How to cite books, edited chapters in books, and eBooks

Use the template below to help construct the citation for a book. From the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, p. 321 (7th ed.).

Author or editor	Date	Title	Publisher Information	DOI or IRL
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. Name of Group. Editor, E. E. (Ed.). Editor, E. E., & Editor, F. F. (Eds.).	(YYYY)	Title of book. Title of book. (2nd ed., Vol. 4). Title of book. (Audiobook). Title of book. (E. E. Editor, Ed.). Title of book. (T. Translator, Trans.; N. Narrator, Narr.).	Publisher Name. First Publisher Name; Second Publisher Name	https:///doi.org/xxxx https://xxxxxx

Book Citation

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Copyright Year). Title of the book (7th ed.). Publisher. DOI or URL

• Single author: An author is listed last name first, followed by a comma, a space, the first initial, a period, a space, the second initial (if any), a period, and a space. (Any additional initials in an author’s name follow the same format.)
• Multiple authors: For multiple authors, list them in the same order as they appear on the article. Every author except the last is listed last name first, followed by a comma, a space, the first initial, a period, a space, the second initial, a period, a comma, and a space.  For the last author, put an ampersand, a space, the last name, a comma, a space, the first initial, a period, a space, the second initial (if any), a period, and a space.  Any additional initials in an author’s name follow the same format.  If authors number more than 20, see guidance below.
• Copyright year: Place the year in parentheses, followed by a period and a space. Use numerals for the year.
• Title: Only the first letter of the first word is capitalized. For a two-part title, capitalize the first word of the second part of the title. Also, capitalize proper nouns. Italicize the title. End with a period and a space.
  • eBook or audiobook: The format, platform or device is not included in the reference unless the eBook or audiobook is different or abridged from the print version.  To make such an identification, add the type of electronic resource in brackets between the title and the period.  Put a space before the opening bracket.  Example: Title [Audiobook].
• Edition and/or volume number: An edition or volume number should be enclosed in parentheses and placed after the title and before the period.  Here are some examples:
  • (8th ed.)
  • (8th ed., Vol. 3)
  • (Vol. 3)

For edition numbers, use ordinal numbers.  Use numerals for volume numbers.  Abbreviate edition and volume as shown; capitalize volume as shown.

• Publisher: Include the name of the publisher, followed by a period and a space.
• Multiple publishers: Separate the names of publishers by a semicolon and a space.  A period and a space goes after the name of the last publisher.
• DOI: Include a DOI (digital object identifier) for all works that have one.  Do not put a period after the DOI.
• URL: Do not include a URL (uniform resource locator) or database information for works from academic research databases. Include a URL for eBooks from other websites. Do not put a period after the URL.

Examples

Penenberg, A.L. (2009). Viral loop: From Facebook to Twitter, how today's smartest businesses grow themselves. Hyperion.

Ermann, M. D., Williams, M. B., & Shauf, M. S. (Eds.). (1997). Computers, ethics, and society. Oxford University Press.

Sternberg, E. (2000). Just business: Business ethics in action. (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Tietze, L-F., Eicher, T., Diederichsen, U. & Speicher, A. (2007). Reactions and syntheses in the organic chemistry laboratory. Wiley-VCH.

United States Department of Commerce. (2009). Statistical abstract of the United States: 2009. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Citation of a chapter in an edited book

Use the template below to help construct the citation for a chapter in a book. (From the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, p. 326 (7^th ed.).)

