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APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

• Basics of APA Formatting
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• Thesis/Dissertation

Standard Format

Formatting rules, various examples.

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

Formatting:

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

See Ch. 10 pp. 313-352 of APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

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EDK 850 Research Design & Proposal Development

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APA Style Resources

Here are some general APA Style resources. Scroll down further to see more details about citations and paper formatting. 

• APA Style Website The APA Style Website is the official website for APA 7th edition, and includes formatting guidelines for formatting your overall paper including title page setup, tables and figures, as well as guidelines for formatting reference citations. Sample papers are included.
• Excelsior Online Writing Lab: APA Style The Excelsior OWL is an excellent resource for how to write and cite your academic work in APA Style. This is a recommended starting point if you're not sure how to use APA style in your work, and includes helpful multimedia elements.

Several print copies of the APA 7th edition Publication Manual are available for checkout at the Mardigian Library.

(Sorry, APA does not provide an eBook version of this for libraries at the present time.)

APA Style 7th edition Citations (References and In-Text Citations)

If you're new to citation, this brief video will cover an introduction to in-text citations and reference lists in APA 7th edition. Scroll down for more recommended resources about citations. 

More information including examples and sample papers can be found at the recommended websites below: 

• APA Style Website: Reference Examples Guidelines about references from the official APA Style website.
• APA Style Website: In-text Citations Guidelines for in-text citations from the official APA Style website.
• APA 7th edition quick reference handout This quick reference guide to APA 7th edition citations is handy and includes many commonly cited source types and corresponding in-text citations.
• APA In-text Citation Checklist APA's official In-text citation checklist for the 7th edition.

APA Style 7th edition Formatting for Professional Papers (including Dissertations)

• APA Style Website: Sample Annotated Professional Paper This is the official sample professional paper from the APA Style website, and includes annotations illustrating the usage of each element.
• APA Style Website: Paper Format The APA Style website's paper format page includes all of the elements of paper format that you need to follow, including information about the title page, margins and spacing, fonts and headings. Sample papers are included.

CEHHS Formatting Requirements for Ed.D. Dissertations

CEHHS uses the current version of the APA Publication Manual (7th edition) for all matters of format with the exception of some particular requirements for the Title page, pagination (especially of front matter) and top margins. Unless otherwise stated in the CEHHS Ed.D. Dissertation Guide below, defer to APA 7th edition. 

Some formatting aspects to be sure you are following correctly include: 

• Tables and Figures, including labeling thereof
• CEHHS Ed.D. Dissertation Guide
• UM-Ann Arbor Scholarspace Microsoft for Dissertations Guide
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APA Style, 7th edition - Citing Sources

• Getting Started
• Formatting the Paper

Dissertation & SPP Format Pieces

Creating a toc in apa, dnp spp toc examples, edd toc examples, important: signature page, the abstract & keywords.

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If you are on this tab, you have probably been asked to format a dissertation or Scholarly Practice Project paper using APA format. Use the below information to help you format the different pieces of your paper.  Please check with your academic department to see if they have an official dissertation/SPP format template for your program.

A note on Table of Contents: Most APA papers do not require a Table of Contents (TOC). If you are writing a Dissertation or Scholarly Practice Project, you may be asked to include one. Please note: the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association does not have an official stance on formatting a Table of Contents page .

Below, you will find some general information and examples of Table of Contents (TOC), Abstracts and Keywords, and the Signature page that you may find helpful.

• Scribbr Creating an APA-style Table of Contents This tutorial from Scribbr is extremely helpful in formatting your APA Table of Contents.

Use the below examples as a reference point for forming your Table of Contents. These should be used as a baseline for formatting-- yours will be more specific to your headings and subject-matter.

• DNP SPP TOC Example 1
• DNP SPP TOC Example 2
• EdD Dissertation TOC Example 1
• EdD Dissertation TOC Example 2

Your signature page is one of the most important pieces of your final product. It proves that you completed the dissertation!  Below is an example of what your signature page should look like (names blanked out for privacy).

