When citing books, make sure to gather the following bibliographic elements:
- the author name(s)
- translator and editor name(s)
- the book’s title
- the edition
- the publication date
- the publisher
Provide the name of the publisher excluding Co. and Inc., which are not necessary for the identification of the publisher.
However, do not omit words Books and Press.
In our citation examples, we use the following color coding:
- Red – Author
- Blue – Title of book/article/charter/webpage
- Pink – Date
- Orange – Website/Publisher
- Violet – Editor/Translator
- Black – Volume/Issue
- Sienna – Pages
- Gray – URL/database/website where the source is retrieved
- Gold – Book, a part/chapter of which is being cited
- Peach – Additional information about the source (i.e. its type, specific features etc.)
One author
Example:
Valsiner, J. (2021). General human psychology. Springer.
Two authors
Example:
Donnelly, M., & Norton, C. (2020). Doing history. Routledge.
Three to twenty authors
Example:
Saunders, A., Cornett, M. M., & Erhemjamts, O. (2021). Financial institutions management:
A risk management approach. McGraw-Hill.
More than twenty authors
Add last names and initials for the first 19 authors, insert an ellipsis, do not add an ampersand, and add the last author’s name.
Example:
Smith, D. A., Lee, S. L., Green, H. J., Mehrer, M., Stanley, H., Flatman, J., James, J., Owen, S. H.,
Jones, K., Flemming, N., Stone, D., Baxter, J., Kleer, H., Orser, C., Smith-Stone, G.,
Wescot, K., Davidson, M., Watson, H., Kreig, J. … Wescott, K. (2023). Archaeological
site location modeling. Taylor & Francis.
Corporate/Organization Author
If there is a report, publication or contract number assigned to a document by the issuing organization, write that number in parenthesis after the title.
Example:
World Health Organization. (2021). Advances in science and risk assessment tools for
Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus associated with seafood: Meeting report (No. 35). Food & Agriculture Organization.
Unknown author
Example:
Alluvial archaeology in Europe. (2024). Routledge.
Two or more works by the same author
If you have to cite several works by the same author – those that have been written earlier come first in the list.
Example:
Smith, Y. (2022). Knowledge management. SAGE.
Smith, Y. (2024). Managing organizations. Pearson.
Two or more works by the same author, same year
Works by the same author and with the same publication date are ordered alphabetically by the title (disregarding articles). Add a, b, c … to distinguish citations.
Example:
Stone, J. (2022a). Administration and management. Routledge.
Stone, J. (2022b). Managing organizations. Jossey-Bass.
Edited book, no author
In a reference to an edited book with no author, move the editor name in the author position, and follow it with the parenthetical abbreviation (Ed.) for one editor or (Eds.) for multiple editors.
Example:
Fraser, J. R., Quail, R., & Simkins, B. (Eds.). (2021). Enterprise risk management: Today’s
leading research and best practices for tomorrow’s executives. John Wiley & Sons.
Edited book with an author/authors
When citing an APA book with authors and editors source, place names of editors immediately after the book’s title followed by the parenthetical abbreviation (Ed.) for one editor or (Eds.) for multiple editors. Mind that when writing editors’ names, you should write initials of their names first.
Example:
Vafeas, C., & Slatyer, S. (2020). Gerontological nursing: A holistic approach to the care of
older people (M. Trudgeon, Ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.
Author with a translator
Need an APA reference for a translated book?
Easy!
Just place the translators’ names immediately after the book’s title, add the abbreviation “Trans.” in brackets.
If the book is republished, provide both publishing dates.
Example:
Camus, A. (2021). The plague (L. Marris, Trans.). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
(Original work published 1947).
Note that in-text referencing of a republished source also includes both publishing dates.
Example:
Camus (1947/2021).
Different editions
Include information about the edition in parentheses immediately after the title.
Example:
Chance, D. M., & Brooks, R. (2021). An introduction to derivatives and risk management
(8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Chapter in an edited book
When it comes to a chapter in an edited book, make sure that:
- You do not invert the editors’ names and do not place them in the author position.
- The editors’ names are preceded by the word In. and followed by the parenthetical abbreviation (Ed.) for one editor or (Eds.) for multiple editors.
Example:
Johnston, E. F. (2021). Yoga as a way of life: Authenticity through identity management. In J.
P. Williams & K. C. Schwarz (Eds.), Studies on the social construction of identity and authenticity (pp. 4-18). Routledge.
Multivolume work
Add information about volume number(s) in parenthesis immediately after the book’s title.
Example:
Phelps, W., & Wallach, J. J. (Eds.). (2022). Containing multitudes: A documentary reader of
US history since 1865 (Vols. 1-2). University of Arkansas Press.
Encyclopedia/Dictionary
Example:
Blanco, R. L. (Ed.). (2020). The American Revolution 1775–1783: An encyclopedia.
Taylor & Francis.
Foreword, introduction, preface, or afterword
Provide the names of the authors of the book and follow the date of the book’s publishing with the word Foreword (or Introduction, Preface, Afterword). Add the page numbers after the book’s title.
Example:
Stanley, E. (2020). Introduction. In M. Carr, K. P. Clarke & M. Nievergelt (Eds.), On allegory:
Some medieval aspects and approaches (pp. 1-4). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Online books
Example:
Bezos, J., & Isaacson, W. (2020). Invent and wander: The collected writings of Jeff Bezos,
with an introduction by Walter Isaacson [eBook edition]. Harvard Business Press.