American Political Science Association citations (also known as APSA citations or APSA references) are a type of research citation used to show where another author has contributed to a new research paper or study.
The referencing system is used across all papers submitted for publication by the American Political Science Association. The well-known political science citation style uses a parenthetical system, which means that there is a citation within the text and a full reference in an alphabetical list at the end of the paper.
This system shows the reader where other sources have contributed to the work and directs them to the full reference, which they can use to locate the original source for themselves.
An APSA citation is made up of two or three components; it always includes the author’s name and the year of publication and often shows the page number as well to help the reader to find the contributing information, theory or data.
The citation is always shown in brackets. However when the author’s name is already used in the sentence, only the year of publication and page numbers are shown within the brackets and should be placed directly after the author’s name. Each citation relates to a full reference, formatted to be easily found by searching for the author’s name in an alphabetical list.
The full reference should be located at the end of the paper in the reference list or bibliography. The APSA bibliography format is very similar to Harvard style and begins with the author’s name followed by a full account of the information needed for the reader to find the original source.
It’s important to make sure that the referencing style you use is correct for the source type you have used. There are different formats for each type, for example, when referencing a book, the format should be different to that of a website or journal article.
Got all that? If you’re not sure then simply use Cite This For Me’s APSA citation generator to have your references and citations done for you, automatically.
Use the following template to cite a book using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. Title. City: Publisher.
Example:
Nye, Joseph S. 2004. Soft Power. New York: Public Affairs.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payment’ (Nye 2004)
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Use the following template to cite a journal using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'. Publication Title Volume number(Issue number): Pages Used. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
Demirtas, Selda Celen, and Esin Tezer. 2012. 'Romantic Relationship Satisfaction, Commitment To Career Choices And Subjective Well-Being'. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 46: 2542--2549.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
Romantic relationship satisfaction, commitment to career choices and subjective well-being (Demirtas and Tezer 2012)
”
Use the following template to cite a film or movie using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Title. Year Published. City: Publisher.
Example:
Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. 2007. Country: United States | United Kingdom | Canada: Director: Cast: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard. Production Co: Warner Bros., Jesse Films Inc., Scott Free Productions.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Title Year Published)
Example:
Do you want to be like me, or do you want to be me? (Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 2007)
Use the following template to cite an online image or video using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. Title. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
Robinson, Ken. 2013. Ken Robinson: How To Escape Education's Death Valley.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX78iKhInsc (11 October 2014).
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
Curiosity is the engine of achievement (Robinson 2013)
Use the following template to cite a website using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
romkyns, StackExchange User:, and Byron Schmuland. 2011. 'Example Of A Stochastic Process Which Does Not Have The Markov Property - Mathematics Stack Exchange'. Math.stackexchange.com. http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/89394/example-of-a-stochastic-process-which-does-not-have-the-markov-property (14 June 2014).
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
"A stochastic process has the Markov property if the conditional probability distribution of future states of the process depends only upon the present state. [...] given the present, the future does not depend on the past." (romkyns and Schmuland 2011)
Use the following template to cite a blog using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'. Publication Title. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
Rose, Brad. 'Integrity And Objectivity – Critical Components Of Program Evaluation'. Latest News-Evaluation. http://bradroseconsulting.com/index.php/integrity-objectivity-critical-components-program-evaluation/ (3 September 2014).
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
The integrity of the evaluation is critical, indeed, paramount for all stakeholders. Reliable, robust, and unbiased evaluation findings are important not just to funders who want to know whether their financial resources were used wisely, but also to the program implementers, who need to know whether they are making the difference(s) they intend to make. (Rose n.d.)
Use the following template to cite a court case using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Title. Year Published. Volume number Document Title/Name (Location).
Example:
JONES V PUBLIC TRUSTEE OF OUEENSLAND [2004] QCA 269. 2014.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Title Year Published)
Example:
Print (JONES V PUBLIC TRUSTEE OF OUEENSLAND [2004] QCA 269 2014)
Use the following template to cite a dictionary entry using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'. Publication Title: Pages Used. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
2014. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com (19 August 2014).
