Reference Style for Professional Books (APA Style)

For trade books, we use Chicago author-date style to format citations and references. This page summarizes the major differences between American Psychological Association style, which we use for professional books only, and our trade style. It's not exhaustive. For specific questions not addressed here, consult an NH editor.

Key differences from trade (Chicago) style:

• Use ampersand before last author’s names in reference entries and citations.

• For second and subsequent authors, first initials are inverted in refs entries, just like first author's.

• Year is in parens in reference entries, with a period after closing parens.

• The titles of journal articles and books are set in sentence-style rather than title-style capitalization. For subtitles, the first word after the colon is initial-capped, even as the rest of the subtitle is set lowercase.

• When a specific page is cited, in-text citation includes “p.” before page number. Ex., (Lynch 2018a, p. 213).

• When two different authors have the same last name, include first initials in citations. Ex.,: (G. S. Brown & Minami, 2010); (K. W. Brown & Cordon, 2009).

• With Dutch and similar names, such as Van der Klink, a normally lowercased part of the name (van) will be capitalized if it’s the first element of a reference (analogous to first word of sentence). But in citation, it will be lowercased.

Note other variations from trade style in the examples below.

Citing Multiple Authors

    In text:

• Two authors: Always cite both names in text.

• Three or more authors: Cite first author + et al. on every occurrence (or more authors’ names if needed to distinguish sources). Ex., Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson (1999) should be styled: (Hayes et al., 1999). Note that the serial comma is used prior to the ampersand, per APA style.

    In the References section:

• If seven or more authors, list the first six author’s names + et al.

Reference Entries

Article in a periodical: Note that the comma after volume number is roman, not ital. Also, note that if an author hasn’t consistently included issue numbers, where present they should be deleted to ensure consistency while also minimizing editorial costs. If issue number is included, format as follows: 12(2), 633–656.

Aube, J., Fleury, J., & Smetana, J. (2000). Changes in women’s roles: Impact on and social policy implications for the mental health of women and children. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 633–656.

Article in a periodical in press: Before finalizing the manuscript, check whether items have appeared in print and update references and citations as appropriate.

Wilson, K. G., Sandoz, E. K., Kitchens, J., & Roberts, M. (in press). The Valued Living Questionnaire: Defining and measuring valued action within a behavioral framework. Psychological Record.

Book

Allport, G. W., Vernon, P. E., & Lindzey, G. (1960). Study of values: A scale for measuring the dominant interests in personality (3rd ed.). Houghton Mifflin.

Edited book: If an author hasn’t consistently included page numbers for chapters, where present they should be deleted to ensure consistency while also minimizing editorial costs. If issue number is included, format as follows: 12(2), 633–656.

Hayes, S. C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Roche, B. (Eds.). (2001). Relational frame theory: A post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition. Plenum Press.

Chapter in an edited book: If an author hasn’t consistently included page numbers for chapters, where present they should be deleted to ensure consistency while also minimizing editorial costs. If page range is included, format as follows: Mindfulness-based treatment approaches: Clinician’s guide to evidence base and applications (4th ed., pp. 121–159).

Barnhofer, T., & Crane, C. (2006). Minfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression and suicidality. In R. A. Baer (Ed.), Mindfulness-based treatment approaches: Clinician’s guide to evidence base and applications. Burlington, MA: Academic Press.

Presentation at a conference, poster sessions, etc.

Blackledge, J. T., Spencer, R. & Ciarrochi, J. (2007, May). Initial validation of the Personal Values Questionnaire. Presentation at the annual conference of the Association for Behavior Analysis, San Diego, CA.

Dissertation

Block, J. A. (2002). Acceptance or change of private experiences: A comparative analysis in college students with public speaking anxiety. Doctoral dissertation, University at Albany, State University of New York.

Unpublished manuscript: There are a few variations on this basic theme.

• Gratz, K. L., Breetz, A., & Tull, M. T. (2009). The moderating role of borderline personality in the relationships between deliberate self-harm and emotion-related factors. Manuscript submitted for publication.

• Berlin, K. S., Sato, A. F., Jastrowski, K. E., Woods, D. W., & Davies, W. H. (2005). Effects of experiential avoidance on parenting practices and adolescent outcomes. Unpublished manuscript.

• Coyne, L. W., & Burke, A. M. (2007a). Observational coding manual, child version: Assessing exposure in the context of a family-based cognitive behavioral treatment for pediatric OCD. Unpublished manuscript, Suffolk University, Boston, MA.