2.18 Reference Page

The reference list at the end of an article lists the works that have been directly used in the article. APA style uses a reference list rather than a bibliography which is a list of works read in background reading, but not directly referenced.

General Reference Page Rules:

  • All works cited in text must be in the reference list and all works in the reference list must be cited in text.
  • The reference list should begin a new page and have the title References for more than one work, or only Reference if there is only one source.
  • All sources should be listed in alphabetical order by last name.
  • References should be written using a hanging indent after the first line. See the example reference page below. This technique is difficult to achieve online, but it should be present on paper.

Specific Reference Page Rules:

  • Single author entries come before multiple author entries beginning with the same last name.

Schoepp, K. W. (2001)...

Schoepp, K. W., & Erogul, S. M. (2000)...

  • References with the same authors are listed by year of publication, the earliest first.

Goose, K., & Smith, K. M. (1999)...

Goose, K., & Smith, K. M. (2002)...

  • If the source has the same author(s) and year of publication, list by alphabetical title with an a, b, c, etc.

Smith, J. (2002a). Activity...

Smith, J. (2002b). Business...

Sample Reference Page: