APA Style 6th Edition: Citing Your Sources

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Dissertation or thesis available from a database service:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (year of publication).  Title of dissertation or thesis (Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).  Retrieved from Name of database.  (Accession or Order No.)

For an unpublished dissertation or thesis:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (year of creation).  Title of dissertation or thesis (Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).  Name of Institution, Location.

See Ch 7 pp. 207-208 APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

Formatting:

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

Theses and dissertations from online sources, theses and dissertations in hardcopy format.

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Terminology

Thesis and dissertation can mean different things, depending on which institution the work is from.  For study purposes and for your APA reference you need to know the level of the work.

  • Always check the title page, or subsequent pages, to determine exactly what the work is
  • Use the information there for your APA reference

At Auckland University of Technology (and other NZ universities)

Thesis is either for a doctoral or a master's degree.

Dissertation is either for a master's or a bachelor's degree with honours.

Exegesis is the written component of a practice-based thesis where the major output is a creative work;  e.g. a film, artwork, novel.

In some other parts of the world such as North America, a dissertation may be for a doctoral degree and a thesis for a master's degree.  

See Section 7.05  in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition .

Reference format for a thesis from a commercial database:

Reference format for a thesis from an institutional repository:

A Doctoral dissertation (USA) from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database

Reference list entry:

  • Include the name of the database and the order number of the document
  • Use this style for theses retrieved from a commercial database

Thesis from a NZ institutional repository :

  • Include the full URL for the thesis/dissertation and the full name of the degree-granting institution/university
  • Also include the location of the university, if outside the United States.

In-text citations guide  

Reference format for unpublished thesis/dissertation:

  • Give the correct full name of the university, not its abbreviation or brand name.
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Citation guides

All you need to know about citations

How to cite a dissertation in APA

APA dissertation citation

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To cite a dissertation in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:

  • Author(s) of the dissertation: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to seven authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For eight or more authors include the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
  • Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
  • Title of the dissertation: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
  • URL: Give the full URL where the document can be retrieved from.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a dissertation in APA style 6th edition:

Author(s) of the dissertation . ( Year of publication ). Title of the dissertation (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from URL

If the dissertation is available from a database, archive or any online platform use the following template:

  • Author(s) of the dissertation: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
  • Publication number: Give the identification number of the dissertation, if available.
  • Name of the degree awarding institution: Give the name of the institution.
  • Name of platform: Give the name of the database, archive or any platform that holds the dissertation.
  • URL: If the dissertation was found on a database, omit this element.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a dissertation in APA style 7th edition:

Author(s) of the dissertation . ( Year of publication ). Title of the dissertation ( Publication number ) [Doctoral dissertation, Name of the degree awarding institution ]. Name of platform . URL

If the dissertation has not been published or is available from a database use the following template:

  • Location: Give the location of the institution. If outside the United States also include the country name.

Author(s) of the dissertation . ( Year of publication ). Title of the dissertation (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Name of the degree awarding institution , Location .

If the dissertation is not published, use the following template:

Author(s) of the dissertation . ( Year of publication ). Title of the dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of the degree awarding institution .

APA reference list examples

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the APA style guidelines for a dissertation citation in action:

A dissertation found in an online platform

Guo, J . ( 2018 ). Trust-based service management of internet of things systems and its applications ( Doctoral dissertation ). Retrieved from https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/82854
Guo, J . ( 2018 ). Trust-based service management of internet of things systems and its applications [ Doctoral dissertation , Virginia Tech ]. ETDs: Virginia Tech Electronic Theses and Dissertations . https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/82854

An unpublished doctoral dissertation

Neel, B. L . ( 2017 ). Three flute chamber works by Alberto Ginastera: Intertwining elements of art and folk music ( Unpublished doctoral dissertation ). University of Nebraska-Lincoln , NE .
Neel, B. L . ( 2017 ). Three flute chamber works by Alberto Ginastera: Intertwining elements of art and folk music [ Unpublished doctoral dissertation ]. University of Nebraska-Lincoln .

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This citation style guide is based on the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ( 6 th edition).

More useful guides

  • APA Referencing: Theses
  • Reference List: Other Print Sources
  • APA 6th Edition Citation Style

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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.

Example dissertation-thesis

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)

dissertation and thesis Citations for APA 7

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.

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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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Thesis - from website

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Dissertation / thesis (database).

