The Four Questions of APA Citation

The Four Questions of APA Citation

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Yes! Citations can seem intimidating...

There's hope!

APA Citations follow a specific pattern:They answer four questions

• The pattern is consistent
• Some variations exist, but they make sense once we understand the pattern

Four simple questions:

1. Who
2. When
3. What
4. Where

Let's use this example:

Conti, P. (2021). Trauma: The invisible epidemic. Sounds True.

Who made it?

Who created this information source? This could be:

• A writer
• An editor
• A photographer
• A director
• A podcaster
• An organization

It will usually be the first element of the citation.

Conti, P. (2021). Trauma: The invisible epidemic. Sounds True.

When was it made?

When was this information source created?

• Most of the time, it will be the year of publication, production, release, etc.
• It will always be the second element of the citation.
• When we can't tell when it was published, released, etc., we show this by including (n.d.), which stands for "no date."

Conti, P. (2021). Trauma: The invisible epidemic. Sounds True.

"When" is important!

What is it?

This is the title of the information source. Sometimes a descriptive element is used or added to the citation, but only when it might not be clear what the source is. Ex. [web log]

Conti, P. (2021). Trauma: The invisible epidemic. Sounds True.

Where can I find it?

This element tells where it was published and could be:

• A book publisher
• An academic journal
• A newspaper or magazine
• A film studio
• A blog
• An organization

Conti, P. (2021). Trauma: The invisible epidemic. Sounds True.

An article from an academic journal

Avery, J.C., Morris, H., Galvin, E., et al. (2021). Systematic review of school-wide trauma-informed approaches. Journal of Childhood & Adolescent Trauma,14, 381–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653- 020-00321-1

Avery, J.C., Morris, H., Galvin, E., et al. (2021). Systematic review of school-wide trauma-informed approaches. Journal of Childhood & Adolescent Trauma,14, 381–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653- 020-00321-1

A note on conventions...

• Titles of books, journals, films, etc. are italicized
• Article titles are not italicized or put in quotation marks
• Capitalization conventions are different from what we might expect

Read more

Let's recap on the questions:

1. Who made it?
2. When was it made?
3. What is it?
4. Where can I find it?

Here are the questions for the book:

Who made it?

What is it?

When was it made?

Conti, P. (2021). Trauma: The invisible epidemic. Sounds True.

Where can I find it?

Here are the questions for the article:

Who made it?

When was it made?

What is it?

Avery, J.C., Morris, H., Galvin, E., et al. (2021). Systematic Review of School-Wide Trauma-Informed Approaches. Journal Childhood & Adolescent Trauma,14, 381–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-020-00321-1

Where can I find it?

Should we give it a try?

Question 1

In the following example, which element answers the question, "What is it?"

Hopkins, J.P. (2022). Speaking with an Indigenous voice of survivance: Genuine conversation, refusal, and decolonizing the contact zone. Philosophy of Education, 78(3), 178-191. http://www.doi.org/10.47925/78.3.178

00:15

Question 2

In the following example, which is NOT part of the "Where can I find it?" information?

Hopkins, J.P. (2022). Speaking with an Indigenous voice of survivance: Genuine conversation, refusal, and decolonizing the contact zone. Philosophy of Education, 78(3), 178-191. http://www.doi.org/10.47925/78.3.178

00:15

Good job!

Now, let's try putting elements in the correct order.

Sort 1

This is how the Deloria citation would look on a referrence page:

Deloria Jr., V. (2023). God is red: A Native view of religion, 50th anniversary edition. Fulcrum Books.

Sort 2

This is how the Kehoe citation would look on referrence page:

Kehoe, J. (2025, January/February). Archeologists are finding dugout canoes in the American Midwest as old as the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2025, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/archaeologists-using- sunken-dugout-canoes-learn-indigenous-history-America- 180985638/

Woohoo!

In the next module, we will look at some specific citation patterns that you are likely to use frequently:

• Articles from academic journals
• Websites
• Books
• Book chapters
• Online videos

Primary exceptions

Sometimes we put the title as the first element in two cases