Menu

Note. Scroll up to view more topics.
Home Contact Us
STUDY SKILLS
Skills of effective study Making study-notes Group Discussion How to concentrate Developing interest in study Making preparation for exam Test Taking Strategies How to relieve Exam stress? Time Management for studies Attempting Computer-based Exam How to sharpen your brain? Causes of failure in Exam Exam-format-wise Preparation Parents’ Role in Child’s Education How to improve memory power?
ENGLISH BASICS
Noun and its Types Countable and Uncountable Nouns Clause Types of Clauses Phrase Types of Phrases Phrase & Clause - Difference Verb - Formation & forms of Verbs Main Verb and Auxiliary Verb Transitive and Intransitive Verb Adjective Comparative and Superlative Adverb - Use & Formation Types of Adverb Pronoun Types of Pronoun Prepositional Verb Coordinating & Subordinating Conjunctions English Tenses Active & Passive Voice Direct & Indirect Narration
TEST PREPARATION
IELTS Exam Preparation Guide CSS Exam, Pakistan NTS Test (NAT-I, II & GAT) GRE General Test MCAT - Medical College Aptitude Test
Entertainment - Funny Jokes
Related Topics
Referencing and Citation in Research Bibliography & References- Difference How to write a Research Proposal Steps in Social Research Quantitative Vs Qualitative Research Referencing and Citation in Research Identification of Research Problem Formulation of Research Problem Hypothesis and its Types Sampling and its Types

APA and MLA Referencing Styles - Guide

A researcher needs to cite the external sources (e.g., book, research paper, reports) used for writing a research paper, report, or thesis. Each external source is cited at two places within the prepared document, as follows:

In-text citation (within the text)
Reference List / Bibliography (at the end report or publication)

The two known and widely accepted styles for citation and refences are as follows:

APA Style (American Psychological Association) – mostly used in Psychology, Education Sociology, and other social sciences.
MLA Style (Modern Language Association) – mostly used in Humanities.

Both the above styles have slightly different formats, but both use the following information for writing references.

Name of Author
Title of book/report/article/publication
Year of Publication
Place of Publication
Name of Publisher
Page Number
Edition Number

The formats for writing a reference according to APA and MLA Styles are as follows:

APA Style	MLA Style
Format: Last name of author, Initial of first name. (Year in parenthesis). Title of book in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher In-text citation: (Last name of author, Year)	Format: Last name of author, First name. Title of book in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication In-text citation: (Last name of author Year)
Book with one author Burton, J. (1990). Conflict - Human Needs Theory. London: Macmillan. In-text citation: (Burton, 1990) *Note.* Page number can also be added to above reference as follows: Burton, J. (1990). Conflict - Human Needs Theory (pp. 43 -47). London: Macmillan. *Note.* Similarly edition number can also be added to above reference as follows: Burton, J. (1990). Conflict - Human Needs Theory (pp. 43 -47, 3rd ed). London: Macmillan.	Book with one author Burton, John. Conflict - Human Needs Theory. London: Macmillan, 1990. In-text citation: (Burton 1990) *Note.* Page number can also be added to above reference as follows: Burton, John. Conflict - Human Needs Theory, 43 – 47. London: Macmillan, 1990. *Note.* Similarly edition number can also be added to above reference as follows: Burton, John. Conflict - Human Needs Theory, 43 – 47, 3rd ed. London: Macmillan, 1990.
Book with two authors Hobson, A., & Clarke, J. (1997). The Power of Passion. Alberta: Everests Inc. In-text citation: (Hobson & Clarke, 1997)	Book with two authors Hobson, Allan., and Clarke, Jammie. The Power of Passion. Alberta: Everests Inc, 1997. In-text citation: (Hobson and Clarke, 1997)
Book with three authors Maltby, J., Day, L. & Macaskill, A. (2013). Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence. London: Longman. In-text citation: (Maltby, Day, & Macaskil, 2013) or: (Malby et al., 2013) Note: The Latin phrase ‘et al’ means ‘and others’.	Book with three authors Maltby, J., Day, L. and Macaskill, Ann. (2013). Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence. London: Longman. In-text citation: (Maltby, Day, and Macaskil 2013) or: (Malby et al. 2013) Note: The Latin phrase ‘et al’ means ‘and others’.
Book with more than three authors Arrow, K., Mnookin, R., Ross, L., Tversky, A., & Wilson, R. (1995). Barriers To Conflict Resolution. London: Norton. In-text Citation: (Arrow, Mnookin, Ross, Tversky & Wilson, 1995) or: (Arrow et al., 1995)	Book with more than three authors Arrow, Kenneth., Mnookin, Robert., Ross, Lee., Tversky, Amos., and Wilson, Robert. Barriers To Conflict Resolution. London: Norton, 1995. In-text Citation: (Arrow, Mnookin, Ross, Tversky and Wilson 1995) or: (Arrow et al. 1995)
An article from a journal Format: Last name of Author, First name. (Year Publication). Title of Article. Title of Journal in italics, Volume(Issue number), Page numbers. Pearlstein, B. (2007). Dispute Resolution Through Private Alternatives. Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 22(3), 741-755.	An article from a journal Format: Last name of Author, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal in italics Volume.Issue number (Year Publication): Page numbers Pearlstein, B. “Dispute Resolution Through Private Alternatives.” Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 22.3 (2007): 741-755.
An article from an online journal Format: Last name of Author, First name. (Year Publication). Title of Article. Title of Journal in italics, Volume(Issue number), Page numbers, doi: XX.XXXXX or Retrieved from journal URL Pearlstein, B. (2007). Dispute Resolution Through Private Alternatives. Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 22(3), 741-755, Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1811/77133.	An article from an online journal Format: Last name of Author, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal in italics Volume.Issue number (Year Publication): Page numbers, Website Title. Web. Date Month Year Accessed. Pearlstein, B. “Dispute Resolution Through Private Alternatives.” Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 22.3 (2007): 741-755. OSO.EDU. Web 14 April. 2017.
A page from website Format: Last name, First name. (year, month, date). Title of page. Title of website. Retrieved from URL David, J. (2017, March 23). Psychological Theory of Personality. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org /wiki /Psychoanalytic_theory. If the author of webpage is not listed. Psychological Theory of Personality. (2017, March 23). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org /wiki /Psychoanalytic_theory.	A page from website Format: Last name, First name. Title of page. Title of website, Web. Date Month. Year. David, John. Psychological Theory of Personality. Wikipedia, Web. 23 March. 2017 If the author of webpage is not listed. Psychological Theory of Personality. Wikipedia, Web. 23 March. 2017.
Government Document/Official report Format: Name of the organization. (Year of Publication). Title of the report in italics. Place: Publisher World Health Organization. (2014). Global Status report on Non-communicable Diseases. Geneva: WHO Press. In-text citation: (World Health Organization, 2014)	Government Document/Official report Format: Name of the organization. Title of the report in italics. Place: Publisher, Year of Publication World Health Organization. Global Status report on Non-communicable Diseases. Geneva: WHO Press, 2014. In-text citation: (World Health Organization 2014)
An interview which you conducted Format: Last name of interviewee, first name. (Year, Month, date). Interview Type David, J. (2017, May 13). Personal Communication. In-text Citation: (David, Personal Communication, 13 May 2017)	An interview which you conducted Format: Last name of interviewee, first name. (Year, Month, date). Interview Type David, J. Personal Communication. 13 May. 2017. In-text Citation: (David, Personal Communication 13 May 2017)
Encyclopedia John, H. (2009). The Encyclopedia of Zoology. Lahore: Dogars Press. An article in the Encyclopedia: John, H. (2009). Food Chain. In The Encyclopedia of Zoology. Lahore: Dogars Press.	Encyclopedia John, Home. The Encyclopedia of Zoology. Lahore: Dogars Press, 2009. An article in the Encyclopedia: John, Home. Food Chain. In The Encyclopedia of Zoology. Lahore: Dogars Press, 2009.
Dictionary Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. (2005). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A term in dictionary e.g. Metamorphosis Metamorphosis. (2005). In Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Retrieved from http://www.oxfordlearners dictionaries.com /metamorphosis	Dictionary Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. A term in dictionary e.g. Metamorphosis Metamorphosis. (2005). In Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Web. 14 April, 2017 (Access date)
Youtube or Podcast (online video) Hersh, D. (2013 December 5). Alternate Dispute Resolution. [Youtube]. Retreived from https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=5IfPqPIPSmI.	Youtube or Podcast (online video) Hersh, David. Alternate Dispute Resolution. Youtube, 5 December 2013. Web. 15 May, 2017.

