APA literature list

Do you include APA style source citations in your thesis or essay? Then you should include an APA bibliography. The layout of this bibliography is subject to many rules, which differ depending on the type of source you useHow does this work? Here, we explain the rules for an APA-style bibliography and give you a few examples. 

Source citation in academic texts always consists of references in the text and a bibliography at the end. In the bibliography, you provide detailed information for each source used. 

The exact formatting of sources in the APA literature list varies by type of source. However, it is common to include at least the following information for each source:

1. author's name;

2. the year and possibly the date of publication;

3. the title of the publication;

4. the place where you can find the source (for example, in a particular magazine or book or on a specific website URL).

The exact source citation is different for book publications, journal articles, and website URLs. The information you need to include depends on the type of source you are citing. Be sure to check out our APA examples to learn more about this, or keep reading for more examples. 

First, let's review the basic rules for source citation.

The author

At the beginning of the source you always mention the author. You use the author's last name, followed by a comma, and then the author's initials. You do not add titles such as "MA" or "dr" to the author's name. 

For example, this looks like:

• Kleinheerenbrink. P.D. 

• Van de Kamp, R.

Does the last name begin with a prefix? Then, put the prefix before the surname (i.e. "De Vries, P." instead of "Vries, P. de."). The source will then also appear at the "d" of "De Vries" in the bibliography, not at the "V" of "Vries. 

Sometimes you may only know the organization behind the publication, but not the names of individual authors. In that case, you name the organization as the author. For example, this looks like:

Central Bureau of Statistics. (2019). ...

If there are multiple authors, list all of them up to a maximum of 20 different authors. Use commas to separate author names and put an "&" sign between the last and second-to-last author. 

If there are more than twenty authors, include only the names of the first 19, followed by  "..." and then the name of the last author. This could look like:

• Peterson, W. , & Willems, O.F.

• Peterson, W., Willems, O.F., & Tuinman, L.

• Peterson, W., Willems, O.F., Tuinman, L., Aalst, R.S., Boon, T., Van Tel, P.W.T., Verheul, M., Ulm, B.M., Van Maaren, M.W., Azadi, A.A., Springintveld, B.U., Staats, L., Jansen, H.W., Oudshoorn, O.J.J., De Hoog, H.L., Brent, S.A., Van Zelst, V.V., Voort, L., Drost, D.A.M., ... Scholink. M.N.

Do you mention someone who contributed to the source but is not an author? Then, you sometimes put that person’s role in parentheses. For example, you might add "(Ed.)" for an editor, "(Director)" for directors, or "(Host)" for the person hosting a podcast. If you are referring to multiple editors, use "(Eds.)".

The year of publication

After the author, mention the year of publication. Sometimes, you also mention the full date, but the year of publication is usually sufficient. This is true at least for books and scholarly articles. For web pages, indicate the date the website or web page was last updated (if known). 

Are you referring to a podcast episode or a tweet? Then, include the full date it was published. You write the year before the day and month. It should look something like this:

(2019, Dec. 5)

Sometimes a publication date cannot be found. In that case, include "(n.d.)" instead of the date. This stands for "no date." 

For example, a source citation in the APA bibliography might look like this:

• Dutch Association of Realtors. (n.d.). Market information for homes for sale. Accessed January 27, 2023, from https://www.nvm.nl/wonen/marktinformatie/

• Hansen-Staszyński, O. (Jan. 26, 2023). Managing a digital identity: can we do it ourselves? Frankwatching. Accessed January 27, 2023, from https://www.frankwatching.com/archive/2023/01/26/digitale-identiteit-zelf-beheren/ 

Source title

After the author's name and the date, mention the title of the publication. This is the title of the article, the title of a chapter in a book, or a book title. Is it a chapter in a book? Then you must include both the title of the chapter and the title of the book. 

The basic rule is to italicize the title of the publication. This appliesto sources that stand alone, and are not part of another author's book. This looks like this:

Janssens, A., & De Vugt, M.E. (2020). Dementia in early life. Lannoo. 

Is the publication part of a book or collection? If so, do not italicize the title of the publication, italicize the title of the journal, book, or collection in which the publication appears. Examples are shown below.

• For a journal article: Symons, L.K., Miller, J.E., Kay. V.R., Marks, R.M., Liblik, K., Koti, M., & Tayade, C. (2018). The immunopathophysiology of endometriosis. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 24(9), pp. 748-762.

