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How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

In this citation guide, you will learn how to reference and cite an undergraduate thesis, master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation. This guide will also review the differences between a thesis or dissertation that is published and one that has remained unpublished. The guidelines below come from the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020a), pages 333 and 334. Please note that the association is not affiliated with this guide.

Alternatively, you can visit EasyBib.com for helpful citation tools to cite your thesis or dissertation .

Guide Overview

Citing an unpublished thesis or dissertation, citing a published dissertation or thesis from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation: reference overview, what you need.

Since unpublished theses can usually only be sourced in print form from a university library, the correct citation structure includes the university name where the publisher element usually goes.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case [Unpublished degree type thesis or dissertation]. Name of institution.

Ames, J. H., & Doughty, L. H. (1911). The proposed plans for the Iowa State College athletic field including the design of a reinforced concrete grandstand and wall [Unpublished bachelor’s thesis]. Iowa State University.

In-text citation example:

• Parenthetical :  (Ames & Doughty, 1911)
• Narrative :  Ames & Doughty (1911)

If a thesis or dissertation has been published and is found on a database, then follow the structure below. It’s similar to the format for an unpublished dissertation/thesis, but with a few differences:

• The institution is presented in brackets after the title
• The archive or database name is included

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case (Publication or Document No.) [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Database name.

Examples 1:

Knight, K. A. (2011). Media epidemics: Viral structures in literature and new media (Accession No. 2013420395) [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Trotman, J.B. (2018). New insights into the biochemistry and cell biology of RNA recapping (Document No. osu1523896565730483) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses & Dissertations Center.

In the example given above, the dissertation is presented with a Document Number (Document No.). Sometimes called a database number or publication number, this is the identifier that is used by the database’s indexing system. If the database you are using provides you with such a number, then include it directly after the work’s title in parentheses.

If you are interested in learning more about how to handle works that were accessed via academic research databases, see Section 9.3 of the Publication Manual.

In-text citation examples :

• Parenthetical citation : (Trotman, 2018)
• Narrative citation : Trotman (2018)

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year Published). Title in sentence case [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Name of archive or collection. URL

Kim, O. (2019). Soviet tableau: cinema and history under late socialism [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh]. Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburgh. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/37669/7/Olga%20Kim%20Final%20ETD.pdf

Stiles, T. W. (2001). Doing science: Teachers’ authentic experiences at the Lone Star Dinosaur Field Institute [Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University]. OAKTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2001-THESIS-S745

It is important to note that not every thesis or dissertation published online will be associated with a specific archive or collection. If the work is published on a private website, provide only the URL as the source element.

In-text citation examples:

• Parenthetical citation : (Kim, 2019)
• Narrative citation : Kim (2019)
• Parenthetical citation : (Stiles, 2001)
• Narrative citation : Stiles (2001)

We hope that the information provided here will serve as an effective guide for your research. If you’re looking for even more citation info, visit EasyBib.com for a comprehensive collection of educational materials covering multiple source types.

If you’re citing a variety of different sources, consider taking the EasyBib citation generator for a spin. It can help you cite easily and offers citation forms for several different kinds of sources.

To start things off, let’s take a look at the different types of literature that are classified under Chapter 10.6 of the Publication Manual :

• Undergraduate thesis
• Master’s thesis
• Doctoral dissertation

You will need to know which type you are citing. You’ll also need to know if it is published or unpublished .

When you decide to cite a dissertation or thesis, you’ll need to look for the following information to use in your citation:

• Author’s last name, and first and middle initials
• Year published
• Title of thesis or dissertation
• If it is unpublished
• Publication or document number (if applicable; for published work)
• Degree type (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral)
• Thesis or dissertation
• Name of institution awarding degree
• DOI (https://doi.org/xxxxx) or URL (if applicable)

Since theses and dissertations are directly linked to educational degrees, it is necessary to list the name of the associated institution; i.e., the college, university, or school that is awarding the associated degree.

