APA Dissertation Citations Made Easy

When you cite sources in your dissertation using the APA format, it is known as the APA dissertation citations. Like all other writing styles, the method of APA dissertation citations must be understood and followed in order to complete your dissertation productively. If you are told to use the APA writing style and you fail to cite the sources in APA dissertation citations format then your dissertation will not be approved. Therefore, it is critical to understand the APA dissertation citations thoroughly.

Now, the question is why to cite sources? The answer is that when you write your dissertation, you have to refer to the research of other authors and if you use their ideas or findings then you must mention where you got the certain facts from, for example, whether you received the information from a book, journal, article, website, encyclopedia, etc. This way your readers will be able to use the sources in your dissertation citations for their own research and it will prove the authenticity of your text as well.

So, if you are using the APA writing style then you must cite the sources using the APA dissertation citations format. Two commonly used types of APA dissertation citations are citations within the text and the Reference page.

APA Dissertation Citations – Within the Text:

Citations within the text are short citations that consist of the name of the author or authors and the date of publication. You find the complete details of the source on the reference page which can be found at the end of the document. Include the surname of the author first then put a comma and then the year of publication in round brackets. If you want to be more specific then you may include page numbers as well. If you took the information from a web page then mention the paragraph number with the abbreviation para.

For example: (Kline, 2000, pp. 26-27)

APA Dissertation Citations – Reference Page:

The reference page is also known as the works cited page or the bibliography. It is an important part of your dissertation. Reference page is the last part of your dissertation. It shows each source that the author used in the dissertation.

Books:

When you cite a book, follow this order: Start with the name of the author. Date of publication in brackets. Title: Subtitle (Italicized) (edition). (volumes). Place of publication: Publisher.

Matthews, J. (1999). The art of childhood and adolescence: The construction of meaning. London: Falmer Press.

Buss, A. H. (1980). Self-consciousness and social anxiety. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.

Journal Articles:

When you cite an article, follow this order: Author name. (Publication date). Title of article: Subtitle of article (if available). Title of journal, volume number (Italicized) (issue number), page number(s) of journal.

Lacayo, R. (1991, April 22). Global warming: A new warning. Time, 137(16), 32.

Parker, G., & Roy, K. (2001). Adolescent depression: A review. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35, 572-580.

Website:

When you cite a website, follow this order: Author name. (Publication date). Article title. Periodical title (Italicized) (edition). Retrieved month day, year, from source.

Goldberg, I. (2000). Dr. Ivan's depression central. Retrieved November 21, 2001, from http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.html

Pellegrino, J. (n.d.). Seamus Heaney. Retrieved October 4, 1999, from the Internet Poetry Archive Website: http://www.ibiblio.org/ipa/heaney/heaney.bio.html

n.d. stands for ‘no date’.

Encyclopedia Article:

When you cite an encyclopedia, use this order: Author who has written the part. (Date of publication). Chapter or Part title. In title of collection (Vol., Page numbers). Place of publication: Publisher.

Bergman, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia Britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.

No Author:

Mental disorders and their treatment. (1987). In The new encyclopedia Britannica (5th ed., Vol. 23, pp. 956-975). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.


If you have to write your dissertation in APA writing style then you must learn the correct way of citing APA dissertation citations. This format enables readers to thoroughly understand your sources and, consequently, authenticates your text.