Referencing Styles

A guide to the reference styles used at the University of St Andrews

What you need to include and types of books

Book references include:

  • Author(s) or Editor(s)
  • Year of publication
  • Title (italicised)
  • (Edition statement)
  • Publisher

Ebook references include:

  • Author(s) / Editor(s)
  • Year of Publication
  • Title (italicised)
  • (Edition Statement)
  • Publisher
  • DOI or URL

 

Fields marked in blue are only included where the source contains that information.

Where the reference takes up multiple lines, indent the reference from the second line. The reference list should have double-line spacing.

The basic in-text citation format is:

(Author surname, year, p.)

The basic reference format is:

Author, A.A. (Year). Title of book (Edition). Publication data.

In-text citation:

(Esgate et al., 2005, p. 42)

Reference list entry:

Esgate, A., Groome, D., & Baker, K. (2005). An introduction to applied cognitive psychology. Psychology Press.

DOIs and URLs:

  • If an ebook has a DOI give this;
  • If an ebook has a DOI and a URL give the DOI;
  • If an ebook has no DOI use the URL only when the URL will resolve for the reader (copy the URL you have)
  • If an ebook has a URL which won't resolve for the reader don't include it, treat the ebook in the same way as a print book.  E.g.This will be the case for ebooks on the EBSCO platform).  Check the links within your word document to see if they resolve.

In-text citation:

(Boutang & De Lara, 2016, p. 68)

Reference list entry:

Boutang, J., & De Lara, M. (2016).  The biased mind: how evolution shaped our psychology including anecdotes and tips for making sound decisions. Springer. https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.st-andrews.ac.uk/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-16519-6

  • In-text citations are within parenthesis, and contain the author(s) surname(s) and year of publication. The page number is given if you are referring to a specific page/section, always give page numbers if you are quoting. If you refer to the authors within your text, only the date is needed in your in-text citation. If you refer to the year in your text, only the author(s) is needed in your in-text citation.
  • Ensure you include all the punctuation required in your reference.
  • For multiple authors follow the advice in the Author Rules tab, paying attention to the use of commas, ampersand, and ellipses.  Surname is followed with a comma, a space, then the initials.  No space is given between initials when more than one is needed for an author's forename.
  • (Date) is always within parenthesis, and followed with a "."
  • Title is always italicised, edition statement, where needed, is added in parenthesis and abbreviated, eg. (2nd ed.) and followed with a "."
  • For print resources a full-stop is given at the end of the reference.
  • For e-books provide  the doi or URL, only provide a URL when it will resolve, if the link won't resolve treat the ebook in the same way as a print book.  No full-stop is used when you enter a DOI or a URL.
  • The second and subsequent lines of each reference should be indented.  
  • The reference list should be double line spaced.

APA basic book reference example step-by-step

Book example - Step 1: Give the first author

Esgate, A.,

Book example - Step 2: Add the second author

Esgate, A., Groome, D.,

Book example - Step 3: Add the third author

Esgate, A., Groome, D., & Baker, K.

Book example - Step 4: Add the year in parenthesis

Esgate, A., Groome, D., & Baker, K. (2005).

Book example - Step 5: Add the title in italics

Esgate, A., Groome, D., & Baker, K. (2015). An introduction to applied cognitive psychology. 

Book example - Step 6: Add the Publisher.

Esgate, A., Groomer, D., & Baker, K. (2015). An introduction to applied cognitive psychology.

→ Psychology Press.

Book Example - Formatting: References longer than one line use hanging indents

Esgate, A., Groomer, D., & Baker, K. (2015). An introduction to applied cognitive psychology.

→  Psychology Press.