To get an idea of the proper form, take a look at the examples below. There are three outlined scenarios:

• Unpublished thesis or dissertation
• Published thesis or dissertation from a database
• Thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database

American Psychological Association. (2020a). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

American Psychological Association. (2020b). Style-Grammar-Guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parenthetical-versus-narrative

Published August 10, 2012. Updated March 24, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

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To cite a published thesis in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, publication year, title of the thesis, institute name, archive name, and URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for an in-text citation and reference list entry of a thesis, along with examples, are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Use the author surname and the publication year in the in-text citation.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cartmel (2007)

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Cartmel, 2007)

Reference list entry template and example:

The title of the thesis is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose the thesis and the institute awarding the degree inside brackets following the publication year. Then add the name of the database followed by the URL.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis, Institute Name]. Name of the Database. URL

Cartmel, J. (2007). Outside school hours care and schools [Master’s thesis, Queensland University of Technology]. EPrints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/17810/1/Jennifer_Cartmel_Thesis.pdf

To cite an unpublished dissertation in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, year, title of the dissertation, and institute name. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of an online thesis, along with examples, are given below:

Author Surname (Year)

Averill (2009)

(Author Surname, Year)

(Averill, 2009)

The title of the dissertation is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose “Unpublished doctoral dissertation” inside brackets following the year. Then add the name of the institution awarding the degree.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of the Institute.

Averill, R. (2009). Teacher–student relationships in diverse New Zealand year 10 mathematics classrooms: Teacher care [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Victoria University of Wellington.

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A thesis is an unpublished document produced by student as part of the requirements for the degree. They come at various levels (e.g. Honours, Masters, PhD, etc). Check with your lecturer before using a thesis for your assignment.

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Thesis or dissertation from a library database.

Reference Page Format:

Author, A. A. (Year of Publication).  Title of dissertation/thesis  [Master's thesis/Doctoral dissertation, Name of institution awarding degree]. Database name.

Reference Page Example:

Thao-Yang, T. (2021).  All it takes is one person: First-generation Hmong women's educational experiences  [Doctoral dissertation, Concordia University]. Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global.

In-text Citation Examples:

Thao-Yang (2021) shared that ... ...( Thao-Yang ,  2021 ). ...( Thao-Yang ,  2021, p. 65 ).

Thesis or Dissertation from an Institutional Repository

Author, A. A. (Year of Publication).  Title of dissertation/thesis  [Master's thesis/Doctoral dissertation, Name of institution awarding degree]. Institutional Repository Name. URL

Janssen, K. (2021).  Ways technology impact cognitive development in early childhood environment  [Master's Thesis, Concordia University]. DigitalCommons@CSP.  https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/teacher-education_masters/52

Janssen (2021) shared that ... ...( Janssen,  2021 ). ...( Janssen,  2021, p. 22 ).

Print Thesis or Dissertation

Author, A. A. (Year of Publication).  Title of dissertation  [Unpublished master's thesis/doctoral dissertation]. Name of the institution awarding the degree.

Munson, D. J. (2019). How undergraduate faculty navigate the use of free internet sources for scholarly purposes  [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Nova Southeastern University.

Munson (2019) shared that ... ...(Munson, 2019). ...( Munson, 2019, p. 36 ).

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Published vs. unpublished

Citations for dissertations and theses reorganize elements depending on whether they are published or unpublished.

• A dissertation or thesis is considered published when it is available through a database, institutional repository, or archive
• e.g. [Master's thesis, University of British Columbia] or [Doctoral dissertation, Simon Fraser University]
• Include the URL if the URL will work for readers, or else end the citation with the name of the database, repository, or archive 

General format - published

Reference List 

AuthorLastName, A. A. (Date). Title of dissertation or thesis (Publication No. ## - if available) [Document type, institution name]. Publisher. http://www.website.com/webpage

(AuthorLastName, Year)

• Unpublished
• An unpublished dissertation or thesis includes the name of the university as the source.
• A URL is generally not included as an unpublished document is assumed to be in print or a digital document unavailable publicly.
• If available in a database or repository/archive, treat as published.

General format - unpublished

AuthorLastName, A. A. (Date). Title of dissertation or thesis (Publication No. ## - if available) [Unpublished document type]. Institution Name. http://www.website.com/webpage

1. Published

Hossain, M. A. (2018). What do police recruits identify as strategies to deal with their triggers/biases to deliver fair and impartial policing? [Capstone Project, Justice Institute of British Columbia]. The Vault. https://jibc.arcabc.ca/islandora/object/jibc%3A2380?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=16b067104b80bcb271bb&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=0

(Hossain, 2018)

Ferguson, J. (2010). Queer Japanese cinema: A rich and diverse cultural history's challenge to hegemonic ideologies of gender and sexuality (Publication No. MR82331) [Master's thesis, University of British Columbia]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

(Ferguson, 2010)

2. Unpublished

Smith, I. (2020). Effects of library instruction on college students' citation practices [Unpublished undergraduate thesis]. Okanagan College.