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  • No Author / No Date

Document Example:

Proper Bibliographic Reference Format:

  • Bibliographic references are double-spaced and indented half an inch after the first line.
  • Use italics and "sentence-style" capitalization for dissertation / thesis titles.
  • Identify the work as a doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title.
  • If the paper was retrieved through a library database, give the accession or order number at the end of the reference. This can be located within the first pages of the thesis text.

Rashed, D.H. (2008). A case study of international ESL learners’ perceptions of technology use in English language learning (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 1456443)

In-Text Citations:

Citations are placed in the context of discussion using the author’s last name and date of publication.

(Rashed, 2008)

Alternatively, you can integrate the citation into the sentence by means of narrative.

Rashed (2008) examines ESL students’ perceptions of technology use in the classroom.

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apa 6th edition referencing doctoral dissertation

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APA 6 Style Guide

Thesis/dissertation – apa reference list, capitalization.

  • The document title is in sentence case – Only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. Always capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon or a dash.
  • The title of the thesis or dissertation is in title case – Each word in the name is capitalized, except for articles (a, an, the), prepositions (against, between, in, of, to), conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet), and the infinitive 'to'.

Thesis/Dissertation – Unpublished/Print version

For papers written in United States list City and State. For countries outside United States list City and Country.

Author , A . A . ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis  (Unpublished doctoral dissertation [OR] Unpublished master's thesis). Academic Institution , City , State [OR] Country .

  • Considine, M. (1986). Australian insurance politics in the 1970s: Two case studies . (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Kassover,A. (1987). Treatment of abusive males: Voluntary vs. court-mandated referrals (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Nova University, Fort Lauderdale, FL. 

Thesis/Dissertation – From a commercial database (e.g., ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database)

Author , A ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Name of database . ( Accession or Order Number )

Cooley, T. (2009).  Design, development, and implementation of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN): The Hartford Job Corps Academy case study (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3344745)

Thesis/Dissertation – Institutional Database (i.e. University website)

For U.S. thesis do not include university or locations. Include the university and location (City and Country) for a non-U.S. online thesis.

Author , A . A . ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis (Doctoral dissertation/Master's thesis). Retrieved from http:// url.com

  • Adams, R. J. (1973). Building a foundation for evaluation of instruction in higher education and continuing education (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/
  • Barua, S. (2010). Drought assessment and forecasting using a nonlinear aggregated drought index  (Doctoral dissertation, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia). Retrieved from http://vuir.vu.edu.au/1598

Thesis/Dissertation – Web

For U.S. thesis do not include locations. Include the location (City and Country) for a non-U.S. online thesis.

Author , A . A . ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis (Doctoral dissertation/Master's thesis, Institution issuing degree). Retrieved from http:// www.url.com

  • Bruckman, A. (1997). MOOSE Crossing: Construction, community, and learning in a networked virtual world for kids (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Retrieved from http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/thesis

