth et al., 2000, p. 12).
(Drongo, 2014; Frogmouth et al., 2000; Sunbird & Jay, 2010, 2012).
If you have multiple works by the same author, use a comma to "stack" the years within the same citation:
(Longley, 2008a, 2008b; Smith, 2014, 2016).
If a work has no title (such as an image or a set of raw data) put a brief description of the work in [brackets] in the place of the title (do not italicise). Always lead with the type of work, and then briefly provide more information if necessary (e.g., Photograph of... Hand-drawn map showing...).
For example:
Bryan, S. (2019). [Photograph of a book display]. http://www.boringphotos.com.au
McBurnie, B. (2015, May 4). [Interview given as part of the White Gloves series]. https://www.abc.net.au/radio/northqld/
Please note, artworks without a specific title may be given the title Untitled (or Untitled III, for example, if part of a series). This is the official title of the work. You may wish to include a description of the work with the title. You should always include a brief description of the type of work (e.g., Photograph, Painting, Sculpture, Infographic), for an artistic work.
For example, either of these would be correct:
Chapple, R. (1991). Untitled [Sculpture of an abstract form]. James Cook University Library, Townsville, Australia.
Chapple, R. (1991). Untitled [Sculpture]. James Cook University Library, Townsville, Australia.
I'm looking at a source that is in a foreign language and does not have an English version. How do I cite it?
Note: this advice is for works in their original language that have have not been published in translation. For a published translation, cite the work as a translated work.
When referencing you must give the details that will enable someone to find that work if they wish to see it, as well as provide details to help your reader understand what the work is. Providing a translation of a title without the original may make it harder to find, providing the title without a translation may make it harder to understand. Therefore, you give both.
For works in a foreign language, give the referencing details in the original language and provide a translation of the title in square brackets after the title.
For example:
Desmarais, M.-É., Rousseau, N., & Stanké, B. (2020). La mise en œuvre des principes de flexibilité de la pédagogie universelle: Une étude de cas en contexte universitaire québécois [The implementation of the principles of flexibility of universal pedagogy: A case study in a Quebec university context]. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue Canadienne de l’éducation, 43(4), 918–952. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27089207
Dürscheid, C., & Lippuner, P. (2022). Der Hash im Hashtag: Zur Geschichte eines multifunktionalen Zeichens [The hash in the hashtag: On the history of a multifunctional sign]. Zeitschrift Für Germanistische Linguistik, 50(3), 475-498. https://doi.org/10.1515/zgl-2022-2023
Risberg, L. (2022). Mis on peidus sõnaraamatu tähendussoovituste tagahoovis? Eesti omasõnade käsitlus [What's hiding in the backyard of the dictionary's meaning suggestions? Treatment of Estonian proper nouns]. Eesti Ja Soome-Ugri Keeleteaduse Ajakiri: Journal of Estonian and Finno-Ugric Linguistics, 13(2), 185–214. https://doi.org/10.12697/jeful.2022.13.2.06
Viires, A. (2009). Puud ja inimesed [Trees and people]. Ilmamaa.
Notes:
If the language uses a different alphabet (e.g. Chinese, Korean, Russian, Greek, etc.), transliterate it into a Roman script (advice on transliterating into Roman script can be found in the Library of Congress Romanization Tables).
Russian Federal Space Agency. (n.d.). Marsokhod "ĖkzoMars-2020" [Mars rover "ExoMars-2020"]. http://exomars.cosmos.ru/index.php?id=1&L=0
This must always be done for the author names (try to find an existing transliteration, if possible), however sometimes it is not possible or desirable to transliterate the title, in which case, leave the title in it's original language:
Kim, H. (2020). 쉿,: 김흥숙 시산문집 [Shh,: Kim Heung-sook poetry and prose]. Seoul Selection.
Lee, A. (2000). 臥虎藏龍 [Crouching tiger, hidden dragon] [Film]. Asia Union Film& Entertainment; China Film Co-Production Corporation; Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia; Edko Films; Good Machine; Prosperity Pictures; Sony Pictures Classics; United China Vision; Zoom Hunt International Productions.
How do I refer to these works in text?
APA recommends that you paraphrase works that are in another language, rather than quoting. Always use a page number for your in-text citations so readers can find the original text.
If directly quoting the original language, use quotation marks as you would normally and provide a paraphrased explanation of the quote.
For example:
A tweet viewed via a hashtag may be decontextualised, and it might not be thematically appropriate in the new context (Dürscheid & Lippuner, 2022, p. 477).
Dürscheid and Lippuner (2022) noted that tweets that have been decontextualised through a hashtag are not necessarily "thematisch passend" (thematically appropriate) in the new context (p. 477).
If you are providing longer quotes in the original language, and offering a translation, rather than a brief paraphrase/clarification, place your translation in square brackets:
While they are often used interchangeably, "Hash und Hashtag sind also nicht dasselbe" [hash and hashtag are not the same thing] (Dürscheid & Lippuner, 2022, p. 476).
What if I did not read the original language, but used a service or a program to translate it into English?
If you had the work translated for you by a person or a service, but that translation is not publically available, only include the details for the published version (the foreign language original) in your reference list.
In text, make note of the fact that you used a translation. Ideally, this will be noted in the methodology section of your paper, and then you can just cite the work in text as above. However, if you cannot incorporate a mention of the translation in your text, you can add a note in your in-text citation.
Use "translated from the original [insert language] work" for paraphrasing, or "translated verbatim from the original [insert language] work" for direct quotes of word-for-word translations.
A tweet viewed via a hashtag may be decontextualised, and it might not be thematically appropriate in the new context (Dürscheid & Lippuner, 2022, p. 477; translated from the original German work).
Dürscheid and Lippuner (2022) noted a tweet that has been decontextualised through a hashtag is not necessarily "thematically appropriate in the new context" (p. 477; translated verbatim from the original German work).
If you translated the work using a program, such as Google Translate or an AI program, make a note of it in your in-text citation. For example:
A tweet viewed via a hashtag may be decontextualised, and it might not be thematically appropriate in the new context (Dürscheid & Lippuner, 2022, p. 477; translated from the original German work with Google Translate).
Dürscheid and Lippuner (2022) noted a tweet that has been decontextualised through a hashtag is not necessarily "thematically appropriate in the new context" (p. 477; translated verbatim from the original German work with Google Translate).
Transliterate author's names for in-text citations, just as you do for the reference list.
Right: (Kim, 2020)
Wrong: (김흥숙, 2020)
We acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and acknowledge Traditional Owners of the lands where our staff and students, live, learn and work.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License, unless otherwise noted. Content from this Guide should be attributed to James Cook University Library. This does not apply to images, third party material (seek permission from the original owner) or any logos or insignia belonging to JCU or other bodies, which remain All Rights Reserved.
