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SHP Student Research Guide

This Guide is designed to serve the research needs of students enrolled in programs at the School of Health Professions (SHP).

American Psychological Association (APA) Format

Adapted from The Basics from Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL)


In-Text Citations 

  • In-text citations appear in the body of the paper as sources are referenced. 
  • In-text citations follow the author-date format. (author's last name, year of publication).
  • Generally, in-text citations are inserted at the end of a sentence before the period.
  • Example: The study revealed an association between cigarette smoking and lung cancer (Smith, 2021).  
  • Direct quotations must include the page number.  (Smith, 2021, p. 36)

Reference List

  • The reference list appears at the end of the paper.  It is listed on its own page and is labeled "References".  
  • One complete reference for each source cited in the body of the paper should appear in the reference list.
  • The reference list is alphabetized by first authors' last name.  
  • The second line of each entry is indented (hanging indent, one-half inch).

More Help

Video FAQs

Videos from Humber Libraraies are linked here for commonly asked questions about formating citations in APA style.

Citation Tools

Citation tools let you collect, organize, and format citations in a wide-variety of styles.  EndNote x9 is available to all MD Anderson faculty, staff, and students.  It is available from the institution's software center.