How to Cite Instagram in APA Style

Note: For examples and guidelines for citing Instagram (photos, videos, highlights, and profiles) in seventh edition APA Style, see the seventh edition reference examples page.

The examples here are in sixth edition APA Style.

by Timothy McAdoo

We’ve joined Instagram! Follow us for APA Style tips, FAQs, and maybe even some contests! https://instagram.com/officialapastyle

How do you cite Instagram? Whether you're citing a photo, a video, a profile page, or a highlight, just include the following in your reference:

• who (name and Instagram username),
• when (date posted),
• what (the caption, highlight title, or profile page title), and
• where (URL).

Elements of a Reference to an Instagram Photo or Video
Example References to Instagram Photos or Videos

APA Style [@officialapastyle]. (2018, December 5). Welcome to the official Instagram for #APAStyle! We’re here to help you with your APA Style questions [Instagram photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq-A-dvBLiH/

Fox, M. J. [@realmikejfox]. (2018, June 5). It takes < than a min to learn how to save a life. Watch the video at handsonly.nyc #ICanSaveALife with #HandsOnlyCPR [Instagram photo]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BjppDLDBxRF/

Public Interest Directorate [@apapubint]. (2018, May 12). Happy Mother’s Day!! “It is important for the son to have a close relationship with his mother while he is [Instagram video]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BirIQFnnmzd/

• in-text citations: (APA Style, 2018; Fox, 2018; Public Interest Directorate, 2018)

The Instagram username can be seen with the post. But, for the individual's surname and initials or for the official name of a brand or organization, you'll need to consult the profile page (by clicking the profile image).

Include the exact date of a post, as shown in the examples above. Instagram automatically shows the exact date for posts that are more than 1 week old. Very recent posts will give a description of the date (e.g., “1 day ago”); however, your reference should include the exact date. If viewing the post on a computer, rather than a mobile device, you can hover over the description to see the exact date.

Per our guidelines for citing other types of social media, include only the first 40 words of a caption.

 

Elements of a Reference to an Instagram Profile

Example References for Instagram Profile Pages

Because profile pages are not dated, use "n.d." in the reference. Use “Posts” as the title.

APA Style [@officialapastyle]. (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]. Retrieved December 10, 2018, from https://www.instagram.com/officialapastyle

Star Wars [@starwars]. (n.d.). Posts [Instagram profile]. Retrieved December 10, 2018, from https://www.instagram.com/starwars/

• in-text citations: (APA Style, n.d.; Star Wars, n.d.)

“Posts” is the default state of an Instagram profile page, but use “IGTV,” “Tagged,” “Followers,” or “Following” if you intend to cite those versions of the profile page.

Swift, T. [@taylorswift]. (n.d.). Tagged [Instagram profile]. Retrieved December 10, 2018, from https://www.instagram.com/taylorswift/tagged

• in-text citations: (Swift, n.d.)

Elements of a Reference to an Instagram Highlight

Example References for Instagram Highlights

Although each story within the highlight is dated, the highlight itself is not dated, so use "n.d." in the reference. Because the highlight can be changed at any time, with content added or removed, include the retrieval date with the URL:

APA Style [@officialapastyle]. (n.d.). FAQs [Instagram highlight]. Retrieved December 10, 2018, from https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTc2ODkwNTk5MTc5MTY1/

• in-text citations: (APA Style, n.d.)

 

In-Text Citations

As can be seen in the examples above, in-text citations for Instagram (and other social media sources) match the surname or organizational name of the author as shown in the reference, but they do not include the username. This allows the in-text citations to match the references but also to be grouped with other in-text citations for works by the same author(s).

"...to learn CPR (Fox, 2017a, 2017b, 2018)." "...from the American Psychological Association (APA Style, n.d., 2018; Public Interest Directorate, 2018)."

 

Hashtags

Hashtags may appear in the caption (and thus in your reference; see first example above). But, to discuss hashtags more generally, describe them in the text of your paper. For more, see our post on citing hashtags in APA Style.

Note: This post was edited after initial posting to update the highlight and profile references, which should include the retrieval date.

How to Cite a Government Report in APA Style

Note: For examples and guidelines for citing government reports in seventh edition APA Style, see the Reports and Gray Literature section of the seventh edition reference examples page.

The examples here are in sixth edition APA Style.

by Chelsea Lee

The basic citation for a government report follows the author–date–title–source format of APA Style references. Here is a template:

Reference list: Government Author. (year). Title of report: Subtitle of report if applicable (Report No. 123). Retrieved from http://xxxxx In text: (Government Author, year)

 

Note that the report number may not be present, or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording shown on your report to write your reference (see how the wording is adjusted for the National Cancer Institute example later in this post).