apa 6th edition referencing doctoral dissertation

apa 6th edition referencing doctoral dissertation

Citing Dissertations APA 6th Edition

  • adamsmith July 18, 2012 The problem is not so much the citation style - which afaict does most of this correctly - as the fact that metadata for dissertations comes poorly standardized, so you have to manually touch up items from proquest (and other dissertation databases). 1. The title should be italicized already - if not - are you using the thesis item type? 2. "Doctoral Dissertation" needs to be in the type file of the item. 3. "ProQuest Dissertations and Theses" needs to be in the archive field 4. "UMI No. 3401141" needs to be in the loc .in archive field.
  • emh1976 July 18, 2012 Thanks, Adam. I have been adjusting the fields in the same way as above. However, the punctuation use for these fields is not correct. I understand about the lack of metadata standards, and am fine with adjusting fields, however, an update to the field titles (and punctuation) would be of benefit. When searching the forums, it seemed this was a common occurrence/complaint.
  • adamsmith July 18, 2012 sorry, I don't follow about punctuation. Could you provide examples?
  • dipahart December 2, 2012 Hey Adam, 7.05 in APA manual says this should be avaliable from (see item 20). Which is really annoying as all the others are retrieved from I just don't know enough to suggest a fix! Question: when is type used? I'm sure there's something on it somewhere. The above was SO helpful. I couldn't figure out what went into what field. It be great if Zotero came with example citations for each one. But you probably already have that somewhere.
  • dipahart December 2, 2012 edited December 2, 2012 And your missing "database" in the above example ProQuest and Dissertations and Theses database And it's Doctoral dissertation (dissertation is not caps)
  • DrPas13 July 5, 2014 Is there a way to change "Retrieved" to Available in Zotero? My program requires "Available from". Drpas
  • adamsmith July 5, 2014 for all items or just for dissertations?
  • candaceruiz September 8, 2015 Adam, I am using what you suggested above: 1. The title should be italicized already - if not - are you using the thesis item type? 2. "Doctoral Dissertation" needs to be in the type file of the item. 3. "ProQuest Dissertations and Theses" needs to be in the archive field 4. "UMI No. 3401141" needs to be in the loc .in archive field. But when I populate my Reference list the ProQuest section states, "Retrieved from" rather than "Available from" as my University suggested below. Can this be changed? Or do I have to make a manual change? Example from my University: Kirwan, J. G. (2005). An experimental study of the effects of small-group, face-to-face facilitated dialogues on the development of self-actualization levels: A movement towards fully functional persons (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text database. (UMI No. 3159996)
  • bwiernik September 8, 2015 The Zotero CSL style for APA does format dissertation citations correctly (italicized title, all punctuation) when the information is entered into the correct field as adamsmith describes. If you are getting something incorrect, please post an example so we can we what is happening. As for "Available from", this is one of the rather absurd APA rules, like calling for symposia to use the words "conducted at" whereas other presentations use the words "presented at". The CSL language only (easily) allows for one form of the "retrieved from" words, so the style doesn't change it for theses published in databases. I have never seen a journal care about that rule, but if your program does, it would be easiest to just change it manually at the end of the process. In practice, I see most publications of dissertations simply use the URL, rather than the technically correct database citation. That is easier for the read to use anyway.
The CSL language only (easily) allows for one form of the "retrieved from" words, so the style doesn't change it for theses published in databases.
  • bwiernik September 11, 2015 Okay, so I looked into "Retrieved from" versus "Available from" in the manual. In the printed manual, there is no clear explanation for which to use. The 2012 Guide to Electronic References has this additional note: "For sources in which Retrieved from may seem misleading, Available from represents a useful alternative (here, the video can be ordered from the URL, but the content cannot be viewed online)." (p. 26) "Available from" is only used two times. Once for a DVD on sale from a web store (to which the above note refers). The second time is for a thesis in the ProQuest database with a UMI number. However, the generic reference for a ProQuest thesis uses "Retrieved from", so using "Available from" might be a misprint or APA could be suggesting that it is important to distinguish whether a PDF is available from ProQuest (for some reason). In any event, the rationale seems to be "Can the user find the full text of the material at the URL? If yes, use 'Retrieved from'. If the user can merely order a copy of the material from the URL, use 'Available from'." With that reasoning, I'm not sure whether there would be any way for Zotero to determine which would be used (and personally it seems rather pointless).

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The 7 th edition of the APA manual does not provide specific guidance on how to cite physical reference works such as dictionaries, thesauruses, or encyclopedias. Therefore, this citation, as well as the one for an individual author of an entry in a reference work, is modeled on that of a chapter in an edited book or anthology, both which are similar in format to reference works.

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Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. (1997). Goat. In Merriam Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10 th ed., pp. 499-500). Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

Entry in a Dictionary, Thesaurus, or Encyclopedia with an Individual Author

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of entry. In F. M. Lastname (ed.), Title of reference work (edition, page numbers). Publisher.

Tatum, S. R. (2009). Spirituality and religion in hip hop literature and culture. In T. L. Stanley (ed.), Encyclopedia of hip hop literature (pp. 250-252). Greenwood.

Work Discussed in a Secondary Source

Provide the source in which the original work was referenced:

Nail, T. (2017). What is an assemblage? SubStance , 46 (1), 21-37. http://sub.uwpress.org/lookup/doi/10.3368/ss.46.1.21

Note: Provide the secondary source in the references list; in the text, name the original work, and give a citation for the secondary source. For example, if Deleuze and Guattari’s work is cited in Nail and you did not read the original work, list the Nail reference in the References. In the text, use the following citation: 

Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the assemblage (as cited in Nail, 2017)….

