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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.

Book References: Basics

Book references have specific elements that must be included, 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. Guidelines and examples for specific book reference types are provided in each of the labeled tabs.

List of Elements for Book 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
    • Chapter information, if applicable
    • Edition, if not the first, if applicable
    • Series title, if applicable
  • Editor, compiler, or translator, if any
  • Volume number(s) cited, if applicable
  • Page number(s) of a section or chapter, if applicable
  • Place of Publication and Publisher
  • Electronic book information, if applicable
  • DOI or URL, if applicable

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

Book References: Examples

References for whole books that are not part of a multi-volume set require all elements of book references if they exist. For example, ebooks require DOIs or URLs, while print books do not.

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

Template: Book

Last Name, First Name. Year. Book Title. Series or Edition, if applicable. Editors/Compilers/Translators, if applicable. Place of Publication: Publisher. DOI or URL, if applicable.

Example: Ebook with Authors

Ginsberg, Benjamin and Jennifer Bachner. 2023. Warping Time: How Contending Political Forces Manipulate the Past, Present, and Future. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11760539.

Example: Book with Editors, No Author

Iles, Judy and Barbara J. Sahakian, eds. 2011. The Oxford Handbook of Neuroethics. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.

References for book chapters require all elements of book references if they exist. For example, ebooks require DOIs or URLs, while print books do not. Additionally, references for book chapters:

  • Include both a chapter title and a book title
  • Include page numbers or a chapter number
  • May have both author(s) and editor(s)

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

Template: Book Chapter

Last Name, First Name. Year. "Chapter Title." In Book Title. Series or Edition, if applicable. Editors/Compilers/Translators, if applicable. Page numbers or Chapter Number. Place of Publication: Publisher. DOI or URL, if applicable.

Example: Ebook Chapter with Authors & Page Numbers

Ginsberg, Benjamin and Jennifer Bachner. 2023. "Reshaping the Past to Change the Present." In Warping Time: How Contending Political Forces Manipulate the Past, Present, and Future, 18-52. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11760539.

Example: Book Chapter with Author, Editors, & Chapter Number

Halcin, L. Elaine. 2001. “And This Parent Went to Market: Education as Public Versus Private Good.” Chap. 1 in School Choice in the Real World, eds. Robert Maranto, Scott Milliman, Frederick Hess and April Gresham. Boulder, CO: Westview.

References for books in a multivolume set require all elements of book references if they exist. For example, ebooks require DOIs or URLs, while print books do not. Additionally, references for books in multivolume sets include a volume number. How references include the volume number depends on if you are citing a single volume or the whole set.

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

Template: Reference for One Volume in a Multivolume Set

Last Name, First Name. Year. Vol. Number of Book Title. Series or Edition, if applicable. Editors/Compilers/Translators, if applicable. Place of Publication: Publisher. DOI or URL, if applicable.

Example: Reference for One Volume in a Multivolume Set

Hume, David. 1932. Volume II 1766–1776, Vol. 2 of The Letters of David Hume, ed. J. Y. T. Greig. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Template: Reference for Full Multivolume Set

Last Name, First Name. Year. Vol.  Book Title. Number of vols. Series or Edition, if applicable. Editors/Compilers/Translators, if applicable. Place of Publication: Publisher. DOI or URL, if applicable.

Example: Reference for Full Multivolume Set

Hume, David. 1932. The Letters of David Hume, 2 vols., ed. J. Y. T. Greig. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Books may have editor(s), compiler(s), and/or translator(s) in addition to authors. If these roles are used instead of an author, they take the place of the author at the beginning of the reference, along with the appropriate abbreviation signifying their role. If books have editor(s), compiler(s), or translator(s) in addition to author(s), their name(s) are included after the title in the reference along with the appropriate abbreviation signifying their role.

Here is a list of abbreviations for these roles:

  • editor: ed.
  • editors: eds.
  • compiler: comp.
  • compilers: comps.
  • translator(s): trans.