Who Is the Author of a Government Report?

Most of the time the government department or agency is used as the author for an APA Style government report reference. Sometimes individual people are also credited as having written the report; however, their names do not appear in the APA Style reference unless their names also appear on the cover of the report (vs. within the report somewhere, such as on an acknowledgments page). So again, the name(s) on the cover or title page go in the reference, for reasons of retrievability, and most of the time, it is the name of the agency. 

Reference list (recommended format): National Cancer Institute. (2016). Taking part in cancer treatment research studies (Publication No. 16-6249). Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/CRS.pdf In text (recommended format): (National Cancer Institute, 2016)

How Many Layers of Government Agencies Should Be Listed?

Government agencies frequently list the full hierarchy of departments on their reports. As anyone familiar with bureaucracy knows, this can add up to a lot of layers. For example, the author of the National Cancer Institute report in the example above might be fully written out as follows:

Reference list (long form, correct but not recommended): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. (2016). Taking part in cancer treatment research studies (Publication No. 16-6249). Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/CRS.pdf In text (long form, correct but not recommended): (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, 2016)

You might notice that this author name is rather lengthy! Listing the full hierarchy of agencies as shown on the report in question (from largest to smallest) is correct; however, it is also correct to list the most specific responsible agency only (in this case, the National Cancer Institute).

We recommend the shorter, more specific format for a few reasons.

• Our users have expressed to us that this shorter name form makes it easier to write references and in-text citations.
• The shorter form makes it easier for readers to differentiate between reports authored by a variety of agencies. Imagine, for example, a paper containing many government reports; the citations and references could quickly overwhelm the text if the long form were used.

However, if using only the most specific responsible agency would cause confusion (e.g., if you are citing institutes with the same name from two countries, such as the United States and Canada), then include the parent agencies in the author element to differentiate them.

How Does the In-Text Citation Correspond to the Reference List Entry?

Ensure that the name of the government author you use in the in-text citation matches the name of the author in the reference list entry exactly. Do not use the long form in one spot and the short form in the other. An exception is that you can introduce an abbreviation for the government agency in the text if you will be referring to it frequently. Read this blog post to learn how to abbreviate group author names.

Never Space Out on Line Spacing Again

by Chelsea Lee

Feeling spacey on how to line space your APA Style paper? Follow this handy guide to never have line spacing questions again.

 

 

Line Spacing Recommendations for APA Style

Element	Spacing	Note
Title page	Double
Abstract	Double
Text	Double
Footnotes (at bottom of page)	Single	Use the default settings for footnotes in your word-processing program (in Microsoft Word and APA Style CENTRAL this is single spacing)
References	Double	Double space within references and between references
Table body	Single, 1.5, or double	Spacing inside the cells of a table can be adjusted to best present your data
Table title, number, and note	Double	Double space the table number and title above the table body as well as any table note below the table
Figure (any text in the image)	Single, 1.5, or double	Spacing of any text in an image can be adjusted to best present your information
Figure caption	Double	Double space the figure caption below the figure image
Appendices	Double
Displayed equations (on their own line)	Triple or quadruple	This means to add one or two extra blank lines above or below the equation

When to Add Extra Lines

In general, it is not necessary to add extra blank lines to an APA Style paper (an exception is around displayed equations, where you can add one or two blank lines before and/or after the equation to make it more visible to the reader).

If your tables and figures are embedded within the text, rather than displayed on their own pages after the reference list, then you can also add an extra blank line above and/or below the table or figure to visually separate it from any text on the same page.  It is not usually necessary to add lines to avoid widowed or orphaned headings (meaning headings at the bottom of a page; though ask your professor to be sure if you are concerned about typesetting, such as with a dissertation).

Other Sections

The default line spacing recommendation for APA Style is to use double-spacing throughout a paper. If your paper requires a section not addressed in this post or in the Publication Manual, then we recommend you use double spacing unless you have been instructed otherwise. For example, if your dissertation or thesis requires a table of contents (including lists of tables and figures), then we recommend that you generate it using an automatic table of contents function (such as the one in Microsoft Word). The default spacing of the table of contents function is acceptable, as is changing the spacing of the table of contents to double if desired.  

 

How to Format Your CV or Resume

by Hannah Greenbaum

Our users often ask us how to format a curriculum vitae (CV) or resume in APA Style. The answer is simple: Do whatever you want! Seriously, APA does not provide guidelines, in the Publication Manual or elsewhere, for the style and layout of a CV or resume. However, if you choose to, or are instructed to, follow APA Style in your CV or resume, you can adapt components (e.g., references, guidelines for hyphenation, and other writing guidelines) of APA Style as presented in the Publication Manual. You probably wouldn’t want to use some APA Style formatting, like double-spacing because you want to showcase your experience and skills in a small space.