Author or editor	Date	Title of chapter	Edited book information	DOI or IRL
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B.	(YYYY)	Title of chapter.	In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp.3-13). Publisher Name. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 212-255). Publisher Name.	https:///doi.org/xxxx https://xxxxxx

Citation of a chapter in an edited book

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Copyright Year). Title of the book chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of the book (2nd ed., pp. #–#).Publisher. DOI or URL

• Single author: An author is listed last name first, followed by a comma, a space, the first initial, a period, a space, the second initial (if any), a period, and a space. (Any additional initials in an author’s name follow the same format.)
• Multiple authors: For multiple authors, list them in the same order as they appear on the article. Every author except the last is listed last name first, followed by a comma, a space, the first initial, a period, a space, the second initial, a period, a comma, and a space.  For the last author, put an ampersand, a space, the last name, a comma, a space, the first initial, a period, a space, the second initial, a period, and a space. Any additional initials in an author’s name follow the same format.  If authors number more than 20, see guidance below.
• Copyright year: Place the year in parentheses, followed by a period and a space.
• Book chapter title: Only the first letter of the first word is capitalized. For a two-part title, capitalize the first word of the second part of the title. Also, capitalize proper nouns. Do not italicize the chapter title. End with a period and a space. When referring to a section of a book that is not a chapter, cite the applicable identifier, such as Preface, Foreword, or Afterword.
• Editor(s): Write the word “In” and the initials and last name of each editor.  Put a period and a space after each initial. 
  • If one editor, follow the editor’s name with a space, an opening parenthesis, “Ed.”, a closing parenthesis, a comma, and a space.
  • If two editors, follow the first editor’s last name with a space, an ampersand, a space, the second editor’s initials (with a period and space after each initial), the second’ editor’s last name, a space, an opening parenthesis, “Eds.”, a closing parenthesis, a comma, and a space.
  • If more than two editors, put an ampersand and a space before the last editor’s name.  Follow the same format for each editor’s name.  Put a comma and a space after each editor’s name except the last editor.  After the last editor’s name, put a space, an opening parenthesis, “Eds.”, a closing parenthesis, a comma, and a space.
• Book title: Only the first letter of the first word is capitalized. For a two-part title, capitalize the first word of the second part of the title. Also, capitalize proper nouns. Italicize the title, and follow with a space.
• Edition and/or volume number: An edition or volume number should be placed after the title.  Write an opening parenthesis, and use one of the following formats:
  • (8th ed.,
  • (8th ed., Vol. 3,
  • (Vol. 3,

For edition numbers, use ordinal numbers.  Use numerals for volume numbers.  Abbreviate edition and volume as shown; capitalize volume as shown. Follow with a comma and a space.

• Page numbers: If including a volume and/or edition number, follow with the page numbers.  If no volume or edition number, put the page numbers after the opening parenthesis.  Use this format:
  • (pp. 6-7).

Abbreviate “page” as “p.” and “pages” as “pp.” Precede with an opening parenthesis, remember to include a period in the abbreviation for page/pages, and follow with a space.  If more than one page, put a hyphen between the first and last page number.  Use numerals for the page numbers. Put a closing parenthesis after the last page number.  Follow with a period and a space.

• Publisher: Include the name of the publisher, followed by a period and a space.
• Multiple publishers: Separate the names of publishers by a semicolon and a space.  A period and a space goes after the name of the last publisher.
• DOI: Include a DOI (digital object identifier) for all works that have one.  Do not put a period after the DOI.
• URL: Do not include a URL (uniform resource locator) or database information for works from academic research databases. Include a URL for eBooks from other websites. Do not put a period after the URL.

Examples:

Beidler, P. (2009). Fear Itself. In K. Bernheimer (Ed.), Fairy tale review: The white issue (pp. 19-30). http://site.ebrary.com/

Glancy, D. (2003). The woman who was a red deer dressed for the deer dance. In J. T. Darby & S. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Keepers of the morning star: An anthology of Native women's theater (pp. 187-204). UCLA American Indian Studies Center.

Lang, P. J., Bradley, M. M., & Cuthbert, B. N. (1997). Motivated attention: Affect, activation, and action. In P. J. Lang, R. F. Simons, & M. Balaban (Eds.), Attention and orienting: Sensory and motivational processes (pp. 97–135). Erlbaum.