APA Style

MLA Style

Format: Last name of author, Initial of first name. (Year in parenthesis). Title of book in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher
In-text citation: (Last name of author, Year)

Format: Last name of author, First name. Title of book in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication
In-text citation: (Last name of author Year)

Book with one author

Burton, J. (1990). Conflict - Human Needs Theory. London: Macmillan.

In-text citation: (Burton, 1990)

Note. Page number can also be added to above reference as follows:

Burton, J. (1990). Conflict - Human Needs Theory (pp. 43 -47). London: Macmillan.

Note. Similarly edition number can also be added to above reference as follows:

Burton, J. (1990). Conflict - Human Needs Theory (pp. 43 -47, 3rd ed). London: Macmillan.

Book with one author

Burton, John. Conflict - Human Needs Theory. London: Macmillan, 1990.

In-text citation: (Burton 1990)

Note. Page number can also be added to above reference as follows:

Burton, John. Conflict - Human Needs Theory, 43 – 47. London: Macmillan, 1990.

Note. Similarly edition number can also be added to above reference as follows:

Burton, John. Conflict - Human Needs Theory, 43 – 47, 3rd ed. London: Macmillan, 1990.

Book with two authors

Hobson, A., & Clarke, J. (1997). The Power of Passion. Alberta: Everests Inc.

In-text citation: (Hobson & Clarke, 1997)

Book with two authors

Hobson, Allan., and Clarke, Jammie. The Power of Passion. Alberta: Everests Inc, 1997.

In-text citation: (Hobson and Clarke, 1997)

Book with three authors

Maltby, J., Day, L. & Macaskill, A. (2013). Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence. London: Longman.

In-text citation: (Maltby, Day, & Macaskil, 2013)
or: (Malby et al., 2013)

Note: The Latin phrase ‘et al’ means ‘and others’.

Book with three authors

Maltby, J., Day, L. and Macaskill, Ann. (2013). Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence. London: Longman.

In-text citation: (Maltby, Day, and Macaskil 2013)
or: (Malby et al. 2013)

Note: The Latin phrase ‘et al’ means ‘and others’.

Book with more than three authors

Arrow, K., Mnookin, R., Ross, L., Tversky, A., & Wilson, R. (1995). Barriers To Conflict Resolution. London: Norton.

In-text Citation: (Arrow, Mnookin, Ross, Tversky & Wilson, 1995)
or: (Arrow et al., 1995)

Book with more than three authors

Arrow, Kenneth., Mnookin, Robert., Ross, Lee., Tversky, Amos., and Wilson, Robert. Barriers To Conflict Resolution. London: Norton, 1995.

In-text Citation: (Arrow, Mnookin, Ross, Tversky and Wilson 1995)
or: (Arrow et al. 1995)

An article from a journal

Format: Last name of Author, First name. (Year Publication). Title of Article. Title of Journal in italics, Volume(Issue number), Page numbers.

Pearlstein, B. (2007). Dispute Resolution Through Private Alternatives. Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 22(3), 741-755.

