Footnotes are an essential part of any APA style research paper that cites outside sources. Using footnotes correctly will allow readers to easily follow along with your arguments and findings while also giving proper credit to the sources you used. With APA style footnotes, thoughts and ideas from other authors, experts, and resources are acknowledged in an organized, consistent manner.
The basics of APA style footnotes are that each source cited receives a corresponding number in the text, usually found after a quote or paraphrase. The full citation for that source is then typed at the bottom of the page it was referenced on as a footnote. Footnotes are found on pages where the source is cited, not collected at the end of the paper.
When typing footnotes, start each one on a new line and use a superscript number that directly corresponds to the number used in the text. Place the footnote at the bottom of the page, with the number aligned left and citations indented five spaces. The first line of each footnote citation is not indented. Leave one space after the footnote number, before beginning the citation.
All citations in footnotes follow standard APA formatting rules. For a book, include the author’s last name, first initial, publication year, book title in italics, location of publisher, and publisher name. For a journal article, provide the author’s last name, first initial, publication year, article title in quotation marks, journal name in italics, volume number, issue number in parentheses, and page range. Websites include author name, publication date, page title in quotation marks, website name in italics, and URL.
Here are some sample footnote citations:
John Smith, 2000, Anthropic, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Sally Johnson, 2005, “Brain power: The science behind effective learning,” Currents in Neuroscience, 8(3), 32-40.
“Memory techniques,” https://www.helpfullearning.com/tips/memory-techniques, accessed date.
Psychology Today, “10 Tricks to Remember What You Read,” https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/memory-medic/201703/10-tricks-remember-what-you-read, March 15, 2017.
For sources cited multiple times, provide a shortened footnote on all citations after the first. Keep the first element the same (author’s last name) and replace the rest with “Ibid.” and the page number if different. Here is an example succession of footnotes citing the same source on different pages:
John Smith, 2000.
Ibid., 45.
Ibid., 78.
This shows readers that these footnotes refer to the same work previously cited. Using footnotes streamlines information and allows full citations to be presented just once, followed by shortened versions thereafter.
When citing sources in your own footnotes, be sure to replicate the source information exactly as shown in the work’s bibliography or reference page. This includes special characters, italics, publication dates, and capitalization. Check for accuracy to prevent errors. Also, make sure footnote callouts in text directly correspond to the numbers in the footnotes themselves. Mismatches can frustrate readers and diminish credibility.
Proper footnotes are an important element of APA style papers. They acknowledge outside contributions in a clear manner that maintains objectivity and research integrity. With practice, footnotes can become second nature. Focusing on consistent formatting rules and one-to-one relationships between notes and callouts will lead to well-integrated citations that enhance arguments and aid comprehension for readers. Mastering APA footnotes is a key component to successful academic writing across many disciplines.