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APSA Citation Guide

This guide will provide outlines, examples, and tips for citing in APSA citation style. The APSA style is used mostly in the political sciences.

Article References: Basics

Most of the rules that apply to books are applicable to articles, including how to format authors, editors/translators, years, titles, and volume and page numbers. For the reference in the reference list, the following list of elements should be included if they exist.

List of Elements for Article References

  • Full name of author(s), editor(s), translators or, if none are listed, the name of the institution standing in for one.
  • Year of publication
  • Full title, including subtitle if applicable
  • Title of journal, magazine, or newspaper
  • Volume number
  • Issue number
  • Page number range of the article
  • DOI or URL, if applicable

The tabbed box below provides guidelines and examples for specific article types and special situations.

Article References: Examples

Journal articles require all elements of article references. Special issues of journals require some additional information. Each of the Templates provides the elements in order and with appropriate punctuation and italicization where required. Each of the Examples shows a fully formatted example.

Template: Journal Article

Last name, First name. Year. "Article Title." Journal Title Volume Number (Issue Number): Page numbers. DOI or URL if applicable.

Example: Journal Article

Clayton, Katherine, Spencer Blair, Jonathan A. Busam, Samuel Forstner, John Glance, Guy Green, Anna Kawata et al. 2020. "Real solutions for fake news? Measuring the effectiveness of general warnings and fact-check tags in reducing belief in false stories on social media." Political Behavior 42 (4): 1073-95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-019-09533-0.

Template: Special Issue

Last name, First name. Year. "Article Title." Special issue of Journal Title Volume Number (Issue Number): Page numbers. DOI or URL if applicable.

Example: Special Issue

Meier, Petra and Emanuela Lombardo. 2013. "Gender quotas, gender mainstreaming and gender relations in politics." Special issue of Political Science 65 (1): 46-62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032318713488114.

References for magazine and newspaper articles use most of the same information as references for journal articles. There are three main differences:

  • Include the publication's month and day after the magazine or newspaper title.
  • Most do not have a volume or issue number.
  • Most do not include page numbers.

The Template provides the elements in order and with appropriate punctuation and italicization where required. The Example shows a fully formatted example.

Template: Magazine & Newspaper Article

Last name, First name. Year. "Article Title." Magazine or Newspaper Title, Month Day. Page numbers, if applicable. DOI or URL if applicable.

Example: Magazine & Newspaper Article

Guarino, Ben. 2025. "U.S. TikTok Ban Looms as Supreme Court Hears Arguments" Scientific American, January 10. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-tiktok-ban-looms-as-supreme-court-hears-arguments/.

Reviews may be published in journals, magazines, or newspapers. In general, the format for that article type (e.g., journal, magazine, or newspaper) should be followed. However, review articles will have:

  • A review author and an author of the original work, both of which need to be included.
  • A review title and a title of the original work, both of which need to be included.

The Template provides the elements in order and with appropriate punctuation and italicization where required for a review published in a journal. The Example shows a fully formatted example for a review published in a journal.

Template: Review Published in a Journal

Last name, First name. Year. "Review Title." Review of Original Work Title, Original Work Author. Journal Title Volume Number (Issue Number): Page numbers. DOI or URL if applicable.

Example: Review Published in a Journal

Chambers, Simone. 2018. "Against Democracy. By Jason Brennan." Review of Against Democracy, Jason Brennan. Perspectives on Politics  16 (2): 503-5. https://doi.org/10.1017/S153759271800066X.