Creating a reference list for a research paper is a critical component of the writing process. The reference list helps provide credibility to the research and ideas presented in the paper and allows readers to easily follow up on cited sources. If done incorrectly, it can damage the integrity of the research. This article will provide an in-depth sample reference list that conforms to American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines, the most commonly used format for papers in education, psychology, and the social sciences.
The reference list should appear at the end of the paper on its own page, with the centered heading “References” written in bold. All references should be double-spaced and have a hanging indent, meaning the first line of each reference is flush left and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches from the left margin. References must be listed alphabetically by the first author’s last name. For sources with no author listed, alphabetize by the source title, ignoring any initial articles like A, An, or The.
The first reference in the list is:
Smith, A. B., & Doe, J. (2020). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy
This reference is to a journal article by two authors named Smith and Doe from the year 2020. The article title is written in sentence case, followed by the title of the periodical journal it was published in, also in italics. The volume and issue number are in parentheses, followed by the page range. At the end is the optional digital object identifier (DOI).
The next reference is:
Doe, J. (2023). Book title. Publisher.
This reference is to a book with one author named Doe from the year 2023. The book title is written in italics, followed by the publisher. For books, the date is the year of publication and page numbers are not included.
Next is a reference to a chapter in an edited book:
Smith, A. B. (2021). Chapter or article title. In J. Doe & S. Fake (Eds.), Book title (pp. 100-105). Publisher.
The formatting is similar to a book reference but includes the chapter or article title in place of the book title. It also includes the editors’ names preceded by “In” and the inclusive page number range of the chapter in parentheses after the title.
Here is a reference to a report from a private organization:
Think Tank. (2022, March). Report title. https://nameoforganization.org/report
For reports, the author is the organization name rather than an individual. The publication date is included in month-day-year format. The report title is in sentence case and the URL follows at the end.
Next is a reference to an webpage or blog post:
Blog Author. (2019, May 15). Post title. Blog Name. https://www.blogname.com/post-title
The format is similar to other references but the date includes month-day to be more specific. The URL takes the place of publisher information.
Now for a newspaper article with no author:
“Article title.” (2022, July 16). Newspaper, p. B3.
For sources like newspapers that may not have a traditional author listed, the title is placed in quotation marks and follows the publication date. The newspaper title and page number are included.
This sample includes references to some of the most common types of sources like journal articles, books, websites, and news articles. It demonstrates the important elements to include for each source type as well as the proper formatting following APA guidelines. Maintaining a reference list in this organized way helps validate the research presented and allows readers to easily locate cited materials. For any research paper, taking the time to thoroughly and accurately compile the reference list is important.