APA style was born in 1929 when a group of psychologists, anthropologists, and business managers worked together to develop a simple standard to use when writing scientific publications. APA style has continued to expand and change over the last century, but it still supports the authors' original intention to help with reading comprehension of scientific texts.
APA style uses an author-date citation system. Brief in-text citations, either running with the text or as parenthetical citations, direct the reader to that source's bibliographic information at the end of the paper.
In APA style, each work cited by the writer must appear in the full reference list, and each work included in the reference list must be cited somewhere in the text. (Contrast this with the option in MLA to include a "Works Cited and Consulted" list that may include works not cited in the text but nonetheless consulted.)
The APA offers extensive guidance for citing archival sources using examples from the APA Archives and the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron. Below are some examples of citing CSRW materials using APA style. For more information and further examples, visit the APA's Archival Documents and Collections page.
A single letter in a manuscript collection:
Prince, W. B. (1940, 8 March). [letter to Judge R. H. Hanna]. Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico (Richard H. Hanna Papers MSS 762 BC, box 8, folder 31), Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Parenthetical citation: (Prince, 1940)
Narrative citation: Prince (1940)
Several letters from the same manuscript collection:
When citing several documents from the same collection, list the entire collection as a reference and include identifying information for specific letters in the in-text citations.
Hanna, Richard H. (1940-1944) William B. Prince - Correspondence,, 1940-1944. Richard H. Hanna Papers (MSS 762, box 8, folder 31), Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Parenthetical citation of the entire collection: (Hanna, 1940-1944)
Narrative citation of the entire collection: Hanna (1940-1944)
To cite a specific letter from this collection, include the author and range of years shown in the reference as well as details about who wrote the letter and when it was written.
Example:
Parenthetical citation: (Hanna, 1940-1944, W.B. Prince to Hanna, March 8 1940)
Narrative citation: Hanna (W.B. Prince to Hanna, March 8 1940)
An oral history interview:
Abeyta, Mary and Josefina Paris Lopez (1983, September 26). Interview by Bayita O'Rourke [Tape recording]. North Valley Oral History Project MSS-572-BC, Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Parenthetical citation: (Abeyta and Lopez, 1983)
Narrative citation: Abeyta and Lopez (1983)
Photo in a pictorial collection:
Farah, Cynthia. [Photograph of Sabine Ulibarri]. (ca.1980-1988). Cynthia Farah Photograph Collection Writers of the Southwest Photograph Collection PICT-986-008 (Box 3, item 11), Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Parenthetical citation: (Farah, ca.1980-1988)
Narrative citation: Farah (ca. 1980-1988)
For more examples of citing archival documents in APA style, consult the APA Style Guide online. Note that the section on citing archival sources is only available online and does not appear in the hard-copy APA style guide.