APA 6th referencing style

NB: This guide will be removed from the library website after the 13th February.  Please use the APA 7th guide.

The “APA style” is an author-date style for citing and referencing information in assignments and publications. This guide is based on the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association" 6th edition (2010).

Always check with your lecturer or tutor about the bibliographic style preferred by the School. There may be differences in the style recommended by the School.

It is important to understand the basics of referencing and why it is important. 

A referencing style is a set of rules on how to acknowledge the thoughts, ideas and works of others in a particular way. Different types of sources eg. books, articles, each have a specific format, determined by the referencing style you are using.

Referencing is a crucial part of successful academic writing, avoiding plagiarism and maintaining academic integrity in your assignments and research.

Watch Introduction to referencing (YouTube 3m43s) to learn about the basics of referencing.

Many types of publication examples have been provided in this guide. If you cannot find the example you need, you can:

• consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) or APA Style Sixth Edition Resources
• view the reference lists of articles in publications that use view the reference lists of articles in publications that use APA such as American Psychological Association journals (check which APA edition used) 
• consult the Instructions to authors, if writing for a journal
• type the title of the item into Library Search to see if it has a suggested citation
• adapt the rules of a similar publication type to the item
• consult other institutions’ style guides or with your tutor or course coordinator.

To print or save this guide:

1. Go to the print version of the guide
2. Click Print Page at the end of this page or use your browser’s Print tool.

This guide was updated on 30 June 2023.

This short quiz will:

• allow you to check your understanding and avoid some common mistakes when using APA 6th referencing style
• take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete
• open in a pop-up window. You may need to enable pop-ups in your browser settings

 
Contact us if you have any questions or need assistance with the quiz.