(Smith, 2020)

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Note : Theses and dissertations are considered "published" if you located them either in a library database (e.g. ProQuest) or online in an institutional repository.  They are considered "unpublished" if you located them in a library's print collection of theses and dissertations completed by students at that university.

Thesis or Dissertation Published in a Library Database

Thesis or Dissertation Published in an Institutional Repository

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A thesis or dissertation will either be unpublished - available only in print at the awarding institution; or published - either on a website, or in a theses database such as ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. The principles when referencing a thesis are similar to those used when referencing a book.

• Unpublished (print)
• Online from a database
• Online from a website/archive

Thesis/Dissertation printed and paper bound

Reference elements.

In-text citation

Thesis/dissertation from online database.

Thesis/Dissertation from online website/archive

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Dissertation or thesis available from a database service:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (year of publication).  Title of dissertation or thesis (Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).  Retrieved from Name of database.  (Accession or Order No.)

For an unpublished dissertation or thesis:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (year of creation).  Title of dissertation or thesis (Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).  Name of Institution, Location.

See Ch 7 pp. 207-208 APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

Formatting:

• Italicize the title
• Identify whether source is doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title
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From a Database

From the web, unpublished (in print from a university library).

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General Rule:

Author, A. A. (year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis  (Publication No. #) [Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Name of Database.

Davis, P. M. (2010). Access, readership, citations: A randomized controlled trial of scientific journal publishing . (Publication No.   3429815 )  [Doctoral dissertation, Cornell University].  ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.  

Author, A. A. (year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis  [Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis, Name of Institution]. Name of Website. URL

Buckman, A. (1997). MOOSE Crossing: Construction, community, and learning in a networked virtual world for kids [Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. DSpace@MIT.  https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/33821

Author, A. A. (year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis  [Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis]. Name of Institution.

Long, R.P. (1972). A study of instructional objectives and methods for interpersonal communication. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. West Virginia University.

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How to Cite an Unpublished Paper or Manuscript in APA Referencing

3-minute read

• 23rd June 2020

Did you know that you can cite unpublished works, such as in-progress research papers or manuscripts, in an essay? Well, you can! The key is citing them correctly. And in this post, we will look at how to cite an unpublished paper or manuscript in APA referencing .

How to Cite an Unpublished Paper in APA referencing

In APA referencing, you can cite an unpublished work in the same way as you would a published one. This means giving an author’s name and a date in brackets . The only difference is that you give a year of production (i.e., when the paper was written) rather than a year of publication:

Few fully understand the publication process (Clarke, 2020).

Like other sources, if you name the author in the text, you do not need to repeat it in the brackets. And if you quote an unpublished paper, you should give page numbers. For example:

According to Clarke (2020), publication “is a complex process” (p. 20).

When a paper has been accepted for publication but not yet published, however, you should use the term “in press” in place of a year in citations:

Few fully understand the publication process (Clarke, in press).

How to Reference an Unpublished Work in APA Referencing

When adding an unpublished paper to an APA reference list , the correct format will depend on where it is in the publication process. But let’s start with works that will not be published at all (e.g., a paper that the author never submitted or that the publisher rejected).

In this case, the correct format is:

Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year of Production). Title of manuscript [Unpublished manuscript]. Department, University Name.

So, in practice, we could cite an unpublished paper like this:

Clarke, J. (2020). The publication process explained [Unpublished manuscript]. School of Journalism, Media and Performance, University of Central Lancashire.

Referencing a Work Submitted for Publication

If a paper has been submitted for publication but not yet accepted, the reference should state “manuscript submitted for publication.” However, you should not include any other information about the submission, such as where it was submitted, as this information could go out of date quickly.

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The correct format in this case is therefore:

Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year of Production). Title of manuscript [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department, University Name.

For example, we would list the paper above as follows:

Clarke, J. (2020). The publication process explained [Manuscript submitted for publication]. School of Journalism, Media and Performance, University of Central Lancashire.

Referencing a Paper in Press

If a paper has been accepted for publication, use the following format:

Author Surname, Initial(s). (in press). Title. Periodical or Journal Title .

