Almost Published

by Stefanie

Imagine you are writing a paper on a cutting-edge topic. A friend in the field passes along a manuscript on which she is working that is relevant to your work. Your advisor, on reading your draft, hands you his own manuscript, which takes a different approach to the material. He informs you that yesterday he submitted this very manuscript to a journal for publication. Then, on your favorite journal’s website, you stumble across a bunch of articles that will be published in a future issue but have yet to appear in print, all of which you would like to cite in your article. None of these sources have been published in physical books or journals, complete with page numbers, at least not yet; how do you create references for them?

Manuscript in Preparation
A manuscript for an article that is not yet finished, or that is in preparation, can be cited and referenced using the year the draft of the manuscript you read was written.

Kirk, J. T. (2011). Reprogramming the Kobayashi Maru test: A tale of an inside job and the genius behind it. Manuscript in preparation.

Manuscript Submitted for Publication
If the manuscript has been submitted for publication, again use the year the manuscript was written (not the year it was submitted) as your date. Also, do not provide the name of the journal or publisher to which the manuscript was submitted. If the manuscript is rejected on first submission, the author is free to submit the article elsewhere, where it could be accepted. If this happens while your own article is in preparation and if your reference names the first journal or publisher to which the material was submitted, your reference is not only out of date but misleading.

Castle, R. (2012). Shadowing a police officer: How to be unobtrusive while solving cases in spectacular fashion. Manuscript submitted for publication.

As soon as that article is accepted for publication, the status changes to in press and you can include the name of the journal in the reference.

Castle, R. (in press). Shadowing a police officer: How to be unobtrusive while solving cases in spectacular fashion. Professional Writers’ Journal.

Advance Online Publication
Now, onward into the brave new world of articles being available before they are available—in specific issues of print or online-only journals, that is. Definitions of advance online publication vary among journal publishers. Sometimes articles appearing in advance online publication databases have been edited, sometimes they have not. They may or may not have a DOI assigned. For many publishers, these articles are the version of record and thus are, technically, published, belying the title of this post.

Yet the question remains: How does one create references for advance online publication articles? Provide the author(s), year of posting, title of the article, name of the journal, the notation Advance online publication, and the DOI or the URL of the journal’s home page.

Muldoon, K., Towse, J., Simms, V., Perra, O., & Menzies, V. (2012). A longitudinal analysis of estimation, counting skills, and mathematical ability across the first school year. Developmental Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/a0028240

As your article is heading toward submission and publication, keep following up on your references that are moving through their own publication processes, and update them as you are able. If possible, refer to the final versions of your sources.

Have other questions about preprint publication sources? Comment here or e-mail [email protected]!

 

Missing Pieces: How to Write an APA Style Reference Even Without All the Information

by Chelsea Lee

Most APA Style references are straightforward to write—the guidance and examples in Chapter 7 of the Publication Manual and on this blog make that possible. We’ve written a good deal about the architecture of a generic reference (the four basic pieces of author, date, title, and source). Sometimes, however, one or more of those pieces is missing, and writing the reference can get more difficult. This post will help you adapt the classic APA Style reference template to fit any situation where information might be missing, as well as show you how to create the corresponding in-text citations for those references. 

The table below shows how to write an APA Style reference when information is missing. It is also available for download as a PDF.

What’s missing?	Solution	Reference template
		Position A	Position B	Position C	Position D
Nothing—all pieces are present	List information in the order of author, date, title (with description in square brackets if necessary for explanation of nonroutine information), and source	Author, A. A.	(date).	Title of document [Format]. or Title of document [Format].	Retrieved from http://xxxxx or Retrieved Month Day, Year, from http://xxxxx or Location: Publisher. or doi:xxxxx
Author is missing	Substitute title for author; then provide date and source	Title of document [Format]. or Title of document [Format].	(date).	n/a
Date is missing	Provide author, substitute n.d. for no date, and then give title and source	Author, A. A.	(n.d.).	Title of document [Format]. or Title of document [Format].
Title is missing	Provide author and date, describe document inside square brackets, and then give source	Author, A. A.	(date).	[Description of document].
Author and date are both missing	Substitute title for author and n.d. for no date; then give source	Title of document [Format]. or Title of document [Format].	(n.d.).	n/a
Author and title are both missing	Substitute description of document inside square brackets for author; then give date and source	[Description of document].	(date).	n/a
Date and title are both missing	Provide author, substitute n.d. for no date, describe document inside square brackets, and then give source	Author, A. A.	(n.d.).	[Description of document].
Author, date, and title are all missing	Substitute description of document inside square brackets for author, substitute n.d. for no date, and then give source	[Description of document].	(n.d.).	n/a
Source is missing	Cite as personal communication (see §6.20) or find a substitute	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Title Variations