An article from a journal

Format: Last name of Author, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal in italics Volume.Issue number (Year Publication): Page numbers

Pearlstein, B. “Dispute Resolution Through Private Alternatives.” Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 22.3 (2007): 741-755.

An article from an online journal

Format: Last name of Author, First name. (Year Publication). Title of Article. Title of Journal in italics, Volume(Issue number), Page numbers,

doi: XX.XXXXX or Retrieved from journal URL

Pearlstein, B. (2007). Dispute Resolution Through Private Alternatives. Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 22(3), 741-755, Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1811/77133.

An article from an online journal

Format: Last name of Author, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal in italics Volume.Issue number (Year Publication): Page numbers,

Website Title. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.

Pearlstein, B. “Dispute Resolution Through Private Alternatives.” Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 22.3 (2007): 741-755. OSO.EDU. Web 14 April. 2017.

A page from website

Format: Last name, First name. (year, month, date). Title of page. Title of website. Retrieved from URL

David, J. (2017, March 23). Psychological Theory of Personality. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org /wiki /Psychoanalytic_theory.

If the author of webpage is not listed.

Psychological Theory of Personality. (2017, March 23). Wikipedia.

Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org /wiki /Psychoanalytic_theory.

A page from website

Format: Last name, First name. Title of page. Title of website, Web. Date Month. Year.

David, John. Psychological Theory of Personality. Wikipedia, Web. 23 March. 2017

If the author of webpage is not listed.

Psychological Theory of Personality. Wikipedia, Web. 23 March. 2017.

Government Document/Official report

Format: Name of the organization. (Year of Publication). Title of the report in italics. Place: Publisher

World Health Organization. (2014). Global Status report on Non-communicable Diseases. Geneva: WHO Press.

In-text citation: (World Health Organization, 2014)

Government Document/Official report

Format: Name of the organization. Title of the report in italics. Place: Publisher, Year of Publication

World Health Organization. Global Status report on Non-communicable Diseases. Geneva: WHO Press, 2014.

In-text citation: (World Health Organization 2014)

An interview which you conducted

Format: Last name of interviewee, first name. (Year, Month, date). Interview Type

David, J. (2017, May 13). Personal Communication.

In-text Citation: (David, Personal Communication, 13 May 2017)

An interview which you conducted

Format: Last name of interviewee, first name. (Year, Month, date). Interview Type

David, J. Personal Communication. 13 May. 2017.

In-text Citation: (David, Personal Communication 13 May 2017)

Encyclopedia

John, H. (2009). The Encyclopedia of Zoology. Lahore: Dogars Press.

An article in the Encyclopedia:

John, H. (2009). Food Chain. In The Encyclopedia of Zoology. Lahore: Dogars Press.

Encyclopedia

John, Home. The Encyclopedia of Zoology. Lahore: Dogars Press, 2009.

An article in the Encyclopedia:

John, Home. Food Chain. In The Encyclopedia of Zoology. Lahore: Dogars Press, 2009.

Dictionary

Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. (2005). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

A term in dictionary e.g. Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis. (2005). In Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Retrieved from http://www.oxfordlearners dictionaries.com /metamorphosis

Dictionary

Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

A term in dictionary e.g. Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis. (2005). In Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Web. 14 April, 2017 (Access date)

Youtube or Podcast (online video)

Hersh, D. (2013 December 5). Alternate Dispute Resolution. [Youtube]. Retreived from https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=5IfPqPIPSmI.

Youtube or Podcast (online video)

Hersh, David. Alternate Dispute Resolution. Youtube, 5 December 2013. Web. 15 May, 2017.

Note. The APA and MLA styles are updated from time to time. There are slight variations in reference formats of different versions of these styles.

EDUCATIONAL NEWS

Referencing and Citation in Research

Bibliography & References- Difference

How to write a Research Proposal

Steps in Social Research

Quantitative Vs Qualitative Research

Referencing and Citation in Research

Identification of Research Problem

Formulation of Research Problem

Hypothesis and its Types

Sampling and its Types - Research