LibGuides: Library Services: APA Style

APA Style

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

The list of references at the end of your work allows the reader to further understand the content. It is therefore essential that these references are accurate. Following the same format makes your reference list easier to read and easier to find the works that are cited. The style most commonly used at Horizon Health is APA style. With so many different electronic resources available, it can be tricky to build an accurate citation. Follow the links on this page to useful examples and online resources.

Not sure where to start? Here is what you will find on this guide:

Tab	Purpose
eResources	Tutorials to help you learn the basics of APA Refresher on how to use APA Guide on creating legal citations
Examples	See the way a citation should be referenced (with examples) A good way to double check your pre-formatted references! Know the format of a reference list Including spacing requirements, how to set up indentations and formatting the title
Citation Management	Know what options are available to you to pre-format your citations Using Word to create a bibliography Using Google Scholar to create citations
	Print copies of the Publication Manual of the The American Psychological Association are available at Horizon libraries. Interested in borrowing one? Click the "Book Catalogue" link below.

Book Catalogue

American Psychological Association

APA style quick guide
the basics of APA style for people on the go
APA in-depth reference guide
includes examples and details how to reference resources when information is missing
APA tutorials and webinars
videos and handouts to guide to step by step through the referencing process

An Extensive Cheat Sheet on How to Format References

Quick Guide

A Guide when Referencing Legal Proceedings and/or Documents

Legal Citation Guide

Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Perdue University

OWL at Perdue - APA guide
a popular resource with lots of examples of APA citations

Queens University Library McGill Guide

Legal Citation with the 9th edition of the McGill Guide

Reminder:

When creating your reference list don't forget to do the following:

On a new page at the end of your project have "References" as the title in bold
Have references in alphabetical order based on the first item of entry
Double space the reference list
All references need to have a hanging indent (in Word, right click your citation > Paragraph > > Indents and Spacing > Indentation > Change special type to "Hanging" by 0.5 inch or 1.25 cm.

An extensive cheat sheet on how to properly format references:

Quick Guide

A guide when referencing legal proceedings and/or documents:

Legal Citation Guide

Listed below are various formats and examples:
1. Format
2. Example

Books

Author, A. A. (year). Title of book (ed.). Publisher. DOI/URL.
Brown, L.S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org,10.1037/0000092-000

Journal Articles
Author, A. A., & Author. B. B., (year). Title of article. Title of periodical, vol.(ed.), pp. DOI/URL
McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child
language development. Psychological Review, 126(1), 1-51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126

Website

Author, A. A. (year, month day/n.d.). Title of work. Site name. URL.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, December 11). People at high risk of developing flu
complications. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/index.htm

Horizon Policy

Corporate Author. (year, month day). Title of work (Policy and Procedure Number). URL.
Horizon Health Network. (2019, April 3). Medication administration, storage and handling (Policy and Procedure Manual HHN-CL-
NU009). http://skyline/PoliciesProcedures/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspxsourcedoc=/PoliciesProcedures/Policies/Clinical/Nursing/HHN
-CL-NU009.doc&action=default&DefaultItemOpen=1

Micromedex

Corporate Author. (year, month day). Title of work (type of work). Container. URL.
IBM Watson Health. (2019, November 1). Acetaminophen: Dosing/administration – adult dosing (DrugPoint Summary).
IBM Micromedex DRUGDEX. https://www.micromedexsolutions.com/micromedex2/librarian/

CPS (previously RxTx)
Corporate Author. (year, month day). Title of work (type of work). Container. URL.

Canadian Pharmacists Association (2016, November). Acetaminophen (CPhA Monograph). CPS. https://www.myrxtx.ca/search

UpToDate
Corporate Author. (year, month day). Title of work (Topic Number Version Number). Container. Retrieval date, URL.

UpToDate. Lexicomp. (n.d.). Acetaminophen (paracetamol): Drug information (Topic 9242 Version 976.0). Retrieved April 7, 2025,
from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/acetaminophen-paracetamol-drug-information?topicRef=340&source=see_link

Law

Short Title, Statute Volume, Chapter Number, Section Number
Copyright Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42

StatsCan
Corporate Author. Table number Table Name [Data Table]. DOI.
Statistics Canada. Table 32-10-0121-01 Production and disposition of eggs, monthly [Data Table].
https://doi.org/10.25318/3210012101-eng

AI-Generated content

AI-generated content, such as content created using ChatGPT, is becoming more common. Even though it is acceptable to varying degrees, the safest approach is to create the content yourself because you can verify the sources used and you are in complete control of the integrity and accuracy of the material.

Due to the risk of inaccuracies in AI-generated content, it is important to double check the information is correct and to acknowledge within the document that AI was used to create content. Be transparent what content in the paper, document, learning module, standard, operating manual, etc. was AI-generated. A way to be transparent is to include the full transcript of the AI-generated text in an appendix. AI algorithms create unique texts each time used so by providing the full text, your readers will know what was created at that time.

By being transparent about your sources, you're enabling people to make informed decisions about the information's quality, validity, and reliability.

How to Cite

In-text

In-text citations are used to identify the specific content that was referenced to create the document, manual, etc. There are multiple ways to incorporate this information in the body of the text: parenthetical, narrative, and complete integration.

Parenthetical citations use parentheses to encapsulate the author and year, and narrative citations incorporate the author’s name into the sentence. Complete integration includes the author and year in the sentence, so no parentheses are needed.

(Algorithm author, year) or Algorithm author (year)

Examples:

Parenthetical citation:

(OpenAI, 2023)

Narrative citation:

OpenAI (2023)

Complete integration:

In 2023, OpenAI stated that…

Citation referencing an appendix:

Parenthetical: (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript)

Narrative: OpenAI (2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript)

Reference

Algorithm author. (year). AI technology used (version) [Description]. URL

Example:

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

See link below for an explanation of each component of the reference

https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt

Additional Resources

Addition to Examples page

Parenthetical citations use parentheses to encapsulate the author and year and narrative citations incorporate the author’s name into the sentence. Complete integration includes the author and year in the sentence, so no parentheses are needed.