As shown in the table, the title of a document is only sometimes italicized, depending on the independence of the source. That is, do italicize the title of a document that stands alone (books, reports, etc.), but do not italicize the title of a document that is part of a greater whole (chapters, articles, etc., which are part of edited books or journals, respectively). Also do not italicize the titles of software, instruments, and apparatus (see §7.08 in the Publication Manual). If you have trouble determining whether something stands alone (such as for a document on a website), choose not to italicize. For examples and more explanation, see the blog post on capitalization and formatting of reference titles in the reference list.

Source Variations

As shown in the Position D column of the table, the source part of a reference list entry can vary as well. It should reflect either a retrieval URL (for online documents without DOIs), a publisher location and name (for print sources), or a DOI (for any document that has one, whether print or online). It is not usually necessary to include a retrieval date for online sources; one should be provided only if the source is likely to change over time, such as with an unarchived wiki page.

Sometimes source information is incomplete but with a little detective work you can find what you need; for example, if you know a publisher name but not its location, you can research the publisher to find the location. Even sources of limited availability can be cited in APA Style, including unpublished and informally published works (see §7.09) and archival documents and collections (see §7.10).

Note, however, that it is not possible to write a traditional APA Style reference if source information is truly missing. The purpose of an APA Style reference is to provide readers with information on how to locate the source that you used, and if you cannot tell them how to do so, you either have to find a substitute or cite the source as personal communication (see §6.20 in the Publication Manual).

Creating In-Text Citations

Create an in-text citation for any reference by using the pieces from Positions A and B in the table above. For most references, this will be the author and date (Author, date). For titles in Position A, use italics for works that stand alone (Title of Document, date) and quotation marks for works that are part of a greater whole (“Title of Document,” date). Retain square brackets for descriptions of documents in Position A ([Description of document], date). For examples and more explanation, see our post on formatting and capitalization of titles in the text.  

We hope this guide to missing pieces will help you as you create your APA Style references.

Citing a Special Issue or Special Section in APA Style

by Timothy McAdoo

Typically you cite one thing at a time: anything from a journal article, a book or book chapter, a CD or mp3, a painting, a legal document, or classroom notes to a webpage, a YouTube video, a computer app, an e-book, or even a Twitter or Facebook post.

However, if you’ve ever read a special section or special issue of a journal, you know that the interrelated nature of these articles makes them a special case. In this post, I’ll detail how to reference and cite them.

What Are Special Sections and Special Issues?

Articles in a special issue focus on the same topic, albeit from different vantage points. An editor often requests that authors submit the articles in order to highlight an important topic.

These issues will often, but not always, include an introduction from the editor. In this, he or she may expound on the importance of the topic, explain how the topic and the individual articles were chosen, detail how the included articles agree or disagree on major points, and/or provide a summary or analysis of the findings. Special issues also generally have a title, which sets them apart from regular issues that have just a volume and issue number.

Special sections are much like special issues, only smaller. They appear within a regular issue and may or may not have a title.

 

References

Of course, you may want to reference just one article within a special issue or special section. That’s okay! To do so, just use the journal article reference format, as usual. (You can find examples in this sample reference list.)

But, if you want to reference the entire special issue or special section, here’s what you need to know (as per Example 12 on page 201 of the Publication Manual).

The reference to a special issue should include the editor(s), the year, the title, [Special issue], the journal name, volume, and issue. The reference to a special section should include the editor(s), the year, the title, [Special section], the journal name, volume, page range of the section, and the DOI (if applicable).