As you can see, we now include both:

• The phrase “in press” to show that the paper has been accepted by the journal and is now awaiting publication.
• The title of the journal that accepted it (note, too, that we only use italics for the journal title here, not the title of the paper itself).

In practice, then, we would reference a paper awaiting publication like this:

Clarke, J. (in press). The publication process explained, Publishing Research Quarterly .

It is always worth checking the status of submitted papers before finalizing your reference list, too, as they can go from “submitted for publication” to “in press” quite suddenly, leaving your reference out of date.

Hopefully, you will now be able to cite an unpublished paper or manuscript correctly. But if you would like any further help with your writing, why not submit a document for proofreading ?

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Thesis, dissertation or exegesis?

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Terminology

Thesis and dissertation can mean different things, depending on which institution the work is from.  For study purposes and for your APA reference you need to know the level of the work.

• Always check the title page, or subsequent pages, to determine exactly what the work is
• Use the information there for your APA reference

At Auckland University of Technology (and other NZ universities)

Thesis is either for a doctoral or a master's degree.

Dissertation is either for a master's or a bachelor's degree with honours.

Exegesis is the written component of a practice-based thesis where the major output is a creative work;  e.g. a film, artwork, novel.

In some other parts of the world such as North America, a dissertation may be for a doctoral degree and a thesis for a master's degree.  

See Section 7.05  in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition .

Reference format for a thesis from a commercial database:

Reference format for a thesis from an institutional repository:

A Doctoral dissertation (USA) from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database

Reference list entry:

• Include the name of the database and the order number of the document
• Use this style for theses retrieved from a commercial database

Thesis from a NZ institutional repository :

• Include the full URL for the thesis/dissertation and the full name of the degree-granting institution/university
• Also include the location of the university, if outside the United States.

In-text citations guide  

Reference format for unpublished thesis/dissertation:

• Give the correct full name of the university, not its abbreviation or brand name.
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(Author's surname, Year)

This was seen in an Australian study (Couch, 2017). 

Couch (2017) suggests that…

• Go to  Getting started >  In-text citation  to view other examples such as multiple authors.

Published thesis

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of thesis [Type of thesis, Name of institution awarding degree]. Name of archive or site. https://xxxxxx

Stored in a database

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of thesis (Database Publication number, if assigned) [Type of thesis, Name of institution awarding degree]. Database Name.

Taffe, S. (2017).  The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders: The politics of inter-racial coalition in Australia, 1958–1973.  [Doctoral thesis, Monash University]. Bridges.  https://doi.org/10.4225/03/59d4482289ea4

Bozeman, A. Jr. (2007).  Age of onset as predictor of cognitive performance in children with seizure disorders  (Publication No. 3259752) [Doctoral dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Unpublished thesis

Author, A. A. (Year).  Title of thesis or dissertation  [Unpublished Doctoral dissertation or Master's thesis]. Name of Institution.

Imber, A. (2003).  Applicant reactions to graduate recruitment and selection  [Unpublished Doctoral dissertation]. Monash University. 

For further guidance, see the APA Style website- Published Dissertation or Thesis , Unpublished Dissertation or Theses .

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12. Theses and dissertations

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APA Style Guide, 7th Edition: Unpublished Manuscripts/Informal Publications (i.e. course packets and dissertations)

• Updated About In-text Citations
• Updated In-Text Examples
• What to Include
• Volume/Issue
• Bracketed Descriptions
• URLs and DOIs
• Book with Editor(s)
• Book with No Author
• Book with Organization as Author
• Book with Personal Author(s)
• Chapters and Parts of Books
• Classical Works
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Multi-Volume Works
• Newspaper Article
• Patents & Laws
• Personal Communication
• Physicians' Desk Reference
• Social Media
• Unpublished Manuscripts/Informal Publications (i.e. course packets and dissertations)
• Formatting Your Paper
• Formatting Your References
• Headings in APA
• Annotated Bibliography

Formatting your References

Once you type your references on the reference page, you will need to put in a hanging indent and double-space the entire reference list. In Microsoft Word, highlight the references from A to Z, then find the paragraph function in the Word ribbon. Select Hanging under Indentation and Double under spacing. See the Formatting your References tab for instructions on doing this on a Mac or in Google Docs.