You might still wonder what to do even if there aren’t APA rules to follow. I understand this personally because questions flooded my mind when I began applying to graduate school . . . not the least of which were "How do I write a CV? Or resume? What is the difference?! 😤"

A CV (curriculum vitae) is Latin for "course of life" and is generally longer, academically focused, and more comprehensive than a resume. A resume is French for "summary" and is typically a one-page document showcasing more professionally oriented experiences and skills. (UC Davis Internship & Career Center, 2015)

Several years later, and near the completion of a doctoral degree in counseling psychology, I consistently add to my CV as I attain academic and professional experiences. I also have one-page resumes on hand and resumes tailored to specific kinds of employment.

Another tip is to look to the CVs of your advisors, mentors, and trusted academic colleagues for examples. Some people boldface their own name when it appears as part of a reference for previously published works or spell out all author names when their name would otherwise be omitted by an ellipsis. To indicate contributions to works when you are not listed as an author, you can create a section and explain what you did. These are suggestions; in the end you have latitude to organize these documents in a way that makes sense to you (just be sure to include relevant information). Some employers provide guidelines. Write with your audience in mind.

I have also found the following articles helpful. The more examples you expose yourself to, the better. Find a format that works for you and that fits the type of experience you are seeking.

• Build a Better CV
• CV Dos and Don'ts
• Curriculum Vitae Dos and Don'ts
• Resume vs. Curriculum Vitae: What’s the Difference?

Now go live your life and enjoy your experiences! But remember to document your accomplishments in your CV and resume!

Reference

UC Davis Internship and Career Center. (2015). Resume vs. curriculum vitae: What's the difference? Retrieved from https://icc.ucdavis.edu/materials/resume/resumecv.htm

How to Create References When Words in the Title Are Italicized

by Timothy McAdoo

Although the title of a journal article or book chapter is not usually italicized, sometimes words within the title may be italicized. These include book or movie titles, letters or words as linguistic examples, statistics, scientific names for animals, and other items that would be italicized in text, per APA Style guidelines.

Examples

Corballis, M. C., & McLaren, R. (1984). Winding one's Ps and Qs: Mental rotation and mirror-image discrimination. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 10, 318–327. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.10.2.318

Foulkes, D. (1994). The interpretation of dreams and the scientific study of dreaming. Dreaming, 4, 82–85. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0094402

Lai, J., Fidler, F., & Cummings, G. (2015). Subjective p intervals: Researchers underestimate the variability of p values over replication. Methodology, 8, 51–62. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-2241/a000037

Yoder, A. M., Widen, S. C., & Russell, J. A. (2016). The word disgust may refer to more than one emotion. Emotion, 16, 301–308. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000118

If the title of the work is already italicized, as with a reference for a book, report, or dissertation or thesis, then the item that would otherwise be italicized is reverse italicized (meaning that it is in roman type within an otherwise italicized title).

Examples

Blaylock, B. (2015). Coming of age: The narrative of adolescence in David Almond’s Kit’s wilderness and Nick Lake’s In darkness (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 10000726)

Reichenberg, L. (2013). DSM–5 essentials: The savvy clinician’s guide to the changes in criteria. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

 

How to Format Scientific Names of Animals

by Timothy McAdoo

When an animal name is part of a journal article title, it is conventional to provide the animal’s scientific name (genus and species). Genus is always capitalized and species is not. Notice that the scientific names are also italicized (see examples on p. 105 of the APA Publication Manual).

For example, see the following articles from APA Journals:

This convention of including the scientific name in the paper’s title is not an APA Style guideline specified in the manual; however, it is an accepted norm of scientific research. (If you have any questions about whether to include the scientific name in your paper or manuscript, ask your teacher, advisor, or editor.)

So, if you cite an article that includes a genus and species in the title, how should the title appear in your reference list? Keep the italics and capitalization of the animal’s scientific name exactly as they appear in the original title:

MacLean, E. L., Krupenye, C., & Hare, B. (2014). Dogs (Canis familiaris) account for body orientation but not visual barriers when responding to pointing gestures. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 128, 285–297. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0035742

Tu, H.-W., & Hampton, R. R. (2014). Control of working memory in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, 40, 467–476. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xan0000030

How to Cite a Twitter Moment

Note: For examples and guidelines for citing Twitter (tweets, profiles, and moments) in seventh edition APA Style, see the seventh edition reference examples page.