Rotf, L. (Ed.). (2012). Beyond the LOLcats: Maru, Nyan Cat, and more     [Special issue]. The Journal of Internet Memes, 115(3). Jenkins, L., & Astley, R. (Eds.). (2012). What’s up with Nyan Cat? [Special     section]. International Journal of Memes, 32, 415–565.     doi:27.0018/99-36me0w

If the issue has no editors, move the issue title to the author position.

Ennui or not ennui? Henri versus Keyboard Cat. (2012). Meme World, 19, 1–23.     doi:27.0018/45-09h1ss

 

Citations

For the citation, use the editor name(s) and the year, as usual.

...when soaring across the sky (Jenkins & Astley, 2012).

When there are no editors, the in-text citation should include a shortened title in quotation marks and the year.

...present with a wide spectrum of emotional states (“Ennui or Not Ennui,” 2012).

 

Reference Example Organization: How to Find the Example You Need in the Manual

by Chelsea Lee

Consider the following questions that the APA Style team has received:

• How do I cite a website?
• How do I cite interlibrary loan?
• How do I cite my Kindle?
• How do I cite my iPhone?

What do they have in common? Well, in each case, the individual asking the question has been unable to find the appropriate reference example in the Publication Manual and has turned to the APA Style team for answers. However, don’t take the existence of these questions as evidence that the answers aren’t in the manual, because they usually are. But to find them, you have to understand how the manual is organized—that’s how you’ll get to the reference example you really need.

Document Type, Not Delivery Method or Format

Many readers may be surprised to realize that the reference examples in the Publication Manual are organized by document type (articles, books, reports, etc.), not by method of delivery (computers, interlibrary loan, e-readers, smartphones) or format (paper, HTML, DVD, etc.). So for every reader who writes to us to say, “I can’t believe out of 77 examples in the Publication Manual, not one is for a website,” we take this opportunity to point out that a full 47 examples—that’s 61%—refer to online resources you’d find on a website.

So, remember that for the purpose of citation (and of finding reference examples), it matters what's on the website, not that the document is on a website in and of itself. 

Using the Manual to Find What You Need

The Publication Manual provides a wonderful index of document types in Chapter 7 prior to the reference examples themselves (see pp. 193–198). In addition to variations on document type (96 of them!), subvariations on author, title, and publication information are also provided. This list is an essential reference for users of the Publication Manual, and we hope you’ll take advantage of it now if you haven’t before.

Clarifying the Distinctions Among Delivery Method, Format, and Type

Additionally, we give to you the table below, which lists examples of different document delivery methods, formats, and types. The third column, for document type, also links to other APA Style Blog posts on the topic and lists relevant reference examples in the Publication Manual.

So when you ask an APA Style question—say, “How do I cite ‘X’?”—first try to find your “X” in the table below or in the index of document types in the manual. If you find it listed only in one of the first two columns of the table below, then you haven’t figured out the document type yet (that’s the third column), and you’re not quite ready to write the reference. Note that there are as many possible document types out there as the day is long, so for brevity’s sake, this table includes only the most common. Many more are in the Chapter 7 index.  