Format when an authorship includes more than 20 writers

List the authors in the same order as they appear on the material being cited.  For the first 19 authors, follow this format:

• Last name
• Comma
• Space
• Initials, with each initial but the last initial followed by a period and a space
• A period and a comma after the last initial
• Space
• Ellipsis after the 19th author’s name
• Space
• Last author’s name
• Comma
• Space
• Last author’s initials, with each initial followed by a period and a space.

Group author

Sometimes an authorship can be held by a corporation, government agency, organization, or other such entity.  The organization’s full name is listed, and then the rest of the citation follows the same format appropriate for the type of citation.  If a work has multiple layers of group authorship, such as a department of a government agency, then list the most specific agency as the author and the parent agency as the publisher.

Unknown author

When a source has no identified author, use a shortened version of the source’s title instead of an author’s name.  Only identify the author as Anonymous if the work is signed “Anonymous.”

 Two or more works by the same author

• Single-author citations only: Write the author’s name in the format described above (last name followed by initials) for each entry. 
  • The entries should be listed in chronological order of publication/copyright date.
  • If the years are the same, look for a more specific date, and then list chronologically.
  • If the dates are still the same, list the citations alphabetically by the title or in numerical order if the materials are identified as part of a series. Also, assign letter suffixes to the year in the citation and use these in parenthetical citations.  Example: Smith (2015b)
• Single-author citation and multiple-author citation: When an author appears as the sole author in one citation and then as the first author in a group citation, list the one-author citation first.
• Multiple-author citations only with the same first author: List alphabetically by the first last name that is different in the multiple-author listing.

Electronic or Kindle Books

Citation of an electronic book (eBook) or an audiobook is very similar to a printed book.  The main difference is that additional descriptive material may be included between the title and the publisher information.

• Author: Cite the name(s) of author(s), if given, in this format:
  • Last name
  • Comma
  • Initials, each followed by a period and a space.
  • If more than one author, follow the next-to-last author’s last initial with a period, a comma, a space, an ampersand, and a space.  The last author’s name has a period and space after the last initial.
  • If a group or organization is the author, use the group’s full name as the author.
  • If the author and the website name are identical, omit the website name from the citation.
  • If no author’s name is given, begin the citation with the title of the page, then date, website, and URL.  Italicize the title, and follow the same capitalization, punctuation, and spacing as in the title guidance section below.)
• Copyright date: Enclose the year in numerals with parentheses.  Follow with a period and a space.
• Title of book:
  • When designating type of electronic resource: Follow the usual capitalization and punctuation rules for the title.  Italicize only the title, and then follow this format:
    • Space
    • Opening bracket (not italicized)
    • Type of electronic resource.  Do not italicize.  Examples: “eBook edition”    “Audiobook”
    • Closing bracket (not italicized)
    • Period
    • Space
  • When recognizing the narrator: Follow the usual capitalization and punctuation rules for the title.  Italicize only the title, and then follow this format:           
    • Space
    • Opening parenthesis
    • First initial of the narrator
    • Last name of narrator
    • Comma
    • Space
    • Abbreviation for narrator:  “Narr.”
    • Closing parenthesis
    • Period
    • Space
  • When recognizing the narrator and designating the electronic resource: List the narrator information first.
• Publisher name, followed by a period and a space.
• URL

Examples

Andersen, R., & Gray, J. (2007). Battleground: The media. (Vol. 1). Greenwood. http://ebooks.abc-clio.com/

Boroughs, A., Palmer, L., & Hunter, I. (2008). HR transformation technology: Delivering systems to support the new HR model. http://site.ebrary.com

Pederson, L. (2008). Buffalo gal: A memoir. http://site.ebrary.com

Efrain, K. (1999). Temptation of the word: The novels of Mario Vargas Llosa.  http://www.netlibrary.com

Ball, W. R. (2020). A Short Account of the History of Mathematics (T. Shalhoub, Narr.). [Audiobook]. Audible.com.