The examples here are in sixth edition APA Style.

by Timothy McAdoo

With Twitter moments, introduced last year, anyone can collect related tweets in one page.

These are easy to cite because Twitter provides all the necessary information—who (Twitter username), when (date), what (title), and where (URL)!

Examples

Reference: APA Style [APA_Style]. (2016, November 15). Research and writing [Twitter moment]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/i/moments/801080248762847234

In-text citation: (APA Style, 2016) or APA Style (2016).

Reference: Reuters Top News [Reuters]. (2016, November 1). Inside David Bowie's art collection [Twitter moment]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/i/moments/793575609028915200

In-text citation: (Reuters Top News, 2016) or Reuters Top News (2016).

If you need more help citing social media, see our posts about tweets, Facebook status updates, hashtags, and more!

How to Cite Quality Standards and Guidelines in APA Style

by Chelsea Lee

To cite a quality standard or guideline in APA Style, provide the author, date, title, and source of the work. After the title of the work, provide any number or identifier for the standard in parentheses without italics. Here is a template for citing a standard:

Template

Reference list: Organization That Made the Standard. (year). Title of the standard (Standard No. 1234). Retrieved from http://xxxxx In text: (Organization That Made the Standard, year).

The only exception is if the standard appears in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), because federal standards are considered legal references and follow legal style; directions for citing standards in the CFR are at the end of this post.

Here are some examples of typical standard citations and their corresponding in-text citations. Note that most of the organizations that publish standards commonly go by acronyms (e.g., OSHA for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration). The acronym is optional to use. If you do use the acronym, use it in the text only, not in the reference list entry. Spell out the name of the group the first time you cite the work and provide the acronym either in parentheses or brackets (depending on whether the written-out form is already in parentheses); for any subsequent citations or mentions, use the acronym. If you use multiple works by the same group, you only need to introduce the acronym once. How to introduce the acronym is also shown in the example citations below.

ISO Standards

International Organization for Standardization. (2016). Occupational health and safety management systems—Requirements with guidance for use (ISO/DIS Standard No. 45001). Retrieved from http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=63787

• In text, first citation: (International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 2016) or International Organization for Standardization (ISO, 2016).
• In text, subsequent citations: (ISO, 2016) or ISO (2016).

OSHA Standards

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (1970). Occupational safety and health standards: Occupational health and environmental control (Standard No. 1910.95). Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9735

• In text, first citation: (Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA], 1970) or Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, 1970).
• In text, subsequent citations: (OSHA, 1970) or OSHA (1970).
• Note that the date for an OSHA standard should be the effective date; for most standards, this is 1970. If you are citing multiple OSHA standards, create separate reference list entries for each one and differentiate them by using lowercase letters after the year (e.g., OSHA, 1970a, 1970b), as described in this post on “reference twins.”

NICE Guidelines

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2013). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (NICE Quality Standard No. 39). Retrieved from https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs39

• In text, first citation: (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], 2013) or National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2013).
• In text, subsequent citations: (NICE, 2013) or NICE (2013).

Standard Published as a Federal Regulation

Designation of Uses for the Establishment of Water Quality Standards, 40 C.F.R. § 131.10 (2015).

• In text: (Designation of Uses for the Establishment of Water Quality Standards, 2015) or Designation of Uses for the Establishment of Water Quality Standards (2015).
• For more information on citing federal regulations, see Section A7.06 of the Publication Manual (p. 223).

The template shown at the beginning of this post should cover all types of quality standards you might want to cite in APA Style, but if you have further questions, leave a comment below!

How to Cite a YouTube Channel

by Timothy McAdoo

Dear APA Style Experts: I know you can create a reference to a YouTube video, but is it possible to cite an entire YouTube channel?

Thanks!
—Zeynep L.

Yes! A reference to a YouTube channel follows the usual who (YouTube username), when (date), what (title), and where (URL) format:

Reference: PsycINFO. (n.d.). Home [YouTube Channel]. Retrieved from http://youtube.com/PsycINFO In-text citation: PsycINFO (n.d.) or (PsycINFO, n.d.)

In this example,

Who = "PsycINFO.": Use the username shown in the "Who" section, as indicated in the image below.

When = "n.d." because YouTube channels are undated.

What = "Home [YouTube Channel]": As you can see below, every YouTube channel’s title is "Home" by default unless you are citing one of the other tabs (Videos, Playlists, Channels, Discussion, About) on the channel. If so, just substitute that tab’s name.