Document delivery method 	Document format	Document type
Computer	Paper	Journal article (ex: 1–6)
Internet browser	HTML (as on a website)	Magazine or newspaper article (ex: 7–11)
Mobile phone (e.g., iPhone, Android phone)	PDF (as on a website)	Special section in a journal (ex: 12)
Tablet computer (e.g., iPad)	Digital audio file (e.g., mp3, mp4)	Monograph (ex: 13)
E-reader (e.g., Kindle, Nook)	Digital video file (e.g., flash video, streaming video, wmv, mp4)	Editorial (ex: 14)
Interlibrary loan (e.g., ILLiad)	DVD or Blu-ray	Abstract (ex: 16, 17)
Visit to a library in person	Film	Book or book chapter (ex: 18–26)
Photocopy	CD, cassette, or record	Report (technical, government, etc.) (ex: 31–35)
Movie projector	Art materials (paint, clay, etc.)	Dictionary or encyclopedia, whole book or entry (ex: 27–30)
Stereo or other audio player		Wikipedia or wiki entry
Paper		Proceedings from a meeting or symposium (ex: 38, 39)
Museum		Dissertation or thesis (ex: 40–44)
Archival collection		Review (ex: 45–48)
Physical object (e.g., book)		Video (e.g., YouTube video, movie, TV show) (ex: 49, 51)
		Podcast (ex: 50)
		Music recording (ex: 52)
		Software (ex: 56)
		Unpublished, informally published, or self-published work (ex: 58–62)
		Letter (ex: 63–65)
		Interview (recorded or transcribed) (ex: 69, 70)
		Pamphlet or brochure
		Artwork or images
		Photograph (ex: 73)
		Blog post (ex: 76)
		Press release
		Tweet
		Facebook update
		Information on a webpage
		Personal communication (e-mail, phone call, unrecorded interview, etc.) (see section 6.20)

Trouble Finding “X”

If you have trouble nailing down exactly what “X” is, other than perhaps you know it is on a website, then read our blog post on discerning different kinds of website material for more help. If you know what “X” is but you can’t find an exact example in the manual, read our blog post on what to do when you can’t find the exact document type in the Publication Manual. 

We hope this post will help you to find the APA Style reference example that you’re looking for. 

Jr., Sr., and Other Suffixes in APA Style

by Timothy McAdoo

 Henry W. “Indiana” Jones Jr.: “I like Indiana."
Henry W. Jones Sr.: “We named the dog Indiana.”

Much like the intrepid Dr. Jones, when writing a paper, you never know what riddles you’ll have to solve. (Unlike Indiana, you can always ask the APA Style team for help!) I hope to clear up one such riddle here: how to handle suffixes in author names.

Quick Summary (in case you need to make a dramatic exit before the end of this post!)*

"Jr.," “III,” or other suffixes are not included with in-text citations, but they are included in the reference list entries.

References

In a reference, include the suffix, set off with commas, as shown here:

Jones, H. W., Jr., & Jones, H. W., Sr. (1941). My adventures in Alexandretta.       The Journal of Fictional Archeology, 1, 1–19. doi:46.34262/56637

Belloq, R. (1926). Shiny things. In B. C. Explorateur Jr. (Ed.), Artifacts lost and       found [E-reader version] (pp. 210–223). Paris, France: Gaxotte Publishing.

 

You may note that in the first example, because the names in the author portion of a reference are inverted, commas are needed before the suffix. In the second example, the suffix is in the editor name; because names are not inverted in the editor portion of the reference, the comma is not needed. More examples can be found in this post on citing book chapters in APA Style.

If the suffixes are numerals, alphabetize the entries by these numerals. For example,

Lucas, G., I. (2001). Tinkering with details (Vol. 1). Hollywood, CA:       A.G.F.F.A. Publishing.

Lucas, G., II. (2012). You can always change it later. Hollywood, CA:       A.G.F.F.A. Publishing.

 

Citations

For the citation in your text, do not include the suffix. Just use the author’s last name as you normally would:

...which would lead to a fear of snakes (Jones & Jones, 1941). Jones and Jones (1941) also found that...

 

*If you’re feeling adventurous, you can find the keys to this post throughout the Publication Manual. The fourth bullet on page 184 explains how to punctuate suffixes within a reference, and page 204 has an example with “Jr.” (Example 24). The guideline for alphabetizing appears in the second bullet at the top of page 182.

How to Capitalize and Format Reference Titles in APA Style

 by Chelsea Lee

APA Style has special formatting rules for the titles of the sources you use in your paper, such as the titles of books, articles, book chapters, reports, and webpages. The different formats that might be applied are capitalization (see Publication Manual, section 4.15), italics (see section 4.21), and quotation marks (see section 4.07), and they are used in different combinations for different kinds of sources in different contexts.