If you have any questions about the signature page or how to get it signed, please contact your program director.

ABSTRACT : An abstract is required for your Dissertation or Scholarly Practice Project and must be included before submitting your final copy to Proquest.  An abstract is a brief, comprehensive overview of your paper. Generally, it should not exceed 250 words.

KEYWORDS : You should also include keywords. Keywords are descriptive terms that encompass the themes of your paper. Think about what terms you used when searching for your topic in the databases. This is what researchers will use to find your paper!

• APA Style Abstract and Keywords Handout For more information on creating an Abstract and Keywords, please use this handout from the APA Style site.
• Professional Paper sample with Abstract Example See page one of this document for an example of an Abstract and Keywords, with annotations on where to find more information in APA Manual. From the APA Style site.
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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

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.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
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• Reference Page
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Citation Examples

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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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In-text citation

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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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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

University Thesis and Dissertation Templates

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Theses and dissertations are already intensive, long-term projects that require a lot of effort and time from their authors. Formatting for submission to the university is often the last thing that graduate students do, and may delay earning the relevant degree if done incorrectly.

Below are some strategies graduate students can use to deal with institutional formatting requirements to earn their degrees on time.

Disciplinary conventions are still paramount.

Scholars in your own discipline are the most common readers of your dissertation; your committee, too, will expect your work to match with their expectations as members of your field. The style guide your field uses most commonly is always the one you should follow, and if your field uses conventions such as including all figures and illustrations at the end of the document, you should do so. After these considerations are met, move on to university formatting. Almost always, university formatting only deals with things like margins, font, numbering of chapters and sections, and illustrations; disciplinary style conventions in content such as APA's directive to use only last names of authors in-text are not interfered with by university formatting at all.

Use your university's formatting guidelines and templates to your advantage.

If your institution has a template for formatting your thesis or dissertation that you can use, do so. Don't look at another student's document and try to replicate it yourself. These templates typically have the necessary section breaks and styles already in the document, and you can copy in your work from your existing draft using the style pane in MS Word to ensure you're using the correct formatting (similarly with software such as Overleaf when writing in LaTeX, templates do a lot of the work for you). It's also often easier for workers in the offices that deal with theses and dissertations to help you with your work if you're using their template — they are familiar with these templates and can often navigate them more proficiently.

These templates also include placeholders for all front matter you will need to include in your thesis or dissertation, and may include guidelines for how to write these. Front matter includes your table of contents, acknowledgements, abstract, abbreviation list, figure list, committee page, and (sometimes) academic history or CV; everything before your introduction is front matter. Since front matter pages such as the author's academic history and dissertation committee are usually for the graduate school and not for your department, your advisor might not remember to have you include them. Knowing about them well before your deposit date means you won't be scrambling to fill in placeholders at the last minute or getting your work returned for revision from the graduate school.

Consider institutional formatting early and often.

Many graduate students leave this aspect of submitting their projects until it's almost too late to work on it, causing delays in obtaining their degree. Simply being aware that this is a task you'll have to complete and making sure you know where templates are, who you can ask for help in your graduate office or your department, and what your institution's guidelines are can help alleviate this issue. Once you know what you'll be expected to do to convert to university formatting, you can set regular check-in times for yourself to do this work in pieces rather than all at once (for instance, when you've completed a chapter and had it approved by your chair). 

Consider fair use for images and other third-party content.

Most theses and dissertations are published through ProQuest or another publisher (Harvard, for instance, uses their own open publishing service). For this reason, it may be the case that your institution requires all images or other content obtained from other sources to fall under fair use rules or, if an image is not considered under fair use, you'll have to obtain permission to print it in your dissertation. Your institution should have more guidance on their specific expectations for fair use content; knowing what these guidelines are well in advance of your deposit date means you won't have to make last-minute changes or removals to deposit your work.