• A publication in a volume/book: Lamerichs, J.M.W.J. (2021), Analyzing Health Communication: Discourse Approaches. Brookes, G. & Hunt, D. (eds.). Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 111-13.

Source description?

Sometimes, a source description appears in the APA literature list to clarify what type of source it is.This is not required for books, journal articles, websites, or reports. However, you need a source description for things like videos, podcasts, and talk shows. It should look like this:

University of the Netherlands. (Dec. 2023, 4). How data helps physicians make tough decisions [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deuWAkkGM0g 

Location of the source

Finally, you indicate where the source can be found:

• For a book, name the publisher of the book. 

• For a journal article, you give the name of the journal including the volume, issue number and page numbers. You always put the volume in italics and the issue number behind it (not italicized) in parentheses, for example, "12(3)," which means "volume 12, issue 3.

• For articles that can be found online, list the name of the journal, including the volume, issue number and page numbers. You also include the DOI, if available.

• For website pages, provide the website name, URL and the date you viewed the website page. 

• For sources such as videos, give the platform where this video can be found, for example, "YouTube."

Are you referring to a book of which multiple editions have been published? If so, indicate which edition you consulted. Do so after the book title in parentheses with a description such as "(2nd ed.)". 

For example, a complete reference, including where to find the source, looks like this in APA style:

• Book: Van Landeghem, B. (2021). Write them under the table! (2nd ed.). Borgerhoff & Lamberigts. 

• Article in journal: De Bree, E., Wilsenach, C., & Gerrits, E. (2004). Phonological processing and phonological working memory of children with language problems. Voice, Speech and Language Pathology, 12(3) , pp. 172-186. 

• Website URL: Nibud. (s.d.) Pocket money and change money. Nibud. Accessed January 27, 2023, from https://www.nibud.nl/onderwerpen/kinderen-en-jongeren/zakgeld-en-kleedgeld/

• Chapter in a volume: Mazeland, H. (1995). Conversational analysis of communication in institutional settings: Too much micro, too little macro? In H. Mazeland & C. Sauer (ed.), Communicating, perceiving, analyzing (1st ed., pp. 65-92). GLUC. 

• Newspaper article: Marselis, D. (2023, Jan. 26). AI conquers creative sector: 'It's adapt or fade away'. Wed. https://www.trouw.nl/verdieping/ai-verovert-de-creatieve-sector-het-is-aanpassen-of-wegkwijnen~b87241fd/

To format an APA literature list, follow a few basic rules:

• Center the heading "Literature List" at the top of the page. 

• Use double line spacing.

• Put all sources in alphabetical order. For more information, see our article on names and initials in APA source citation.

• Indent sources that span more than one line with tab from the second line.

An APA bibliography is always sorted alphabetically. You sort the authors by last name, including the middle name as part of the last name. Thus, a publication by an author named Van Dijk would be placed with the "v" of "Van Dijk" instead of the "D" of "Dijk."

Do you have several authors with the same last name? Then look at their initials. For example, "Van Dijk, R." comes before "Van Dijk, V.F." because the "r" is earlier in the alphabet. 

Are you referring to multiple publications by the same author? Then, sort them by the year of publication. If two publications are from the same year, put "a," "b," "c," etc. after the year. For example:

• Van Aalst, J.M. (2014). Dementia explained. Janssens Publishing.

• Van Aalst, J.M. (2016a). The impact of dementia on the environment. Journal of Dementia, 25(3), pp. 15-29. 

• Van Aalst, J.M. (2016b). Treating dementia: insights from research. Journal of Alzheimer's disease, 6(1), pp. 24-35.

Further note the following:

• Is there no known author? Then, start the source citation in the APA bibliography with the title of the source. You don't include words like "the," "it," and "an.” You  sort the source by the first non-member word in the sentence. 

• Ignore apostrophes or hyphens when it comes to the order of sources. For example, the name "D'Silva" comes after "De Vries" because the "e" (after D) comes before "s" in the alphabet.

• Does an organization's name begin with a number? Then, look at how you pronounce the number. For example, a source that begins with "30" puts you by the "t" of "thirty."

An APA literature list can be pretty tricky stuff. There's a lot to pay attention to. But don't worry, we can do a source check for you for as little as € 2  per source! We will check the entire bibliography for you, fix any wrong sources, and ensure that your APA list is 100% correct. 

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