The formatting of the titles of sources you use in your paper depends on two factors: (a) the independence of the source (stands alone vs. part of a greater whole) and (b) the location of the title (in the text of the paper vs. in the reference list entry). The table below provides formatting directions and examples:

Independence of source	Text		Reference list
	Treatment	Example	Treatment	Example
Stands alone (e.g., book, e-book, report [technical, government, etc.], dissertation, thesis, film, video, television series, podcast, YouTube video, artwork, map, music album, unpublished manuscript)	Italic, title case	Gone With the Wind	Italic, sentence case	Gone with the wind
Part of a greater whole (e.g., journal article, book chapter, e-book chapter, newspaper article, magazine article, blog post, television episode, webisode, webpage, tweet, Facebook update, encyclopedia entry, Wikipedia entry, dictionary entry, song)	Inside double quotation marks, title case	“Longitudinal Impact of Parental and Adolescent Personality on Parenting”	Not inside any quotation marks, sentence case	Longitudinal impact of parental and adolescent personality on parenting

More on Italics Versus Nonitalics

As you can see in the table above, the titles of works that stand alone (such as a book or a report) are italicized in both the text and the reference list. In contrast, the titles of works that are part of a greater whole (such as an article, which is part of a journal, or a book chapter, which is part of a book) are not italicized in either place, and only in the text are they put inside quotation marks. If you are having difficulty determining whether something stands alone (such as a webpage that may or may not be part of a greater website), choose not to italicize.

More on Capitalization: Title Case Versus Sentence Case

APA Style uses two kinds of capitalization to format reference titles, which are also mentioned in the table above: title case and sentence case. APA’s title case refers to a capitalization style in which most words are capitalized, and sentence case refers to a capitalization style in which most words are lowercased. In both cases, proper nouns and certain other types of words are always capitalized. Here are more detailed directions for implementing title case and sentence case.

Text Examples

As shown in the table above, title case is used for the titles of references when they appear in the text of an APA Style paper. Here are some examples of titles written in title case (of an article and a book, respectively), as they might appear in a sentence in the text of a paper:

The article “Psychological Distress, Acculturation, and Mental Health-Seeking Attitudes Among People of African Descent in the United States: A Preliminary Investigation” (Obasi & Leong, 2009) makes an important contribution to the mental health and acculturation literature.

Students read stories of visual agnosia in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales (Sacks, 1985).

Reference List Entry Examples

In contrast, sentence case is used for titles of references when they appear in reference list entries. See how the book and article titles look when capitalized in sentence case in these example reference list entries:

Obasi, E. M., & Leong, F. T. L. (2009). Psychological distress, acculturation, and mental health-seeking attitudes among people of African descent in the United States: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 227–238. doi:10.1037/a0014865

Sacks, O. (1985). The man who mistook his wife for a hat and other clinical tales. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

We hope this helps you understand how to capitalize and format reference titles in APA Style. 

More Posts on Capitalization

• Do I Capitalize This Word?
• How to Capitalize Author Names in APA Style
• Title Case and Sentence Case Capitalization in APA Style

How to Cite Cochrane Reviews in APA Style

by Jeff Hume-Pratuch

Dear Style Experts,

How should I format a reference for an article from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews? I have the names of the authors, the date and the title of the topic; however, there is no journal as such. Do I use "retrieved from" with the URL, or should I include the DOI?

--Anonymous

Dear A.,

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews consists of original material written by members of the Cochrane Collaboration. Its articles may be published in database form, but it functions like an online journal: Numbered issues are published 12 times a year, and each article has its own DOI. Therefore, we can modify the journal article format to fit a Cochrane Review, as follows:

Singh, J., Kour, K., & Jayaram Mahesh, B. (2012). Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for schizophrenia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2012(1), 1–101. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD007967.pub2

Note that the year of publication does double duty as the volume number. The issue number is needed because the journal is not continuously paginated. And because we have a DOI, neither the URL nor the Cochrane-assigned ID number is needed.

Hope this helps,
--Jeff

 

APA Style Interactive Learning

Anne Gasque

Have you ever had the urge to read the Publication Manual from beginning to end? We thought not. 

It takes a special kind of stamina and devotion to approach a manual of writing guidance and style rules with the excitement a person might bring to, say, John Grisham’s latest legal thriller. To help you find your way in the manual, we’ve created an interactive online course. This course, available for continuing education credit, provides a comprehensive tour of the guidance in the Publication Manual. 