Abbas, D. D. F. (2020). Manipulating of audio-visual aids in the educational processes in Al-Hilla University College. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24 (3), 1248-1263. https://doi.org.db12.linccweb.org/10.37200/ijpr/v24i3/pr200875

The citation above may not indicate a hanging indent depending on the device you are using to view it.  The second and all subsequent lines of APA formatted references use a hanging indent.

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APA Citation Style

• Web Sources
• Unpublished Sources
• Sound and Video Recordings
• Chicago Notes & Bibliography

Scrivner, E. M. (1996). Role of police psychology in controlling excessive force in 50 large cities in the United States, 1992 [Data file and codebook]. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06402.v1

Doctoral Dissertations

Lastname, F. M. (year). Title of doctoral dissertation (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Name of Database. (Accession or Order No.)

Boucher, H. C. (2005). Culture and implicit self-concept inconsistency (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database. (UMI No. 3210518). 

The order number is listed under "Dissertation/thesis number" in ProQuest Dissertations . If you found the dissertation elsewhere online, for example an institutional web site, you can use the URL instead of an order number.

Unpublished interviews are considered personal communication and are cited in text only, not in the reference list. The in-text citation should include the interviewee's initials, surname, and exact date of interview, e.g. (C. M. Murray, personal communication, March 2, 2016), unless the interview was part of your qualitative data collection, in which case the identity of the interviewee should not be disclosed. If the interview has been archived, either as a recording or a transcript, cite it as archival material, as in the citation below.

Trafton, B. M. (1999). Trafton, Barbara McKnight oral history interview.  (M. Richard., Interviewer). Retrieved from Bates College, Edmund S. Muskie Oral History Collection website: http://scarab.bates.edu/muskie_oh/388

Lecture notes are considered personal communication  unless they have been publicly posted online (Lyceum doesn't count); personal communications are not recoverable by other researchers and should cited in text only, not in the reference list.

Ben-Shahar. T. Lecture 10: Mindfulness [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from Harvard University website: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic134046.files/1504-10-mindfulness.ppt

Measurement instrument

Bavolek, S. J. (1983). Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory [Measurement instrument]. Unpublished instrument. Retrieved from http://chipts.ucla.edu/resources/?did=159.

Do not italicize the titles of software, programs, or languages. See also the APA Style Blog: How to Cite a Psychological Test in APA Style

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APA 6 Style Guide

Thesis/dissertation – apa reference list, capitalization.

• The document title is in sentence case – Only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. Always capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon or a dash.
• The title of the thesis or dissertation is in title case – Each word in the name is capitalized, except for articles (a, an, the), prepositions (against, between, in, of, to), conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet), and the infinitive 'to'.

Thesis/Dissertation – Unpublished/Print version

For papers written in United States list City and State. For countries outside United States list City and Country.

Author , A . A . ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis  (Unpublished doctoral dissertation [OR] Unpublished master's thesis). Academic Institution , City , State [OR] Country .

• Considine, M. (1986). Australian insurance politics in the 1970s: Two case studies . (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
• Kassover,A. (1987). Treatment of abusive males: Voluntary vs. court-mandated referrals (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Nova University, Fort Lauderdale, FL. 

Thesis/Dissertation – From a commercial database (e.g., ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database)

Author , A ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Name of database . ( Accession or Order Number )

Cooley, T. (2009).  Design, development, and implementation of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN): The Hartford Job Corps Academy case study (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3344745)

Thesis/Dissertation – Institutional Database (i.e. University website)

For U.S. thesis do not include university or locations. Include the university and location (City and Country) for a non-U.S. online thesis.

Author , A . A . ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis (Doctoral dissertation/Master's thesis). Retrieved from http:// url.com

• Adams, R. J. (1973). Building a foundation for evaluation of instruction in higher education and continuing education (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/
• Barua, S. (2010). Drought assessment and forecasting using a nonlinear aggregated drought index  (Doctoral dissertation, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia). Retrieved from http://vuir.vu.edu.au/1598

Thesis/Dissertation – Web

For U.S. thesis do not include locations. Include the location (City and Country) for a non-U.S. online thesis.