Dissertation Abstract

The 7 th edition of the APA manual does not provide specific guidance on how to cite dissertation abstracts. Therefore, this citation models that of a journal article, which is similar in format.

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation. Dissertation Abstracts International , Vol., Page.

Angeli, E. L. (2012). Networks of communication in emergency medical services. Dissertation Abstracts International, 74 , 03(E).

Dissertation or Master’s Thesis, Published

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation/thesis (Publication No.) [Doctoral dissertation/Master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Database or Archive Name.

Angeli, E. L. (2012). Networks of communication in emergency medical services (Publication No. 3544643) [Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Note: If the dissertation or thesis is not published in a database, include the URL of the site where the document is located.

Dissertation or Master’s Thesis, Unpublished

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation/thesis [Unpublished doctoral dissertation/master’s thesis]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree. 

Samson, J. M. (2016). Human trafficking and globalization [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Federal or State Statute

Name of Act, Public Law No. (Year). URL

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Publ. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (2010).  https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-111publ148/pdf/PLAW-111publ148.pdf

Report by a Government Agency or Other Organization

Organization Name. (Year). Title of report. URL

United States Government Accountability Office. (2019). Performance and accountability report: Fiscal year 2019 . https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/702715.pdf

Report by Individual Authors at Government Agency or Other Organization

Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of report . Organization Name. URL

Palanker, D., Volk, J., Lucia, K., & Thomas, K. (2018). Mental health parity at risk: Deregulating the individual market and the impact on mental health coverage . National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www.nami.org/About-NAMI/Publications-Reports/Public-Policy-Reports/Parity-at-Risk/ParityatRisk.pdf  

Conference Proceedings

The 7 th edition of the APA manual does not provide guidance on citing conference proceedings. Therefore, this citation models that of an edited collection, which is similar in format.

Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Eds.). (Year). Title of Proceedings . Publisher. URL (if applicable)

Huang, S., Pierce, R., & Stamey, J. (Eds.). (2006). Proceedings of the 24 th annual ACM international conference on the design of communication . ACM Digital Library. https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1166324&picked=prox

apa 6th edition referencing doctoral dissertation

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How to use a reference to cite a dissertation in APA 6th Edition

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Cite a Dissertation in APA Style

    To cite an unpublished dissertation (one you got directly from the author or university in print form), add "Unpublished" to the bracketed description, and list the university at the end of the reference, outside the square brackets. APA format. Author last name, Initials. ( Year ).

  2. Published Dissertation or Thesis References

    This page contains reference examples for published dissertations or ... (Publication No. 10169573) [Doctoral dissertation, Wilmington University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. ... Published dissertation or thesis references are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 10.6 and the Concise ...

  3. Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis References

    Narrative citation: Harris (2014) When a dissertation or thesis is unpublished, include the description " [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]" or " [Unpublished master's thesis]" in square brackets after the dissertation or thesis title. In the source element of the reference, provide the name of the institution that awarded the degree.

  4. Thesis/Dissertation

    Thesis, from a commercial database. Nicometo, D. N. (2015). Increasing international education to develop culturally competent social workers: Social media recommendations for social work abroad program 501(c)3 (Order No. 1597712).Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

  5. Library Guides: APA 6th Referencing Style Guide: Theses

    Thesis and dissertation can mean different things, depending on which institution the work is from. For study purposes and for your APA reference you need to know the level of the work. At Auckland University of Technology (and other NZ universities) Thesis is either for a doctoral or a master's degree. Dissertation is either for a master's or ...

  6. APA Citations for a Thesis or Dissertation

    In the 6th edition of APA for a dissertation citation, you would include the UMI number rather than the publication number. Additionally, doctoral dissertation is in parenthesis rather than brackets. An example of an APA 6 citation looks like: Author, A. (Year). Title (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from database name. (UMI number)

  7. Quick Guide to APA Citation (6th ed.)

    APA Style citations consist of two parts: In-text citation: A brief citation in parentheses when you mention a source, citing the author's last name and the year of publication, e.g. (Smith, 2019). It identifies the full source in the reference list. Reference list entry: Full publication details listed on the reference page, which appears at ...

  8. APA: how to cite a dissertation [Update 2023]

    For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name. Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop. Title of the dissertation: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. Publication number: Give the identification number of the ...