Basics of APA Style: An Online Course follows the organization of the manual and offers an in-depth overview of the types of articles used in psychological and social research, manuscript elements, heading style, reducing bias in language, punctuation, capitalization, italics, numbers, tables, figures, citing references in text, creating a reference list, and reference templates and examples. Many of the sections in the course include relevant examples to provide context, and each section ends with two or three review questions to help you learn as you go along. The course ends with 20 assessment questions and offers 4 CE credits upon successful completion. We hope you find the course a helpful tool for learning APA Style!

If you would like a broader less detailed overview of APA Style, we offer a free tutorial, The Basics of APA Style, which shows you how to structure and format your work, recommends ways to reduce bias in language, identifies how to avoid charges of plagiarism, shows how to cite references in text, and provides selected reference examples.

Got Volume?

by Stefanie

 

Just as no two snowflakes and no two people (and no two people who think they are special snowflakes) are alike, so too are no two references alike. Sometimes elements of standard reference formats are missing, and both the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, sixth edition, and we here at the blog try to anticipate those situations with advice on what to do. Today’s blog post covers just such a situation: the missing volume number on a periodical.

 

First, double-check to make sure the volume number is actually missing. Search the front, back, and spine (if there is a spine) of the journal, magazine, or newsletter, as well as the table of contents page. Also, sometimes the volume number is buried (deep!) in the publication information. For example, I just picked up from the corner of my desk a back issue of my children’s Disney Adventures magazine. On the cover is the issue month and year (September 2006) but no volume number. On page 88, in 6-point type (OK, probably 4-point type; boy, it’s small)—along with the ISSN number, publisher contact numbers, subscription information, and copyright and trademark notices—the volume and numerical issue numbers (Vol. 18, No. 7) are included. So now I can create a reference for the Miley Cyrus and Ashley Tisdale interview that completely follows Example 7 (magazine article) on page 200 of the Publication Manual!

 

Barnes, D. (2006, September). Miley and Ashley BFF. Disney Adventures, 18(7), 26–29.

 

(Note to self: I need to clean off my desk more often.)

Second, double-check whether a volume number is needed at all. Note that in the case of online newsletters, the volume number is not required (see Example 9 on p. 200 of the Publication Manual).

 

(Online version of newsletter)

Blum, E. S. (2010). Building healthier communities from the ground up. Banking and Community Perspectives. Retrieved from http://www.dallasfed.org/ca/bcp/2010/bcp1002.pdf

 

Third, consider whether the year is pulling double duty. If I have an issue number but no volume number for a publication paginated by issue and I am working from the hard copy (i.e., not the online version, or maybe no online version is available), I have a problem, because the issue number will look funny standing alone in parentheses without the volume number to anchor it. Yet, an issue number indicates that the issue is part of a larger volume. What is number of that volume? In some cases, the volume number is the year.

 

If you look at the first page of a Banking and Community Perspectives newsletter, for example, you can see that the year appears with the issue number, much as a traditional volume number would. Also, if you look at the archive for these newsletters, you can see that the archive is organized by year, and the issue numbers refer to the order in which the issues came out during each year, starting over at 1 every new year. Thus, if you are using a hard copy of a newsletter or magazine (and therefore need a volume number in the reference) and if a separate volume number is absent, the year may be pulling double duty, as is the case for Banking and Community Perspectives. If this is the situation with your publication, use the year in both places in the reference (i.e., the year position and the volume position).

 

(Hard copy of newsletter)

Blum, E. S. (2010). Building healthier communities from the ground up. Banking and Community Perspectives, 2010(2), 3–10, 12.

 

Other questions about volume numbers? Let us know in the comments or at [email protected]! Please include examples or links to the publications or articles in question. Thank you!
 

How to Cite Recorded Music in APA Style (+ Playlist)

by Jeff Hume-Pratuch

It’s December 22, the date on which I traditionally panic about the holidays. Cards sit unwritten, unaddressed, and unstamped on my desk. Cookies are unbaked, gifts are unbought, and the house is distinctly underdecorated!

