Does looking at a citation or reference seem like a black box at times? So many different styles, with so many different meanings! For example, many scientific publications—books and journal articles included—use a format called the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, or simply APA. It’s now in its 7th edition (APA, 2020).
The Groundwater Project is now using APA 7th edition style to format references and citations in its books. As an aid to you, the reader, we provide a brief description here to help you decipher in-text (narrative) citations and entries in the references section of Groundwater Project books.
1. A reference list entry for a book shows the authors’ names (surname followed by initials), then the date of publication in round brackets, the book’s title in italics, then the name of the publisher, and, finally, the doi (digital object identifier).
Example:
Akob, D. M., Cozzarelli, M., Dunlap, D. S., Rowan, E. L., & Lorah, M. M. (2015). Organic and inorganic composition and microbiology of produced waters from Pennsylvania shale gas wells. Applied Geochemistry, 60(1), 116–125. doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2015.04.011.
2. A reference list entry for a thesis or dissertation shows the author’s name (surname followed by initials), then the date of publication in round brackets, the thesis title in italics, then the name of the degree granting institution, and, finally, a link to the digital version, if available.
Example:
Harris, J. M. (2007). Precipitation and urban runoff water quality in non‑industrial areas of Birmingham, UK [Unpublished master’s thesis]. University of Birmingham.
3. A reference list entry for a chapter in an edited book shows the authors’ names (surnames followed by initials, the date of publication in round brackets, the title of the chapter in roman letters, followed by a period. Then, the entry will list the editors, followed by the name of the book in italics and the pages where the chapter is found (in round brackets). The last piece of information is the name of the publisher, which may be followed by the doi and/or URL.
Example:
Cramer, B. D., & Jarvis, I. (2020). Carbon isotope stratigraphy. In F. M. Gradstein, J. G. Ogg, M. D. Schmitz, & G. M. Ogg (Eds.), Geologic Time Scale (pp. 309–343). Elsevier. doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-824360-2.00011-5.
4. A reference list entry for a proceedings paper shows the authors’ names (surnames followed by initials), date of publication in round brackets, title of the article, , the name of the conference in italics, its location and dates, publisher, (often followed by the URL or doi of the proceedings).
Example:
Civita, M. (1993). Ground water vulnerability maps: A review. Proceedings, IX Symposium Pesticide Chemistry “Mobility and Degradation of Xenobiotics”, Piacenza, 11 October 1993. (pp. 587–631).
6. A citation within the text is a direction to the full reference entry in the References section. It consists of the authors’ surnames and the date, plus the page number for a direct quote.
Examples:
(Freeze & Cherry, 1997)
(Freeze & Cherry, 1997, p. 12)
7. For multiple authors, a short form is used for parenthetical citations in the narrative part of the text whereas “and others” is spelled out if the mention of the work is within the flow of a sentence.
Examples:
(Akob et al., 2000, p. 120) where “et al.” simply means “and others.”
Akob and others (2000) provided an insightful quote on page 120 …
8. Other Latin abbreviations commonly used in citations in the text include i.e. (“that is”) and e.g. (“for example”).
Table 1 – How to decipher abbreviations, brackets, and italics in a reference or citation.
| What it looks like | (p. x) or (pp. x–xx)
In a citation in the text or a reference list entry. |
Italics in a reference list entry | X(x),
In a journal reference |
X(x), x–xx.
In a journal reference |
| What it means | p. = page and pp. = pages
(p. 11) and (pp. 9–15) are used to indicate where you will find the original of a direct quote. The second (pp.) means “pages 9 to 15.” |
Book name or journal name and volume:
Groundwater and petroleum (book)
Hydrology, 5 (journal name and volume) |
The italicized number is the journal volume and the roman number in brackets is the issue within that volume:
Volume(issue), |
The numbers following the comma are the pages for the journal article:
Hydrology, 5(3), 12–16. This is read as volume 5, issue 3, pages 12 to 16 of the journal Hydrology. |
Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000.
For further help, visit the APA Style website and blog at https://apastyle.apa.org.