  9. LibGuides: APA 6th Edition Citation Style: Dissertation / Thesis

    Document Example: Proper Bibliographic Reference Format: Bibliographic references are double-spaced and indented half an inch after the first line. Use italics and "sentence-style" capitalization for dissertation / thesis titles. Identify the work as a doctoral dissertation / master's thesis in parentheses after the title. Sabbagh, S. A. (2009).

  10. 12. Theses and dissertations

    Theses and dissertations - USQ APA 6 Referencing Guide. 12. Theses and dissertations. 1. THESES AND DISSERTATIONS. Use 'available from' when the URL leads to information on how to obtain the cited material, rather than to the material itself. a) In his data structures thesis …. (Swinton, 1984). b) In a recent study ….

  11. How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

    Citing a published dissertation or thesis from a database. 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: Structure: Author's last name, F. M. (Year published).

  12. PDF APA Style Dissertation Guidelines: Formatting Your Dissertation

    tutorials under the "Resources for Writing Your Dissertation" tab. APA Style, 7 th Edition: A Brief Overview This section provides a very brief overview of APA Style formatting. For more thorough information about APA Style, 7 th edition, please refer to Appendix A (on page 11) of this guide for additional APA resources. Headings

  13. LibGuides: Citing sources in APA style 6th ed.: Reference examples

    Crediting sources and formatting references according to the style of the American Psychological Association (APA). Based on the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the APA. Home; Basic principles of APA style; Citing in the text: basic principles ... Reference examples: doctoral dissertations and master's theses; Reference examples: other ...

  14. Thesis

    In-text reference (Leigh, 2010) Leigh (2010) reported that .... Reference list: Leigh, J. (2010). Self-determined mindfulness and attachment style in college students (Publication No. 305210119) [Doctoral dissertation, Indiana State University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. EndNote reference type: Thesis

  15. APA Formatting and Style Guide (6th Edition)

    APA Changes 6th Edition APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page.

  16. Dissertation / Thesis (Database)

    Author: Doaa H. Rashed: Publication date: 2008: Title of doctoral dissertation or master's thesis: A case study of international ESL learners' perceptions of technology use in English language learning: Form of work: master's thesis: Name of database: Proquest Dissertations and Theses: Accession or order number: UMI 1456443

  17. Author-date citation system

    Use the author-date citation system to cite references in the text in APA Style. In this system, each work used in a paper has two parts: an in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry. In-text citations may be parenthetical or narrative. In parenthetical citations, use an ampersand (&) between names for a work with two authors ...

  18. APA Format (6th ed.) for Academic Papers and Essays [Template]

    Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr. The most important APA format guidelines in the 6th edition are: Use 12 pt Times New Roman. Set 1 inch page margins. Apply double line spacing. Insert a running head on every page. Indent every new paragraph ½ inch.

  19. Dissertation/Thesis

    Thesis/Dissertation - APA Reference List Capitalization. The document title is in sentence case - Only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. Always capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon or a dash. The title of the thesis or dissertation is in title case - Each word in the name is capitalized, except for articles (a, an, the), prepositions ...

  20. APA Changes 6th Edition

    APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the ...

  21. Reference List: Textual Sources

    This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references, except for newspapers. List any edition number in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by a comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).

  22. Citing Dissertations APA 6th Edition

    July 18, 2012. Zotero is not exporting dissertations (type=thesis) from a database service (e.g. ProQuest) according to APA 6th edition. The manual states: For a doctoral dissertation or master's thesis available from a database service, use the following reference template: Author, A. A. (2003). Title fo doctoral dissertation or master's ...

  23. Reference List: Other Print Sources

    Important Note: Because the 7 th edition of the APA Publication Manual heavily emphasizes digital and electronic sources, it does not contain explicit instructions for certain less-common print sources that earlier editions covered. For this reason, some of the examples below have been adapted from the instructions for sources with similar attributes (e.g., the conference proceedings example ...

  24. How to use a reference to cite a dissertation in APA 6th Edition

    My question is how to create an entry for a Dissertation. I have tried Miscellaneous, but this does not provide a bibliographic entry in APA 6th Edition format. (A bibliographic entry prints, but it is not correct even though APA 6th Edition is selected.). Dissertation is under the Report's Type of Source.

  25. Apa 6th Edition Referencing Doctoral Dissertation

    Apa 6th Edition Referencing Doctoral Dissertation - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site.