But this year I am as cool as a cup of eggnog, for I have come up with the perfect holiday playlist to accompany my last-minute flurry of activity. Don’t tell my colleagues, but certain people may be finding a mix tape in their stockings (accompanied by a reference list, of course—we are the APA Style Experts.)

The Basics
In a previous post, I showed you some examples for citing sheet music in APA Style. The format for a recorded song is similar, but it resembles a chapter rather than a book. The name of the songwriter goes in the author position:

Writer, A. (Copyright year). Title of song [Recorded by B. B. Artist].     On Title of album [Medium of recording]. Location: Label. (Date of     recording)

So, for example, where the songwriter and performing artist are the same, the reference would look like this:

Baron Cohen, E. (2010). My Hanukkah (Keep the fire alive). On     Songs in the key of Hanukkah [MP3 file]. Burbank, CA:     WaterTower Music. Fuchs, G. (2004). Light the menorah. On Eight nights of Hanukkah [CD].     Brick, NJ: Kid Kosher. Lehrer, T. (2000). (I’m spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica. On The     remains of Tom Lehrer [CD]. New York, NY: Rhino.

Variations on a Theme
If the song is recorded by someone other than the songwriter, include the information about the recording artist(s) in brackets after the song title.

Lavin, C. (2003). A Christmas/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Chanukah/Ramadan/     Boxing Day song [Recorded by C. Lavin & the Mistletones]. On The     runaway Christmas tree [CD]. West Chester, PA: Appleseed Recordings. Page, S. (2010). Hanukkah blessings [Recorded by Barenaked Ladies].     On Barenaked for the holidays [CD]. London, England: Raisin Records.

If the recording identifies the lyricist and composer, include their roles in parentheses after the name:

Geisel, T. (Lyricist), & Hague, A. (Composer). (1966). Welcome     Christmas! On Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch stole Christmas &     Horton hears a Who [CD]. New York, NY: Rhino. Wesley, C. (Lyricist), & Mendelssohn, F. (Composer). (2006). Hark! The     herald angels sing [Recorded by the Vince Guaraldi Trio]. On A     Charlie Brown Christmas [CD]. Beverly Hills, CA: Fantasy Records.

However, it’s not necessary to note the species if performers are non-Homo sapiens:

Bagdasarian, R., Sr. (1962). The chipmunk song [Recorded by D. Seville     & The Chipmunks]. On Christmas with the Chipmunks [CD]. Los Angeles,     CA: Capitol Records. (2002) Burland, S. (1963). The chickens are in the chimes [Recorded by     S. Burland, M. Adams, & The Skipjack Choir]. On The chickens are in     the chimes [Vinyl record]. New York, NY: RCA Victor. Hayes, B., & Johnson, J. W. (1948). Blue Christmas [Recorded by S. Swine     & The Squeelers]. On John Boy and Billy’s Christmas album [Audio     cassette]. Nashville, TN: Arista Records. (1998)

Particularly with traditional holiday music, the author may be unknown. In that case, the title of the song moves to the author position:

God rest ye merry, gentlemen [Recorded by Jars of Clay]. (2007). On     Christmas songs. Vancouver, Canada: Nettwerk. I have a little dreidel [Recorded by Sister Hazel]. (2007). On Santa’s     playlist. Newark, NJ: Rock Ridge Music.

Text Citations
For music recordings, the text citation consists of the songwriter(s) and date, along with the track number (or side and band, for vinyl records):

Lehrer (2000, track 11) noted that East St. Louis was not the optimal spot for a celebration of Shavuot.

If the copyright date and recording date are different, use both dates in the text citation:

Bernard, F. & Smith, R. B. (1934). Winter wonderland [Recorded by     The Eurythmics]. On A very special Christmas [CD]. Santa Monica,     CA: A&M Records. (2006) “Winter Wonderland” (Bernard & Smith, 1934/2006, track 5)

A Very Special APA Holiday
To all of our readers, we wish you happy holidays and a prosperous new year! You can listen to the entire playlist for this article on Spotify at APA Holiday.