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APA Citation Style: Other Materials

The aim of this guide is to present concisely the basic rules for citing various types of resources in APA Referencing Style (7th edition).

On this page

  • Reviews
  • Data sets and software
  • Personal communication
  • Archival documents and collections
  • Legislation
  • Standards
  • Patents

Reviews

Reviews of books, motion pictures, and other products and information can be published in periodicals, websites, and blogs.

Reference list format:

Reviewer, A. A. (year). Title of review [Review of the book Title of book, by A. A. Author]. Periodical Title, volume issue, pages. DOI or URL

Note: Identify the type of medium reviewed in brackets; title of reviewed material in italics; authors' names - not inverted.

Examples:

Review of a book:

Schatz, B. R. (2000, November 17). Learning by text or context? [Review of the book The social life of information, by J. S. Brown and P. Duguid]. Science, 290, 1304. http://doi.xxxxx

Review of a video:

Axelman, A., & Shaprio, J. L. (2007). Does the solution warrant the problem? [Review of the DVD Brief therapy with adolescents, produced by the American Psychological Association, 2007]. PsyCRITIQUES, 52(51). http://doi.xxxxx

Personal communication

You don’t need to include the personal communication entries in the reference list, since they are unable to be retrieved. This includes: letters, emails, interviews, telephone calls.

Example (in-text):

An email (J. W. Ayers, personal communication, July 2, 2018) confirming that results are accurate ...

Archival documents and collections

This includes letters, unpublished manuscripts, limited-circulation brochures in-house institutional and corporate documents, photographs that are personal possession of the author or are stored in an archive.

Reference list format

Author, A. A. (Year, Month, Day). Title of the material. [Description of the material]. Name of collection (Call number, Box number, File name, etc.). Name of repository, Location.

Letter from a repository

Frank, L. K. (1935, February 4). [Letter to Robert M. Ogden]. Rockefeller Archive Centre (GEB series 1.3, Box 371, Folder 3877), Tarrytown, NY.

Letter from a private collection

Zacharius, G. P. (1953, August 15). [Letter to William Rickel (W. Rickel, Trans.)]. Copy in possession of Hendrika Vande Kemp.

Collection of letters from an archive

Reference list format

Allport, G. W. (1930-1967). Correspondence. Gordon W. Allport Papers (HUG 4118.10). Harvard University Archives, Cambridge, MA.

In-text format

(Allport, G. W., 1930-1967, E. G. Wilstein to Allport, December 26, 1937)

Archival historical source

Allport, A.?]. [ca. 1937]. Marion Taylor today - by the biographer. Unpublished manuscript, Marion Taylor Papers. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA.

Newspaper article, historical, in an archive or personal collection

Psychoanalysis institute to open in the new year. (1948, September 18). [Clipping from an unidentified Dayton, OH newspaper]. Copy in possession of the author.

Historical publication of limited circulation

Sci-Art Publishers. (1935). Sci-Art Publications [Brochure]. Cambridge, MA: Author. C. J. Roback Papers (HUGFP 104.50, Box 2, Folder "Miscellaneous Psychology Materials"). Harvard University Archives, Cambridge, MA.

Data sets and software

This category includes raw data and tools that aid persons in performing a task such as data analysis and measurement. You don’t need to cite standard software and programming languages such as Microsoft Word, Java, and Adobe Photoshop, SPSS or SAS.

  • Do not italicize the names of software, programs or languages
  • Use an individual’s name in the reference if he/she has proprietary rights to the program. In all other cases, teat a reference as an un-authored works
  • After the title, in parentheses, give the version number, if any
  • After the title, or version number, identify in brackets the type of source
  • Give the location and the name of producer, if applicable, or the URL address

Computer software and code

Reference format

Rightsholder, A. A. (Year). Title of Software or Program (Version number) [Type of software]. Publisher. http://xxxxx

Examples:

Customized Synergy [Computer software]. (2014). https://customizedsynergy.com

Borenstein, M., Hedges, L., Higgins, J., & Rothstein, H. (2014). Comprehensive meta analysis (Version 3.3070) [Computer software]. Biostat. https://xxxxx

Mobile apps

Reference list format

Rightsholder, A. A. (year). Title of Software or Program (Version number) [Mobile app]. Publisher. https://xxxxx

Example:

Skyscape. (2013). Skyscape Medical Resources (Version 1.17.42) [Mobile app]. App store. https://xxxxx

Computer games

Reference list format

Developer. (Year). Title [Platform]. Release City and Country: Publisher, played month day, year.

Example:

Rovio Entertainment. (2009). Angry birds [Mobile iOS]. Espoo, Finland: Rovio Entertainment, played March 21, 2011.

Data set

Pew Hispanic Center. (2004). Changing channels and crossing cultures: A survey of Latinos on the news media [Data file and code book].  https://xxxxx

Unpublished raw data

Oregon Youth Authority. (2011). Recidivism outcomes [Unpublished raw data].

Statutes (Laws and Acts)

Reference list format

Name of Act, Title of Source § Section Number (Year). URL

Reference list entry

Florida Mental Health Act, Fla. Stat. § 394 (1971 & rev. 2009). http://xxxxx

In-text citation

(Florida Mental Health Act, 1971/2009)

Patents

Reference list entry

Hiremath, S. C., Kumar,  S., Lu, F., & Salehi, A. (2016). Using metaphors to present concepts across different intellectual domains (U.S. Patent No. 9,367,592). U. S. Patent and Trademark Office. http://xxxxx

In-text citation

(Hiremath et al., 2016)