Where = "Retrieved from http://youtube.com/PsycINFO"

Writing Website In-Text Citations and References

Note: For examples and guidelines for in-text citations and references in seventh edition APA Style, see the seventh edition style and grammar guidelines page and the seventh edition reference examples page. 

The examples here are in sixth edition APA Style.

 

Dear Style Expert,

I found a very useful website and cited a lot of information from it in my paper. But how do I write an in-text citation for content I found on a website? Do I just put the URL in the sentence where I cite the information?

Thanks,

Wallace

Dear Wallace,

This is a tricky question, but we can help! The short answer is that in most cases no, you do not put the URL in the text of the paper. In fact, the only time you would put a URL in the text would be to simply mention a website in passing. Because you’re citing specific information, you will need to write a regular APA Style author–date citation. Luckily, writing the in-text citation for a website or webpage is easy: Simply include the author and year of publication. The URL goes in the corresponding reference list entry (and yes, you can leave the links live).

Website Example 

In-text citation: The American Nurses Association (2006) issued a position statement insisting that pharmaceutical companies immediately cease using thimerosal as a vaccine preservative.

 

Reference list: American Nurses Association. (2006). Mercury in vaccines [Position statement]. Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy/Positions-and-Resolutions/ANAPositionStatements/Archives/Mercury-in-Vaccines.html

Note that the title of the website or webpage should be italicized in the reference list if the work on the page stands alone but not italicized if it is part of a greater whole (if this is ambiguous on the source, just choose what you think makes the most sense for the situation). In deciding how to categorize material on a website for a reference, it may be helpful to consider whether what is on the website is similar to an existing category of document type—for example, this reference is a position statement, which is similar to a press release, white paper, or report; hence the italic title. To clarify the document type, you can also specify the format in brackets after the title. 

Determining Website Authors

It can be confusing to determine who the author of a website or webpage is. Often, the author is a group or agency rather than a particular individual. For example, the author of the position statement cited above is the American Nurses Association. If the website or webpage truly does not have an author, substitute the title of the page for the author in the in-text citation and reference list entry (see this post on missing reference pieces for examples of how to do this).

Determining Website Dates

A second source of confusion is that many websites or webpages do not include publication dates. If no date of publication is provided, use the letters n.d. (which stand for “no date”). The copyright date on the website itself should not be used as the publication date for particular content on that site.

If multiple dates are provided, use the most recent date on which the content was changed. For example, if the site says the content was first published in 2010 and last updated on August 6, 2016, then use the date 2016 in the in-text citation and reference list. However, if the site says it was first published in 2010 and last reviewed in July 2016, then use the date 2010 because a review does not imply that any information was changed.

Multiple Website Citations

If you use information from multiple pages on a website, create a separate reference list entry for each page, with in-text citations that correspond to the appropriate reference list entry. It is common for writers to have multiple entries with the same author and year, so to differentiate these entries, use a letter after the year (e.g., 2016a) or after n.d. (e.g., n.d.-a; more examples here), assigning the letter by putting the references in alphabetical order by title in the reference list. Put references with no date before references with dates, and put in-press references last.

Multiple reference list entries: American Nurses Association. (n.d.). Know your disaster. Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/WorkplaceSafety/Healthy-Work-Environment/DPR/KnowYourDisaster   American Nurses Association. (1991a). Equipment/safety procedures to prevent transmission of bloodborne diseases [Position statement]. Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy/Positions-and-Resolutions/ANAPositionStatements/Position-Statements-Alphabetically/EquipmentSafety-Procedures-to-Prevent-Transmission-of-Bloodborne-Diseases.html American Nurses Association. (1991b). Post-exposure programs in the event of occupational exposure to HIV/HBV [Position statement]. Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy/Positions-and-Resolutions/ANAPositionStatements/Position-Statements-Alphabetically/Post-Exposure-Programs-in-the-Event-of-Occupational-Exposure-to-HIVHBV.html American Nurses Association. (2015). Academic progression to meet the needs of the registered nurse, the health care consumer, and the U.S. health care system [Position statement]. Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy/Positions-and-Resolutions/ANAPositionStatements/Position-Statements-Alphabetically/Academic-Progression-to-Meet-Needs-of-RN.html

In text, you can cite these references separately as usual (e.g., American Nurses Association, 1991b), or you can combine citations with the same author if desired. Simply state the author once and then provide the years of the applicable references in chronological order, separated by commas. 

Combined in-text citations: American Nurses Association (n.d., 1991a, 1991b, 2015) (American Nurses Association, n.d., 1991a, 1991b, 2015)

Do you have more questions about how to create in-text citations for content from websites or webpages? Leave a comment below.

Cheers!

—Chelsea Lee