Author , A . A . ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis (Doctoral dissertation/Master's thesis, Institution issuing degree). Retrieved from http:// www.url.com

• Bruckman, A. (1997). MOOSE Crossing: Construction, community, and learning in a networked virtual world for kids (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Retrieved from http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/thesis

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Reference List: Other Print Sources

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Important Note: Because the 7 th edition of the APA Publication Manual heavily emphasizes digital and electronic sources, it does not contain explicit instructions for certain less-common print sources that earlier editions covered. For this reason, some of the examples below have been adapted from the instructions for sources with similar attributes (e.g., the conference proceedings example is derived from the instructions the 7 th edition manual gives for citing edited collections). Every example below that has been adapted in this way is accompanied by a note explaining how it was adapted.

Please also note: While this resource contains many examples of citations for uncommon print sources that we think are helpful, it may not account for every possibility. For even more examples of how to cite uncommon print sources, please refer to the 7 th edition of the APA Publication Manual.

Entry in a Dictionary, Thesaurus, or Encyclopedia with a Group Author

The 7 th edition of the APA manual does not provide specific guidance on how to cite physical reference works such as dictionaries, thesauruses, or encyclopedias. Therefore, this citation, as well as the one for an individual author of an entry in a reference work, is modeled on that of a chapter in an edited book or anthology, both which are similar in format to reference works.

Institution or organization name. (Year). Title of entry. In Title of reference work (edition, page numbers). Publisher name.

Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. (1997). Goat. In Merriam Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10 th ed., pp. 499-500). Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

Entry in a Dictionary, Thesaurus, or Encyclopedia with an Individual Author

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of entry. In F. M. Lastname (ed.), Title of reference work (edition, page numbers). Publisher.

Tatum, S. R. (2009). Spirituality and religion in hip hop literature and culture. In T. L. Stanley (ed.), Encyclopedia of hip hop literature (pp. 250-252). Greenwood.

Work Discussed in a Secondary Source

Provide the source in which the original work was referenced:

Nail, T. (2017). What is an assemblage? SubStance , 46 (1), 21-37. http://sub.uwpress.org/lookup/doi/10.3368/ss.46.1.21

Note: Provide the secondary source in the references list; in the text, name the original work, and give a citation for the secondary source. For example, if Deleuze and Guattari’s work is cited in Nail and you did not read the original work, list the Nail reference in the References. In the text, use the following citation: 

Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the assemblage (as cited in Nail, 2017)….

Dissertation Abstract

The 7 th edition of the APA manual does not provide specific guidance on how to cite dissertation abstracts. Therefore, this citation models that of a journal article, which is similar in format.

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation. Dissertation Abstracts International , Vol., Page.

Angeli, E. L. (2012). Networks of communication in emergency medical services. Dissertation Abstracts International, 74 , 03(E).

Dissertation or Master’s Thesis, Published

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation/thesis (Publication No.) [Doctoral dissertation/Master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Database or Archive Name.

Angeli, E. L. (2012). Networks of communication in emergency medical services (Publication No. 3544643) [Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Note: If the dissertation or thesis is not published in a database, include the URL of the site where the document is located.

Dissertation or Master’s Thesis, Unpublished

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation/thesis [Unpublished doctoral dissertation/master’s thesis]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree. 

Samson, J. M. (2016). Human trafficking and globalization [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Federal or State Statute

Name of Act, Public Law No. (Year). URL

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Publ. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (2010).  https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-111publ148/pdf/PLAW-111publ148.pdf

Report by a Government Agency or Other Organization

Organization Name. (Year). Title of report. URL

United States Government Accountability Office. (2019). Performance and accountability report: Fiscal year 2019 . https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/702715.pdf

Report by Individual Authors at Government Agency or Other Organization

Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of report . Organization Name. URL

Palanker, D., Volk, J., Lucia, K., & Thomas, K. (2018). Mental health parity at risk: Deregulating the individual market and the impact on mental health coverage . National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www.nami.org/About-NAMI/Publications-Reports/Public-Policy-Reports/Parity-at-Risk/ParityatRisk.pdf  

Conference Proceedings

The 7 th edition of the APA manual does not provide guidance on citing conference proceedings. Therefore, this citation models that of an edited collection, which is similar in format.

Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Eds.). (Year). Title of Proceedings . Publisher. URL (if applicable)

Huang, S., Pierce, R., & Stamey, J. (Eds.). (2006). Proceedings of the 24 th annual ACM international conference on the design of communication . ACM Digital Library. https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1166324&picked=prox