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
reconciliation (2014)
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Use the following template to cite an e-book or pdf using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. Title. City: Publisher. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
2014. 1st ed. http://www.growinggreenguide.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/growing_green_guide_ebook_130214.pdf (15 October 2014).
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
Extensive green roofs are lightweight with a shallow layer of growing substrate of less than 200 mm deep, requiring minimal maintenance. They generally have lower water requirements and use small, low-growing plant species, particularly succulents (see images 1 and 5 opposite). ‘Ecoroofs’ or ‘brown roofs’ are terms used to describe these extensive green roofs. Roofs that are designed and planted specifically to increase local plant diversity and provide habitat (food and shelter) for wildlife are known as ‘biodiverse green roofs’ (see image 3 opposite). (2014)
”
Use the following template to cite an edited book using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. Title. City: Publisher.
Example:
Cain, Helen. 2014. Microbiological Laboratory Techniques Manual. 1st ed. Melbourne Victoria: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
the likelihood of abdominal infections caused by Bacteriodes fragilis has an incident range of 100% (Cain 2014)
Use the following template to cite an email using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'.
Example:
Phillips, Jon. 2014. 'Baxi Analytical Report - SWOT Analysis'.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
n terms of addressing some of the weaknesses about reliability - we've done masses of work improving the existing GA range. We've also done the largest ever field trials on the products we're launching this Autumn. The features and benefits of our new EcoBlue products have been assessed against key competitors - particularly Vaillant and looks good. (Phillips 2014)
Use the following template to cite an encyclopedia article using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'. Publication Title: Pages Used.
Example:
Kraut, Richard. 2014. 'Aristotle's Ethics'. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
. Aristotle's search for the good is a search for the highest good, and he assumes that the highest good, whatever it turns out to be, has three characteristics: it is desirable for itself, it is not desirable for the sake of some other good, and all other goods are desirable for its sake. (Kraut 2014)
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Use the following template to cite an interview using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'.
Example:
Bourne, Greg. 'The Remaking Of BP'.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
"" Changing your logo won't change society's mind..."" (Bourne n.d.)
”
Use the following template to cite a magazine using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'. Publication Title (Issue number): Pages Used. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
Feldman, Bob. 2003. 'Savage Inequalities'. Dollars & Sense: 385, 386.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
Per-capita spending for poor students and students of color in urban areas was a fraction of that in richer, whiter suburbs just miles away...the poorest 25% of school districts in each state receive an average of $966 less in state and local funds per pupil than the richest 25%." (Feldman 2003)
Use the following template to cite a newspaper using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'. Publication Title: Pages Used. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
BBC,. 2011. 'Why Are We So Concerned About Immigration?'. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/thereporters/markeaston/2011/02/why_are_we_so_concerned_about_im.html (12 October 2014).
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
"more of a problem than an opportunity" (BBC 2011)
Use the following template to cite a podcast using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. 'Title'. Publication Title. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
Litke, Ron. 2009. 'Is Berlusconi The New Machiavelli?'. http://www.wbez.org/episode-segments/berlusconi-new-machiavelli (28 October 2014).
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
a British lawyer has already been convicted of accepting $600,000 to give false testimony to shield Berlusconi in two corruption trials. (Litke 2009)
Use the following template to cite a song using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. Title. City: Publisher. http://Website URL (Date Accessed).
Example:
Blunt, James. 2013. Bonfire Heart. Warner Music.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Author Surname Year Published)
Example:
You're mouth is a revolver, firing bullets in the sky. (Blunt 2013)
Use the following template to cite The Bible using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Title,. Year Published. City: Publisher.
Example:
The Noble Qur'an,. Medina.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
(Title Year Published)
Example:
“And We ordained for Moses in the Tablets all manner of admonition, and instruction concerning all things,” (The Noble Qur'an n.d.)
Use the following template to cite a TV Show using the APSA citation style.
Place this part in your bibliography or reference list at the end of your assignment.
Template:
Title'. Year Published.
Example:
'PNG's Babies'.
Place this part right after the quote or reference to the source in your assignment.
Template:
('Title' Year Published)
Example:
“The number one cause of infant mortality in Papua New Guinea is dehydration and that is usually as a result of diarrhea as a direct result of incorrect feeding practices.” ('PNG's Babies' n.d.)