APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Government Publication

For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.

The following format will be used:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.  For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue.

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

Information on citing and several of the examples were drawn from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

APA Citation Style does not have a separate category for government publications. According to APA, government documents can be considered Books, Technical/Research Reports or Brochures.

Helpful Tips:

• Treat a government document as a book, report, or brochure.
• If a person is named on the title page, use her or him as author.
• If no person is named, use the government agency, department, or branch as a group author.
• Give the name of the group author exactly as it appears on the title page. If the branch or agency is not well known, include its higher department first.
• If the group author is also the publisher, just use the word Author after the location.
• If there is a series or report number, include it after the title.
• The manual refers to the GPO (U.S. Gov. Printing Office). Canadian equivalents may be: Queen’s Printer, Ministry of Supply and Services, Canadian Government Publishing, etc.

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author Surname OR Name of Government Organization, Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Author Surname OR Name of Government Organization, Year, page number)

References:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. OR Government Name. Name of Government Agency. (Year). Title: Subtitle (Report No. xxx [if available]). Publisher.

Example 1

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Gilmore et al., 1999)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Gilmore et al., 1999, p. 5)

References:

Gilmore, J., Woollam, P., Campbell, T., McLean, B., Roch, J., & Stephens, T. (1999). Statistical report on the health of Canadians: Prepared by the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health. Health Canada, Statistics Canada, Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Example 2

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Edwards, et al., 1997)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Edwards, et al., 1997, p. 2)

References:

Edwards, N., Sims-Jones, N., Hotz, S., & Cushman, R. (1997). Development and testing components of a multifaceted intervention program to reduce the incidence of smoking relapse during pregnancy and post-partum of both women and their partners. Report prepared for Health Canada at the Community Health Research Unit, University of Ottawa, Canada.

Example 3

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Ontario Ministry of Health, 1994)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Ontario Ministry of Health, 1994, p. 7)

References:

Ontario Ministry of Health. (1994). Selected findings from the mental health supplement of the Ontario Health Survey. Queen's Printer for Ontario.

Example 4

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(U. S. Food and Drug Administration, 2004)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(U. S. Food and Drug Administration, 2004, p. 8)

References:

U. S. Food and Drug Administration/Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. (2004). Worsening depression and suicidality in patients being treated with antidepressant medications: FDA public health advisory. Author.