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Waidner-Spahr Library

Primary Sources: Citing Primary Sources in APA Style

APA - Sample Citations

For more information on citing in APA Style, please see our main APA citation guide.

Images/Art Found Online (e.g., paintings, photography, etc.)

Note: The below example is for a work of art that is also available to see in-person at a museum. For an image that is not on display, you would use the same format, but remove the museum and location components. For more information on citing images in APA, you may wish to look at Memorial University Libraries' guide on citing art in APA Style.

Warhol, A. (1957). Eight female heads wearing sunglasses [Ink and tempera on Strathmore paper with acetate overlay]. Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved from https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/23313597.
 
Videos

Note: In the following example, the creator's screen name is their real name. If the creator had a screen name different from their real name, it would be included in square brackets after their name. If only the screen name is available, then it would be used as the creator's name.

Marich, J. (2017, March 28). EMDR therapy demonstration: Phases 1-8 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6UvKhLYf7w.

Music

Redding, O. (1965). Respect [Recorded by A. Franklin]. On I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You [Spotify]. New York, NY: Atlantic Records. (1967).
 
Legal Documents

Note: Legal references are going to look a lot different from references to a journal article because APA Style uses a source for legal citation called The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. In some cases, such as for constitutional amendments, the in-text citation will actually be the same as the reference list entry. For more help with citing legal materials, it is highly recommended that you look at Appendix 7.1 in the APA manual (available at the circulation desk) or the APA Style Blog's Introduction to APA Style Legal References.

Constitutional amendments:

U.S. Const. amend. XIX. 

Court decisions: 

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
 

Other Common Primary Sources

Letter in an archive (that you saw in person): 

Carothers, A.A. (1876, June 20). [Letter to Cornelius R. Agnew]. Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections (CIS-MC-001, Box 1, Folder 1). Waidner-Spahr Library, Carlisle, PA. 

Letter in an archive (that you accessed online): 

Carothers, A.A. (1876, June 20). [Letter to Cornelius R. Agnew]. Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center, Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections (CIS-MC-001, Box 1, Folder 1). Waidner-Spahr Library, Carlisle, PA. http://carlisleindian.dickinson.edu/documents/letter-amy-carothers-cornelius-r-agnew. 

Newspaper article:

National convention of the colored race. (1883, October 4). The Christian Statesman, pp. 3. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/8HBZX6.