APA Magazine Citation Guide

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APA Citation for Magazine Sources
What's New in APA 7th
What to Include in Magazine Citations
Types of Magazines to Cite in APA
FAQ

APA Citation for Magazine Sources

When you have a task to write an essay or work with a research paper, it is crucial to support each argument you make with a reliable source. If you major in Sociology, Political Science, Law, or Healthcare among other subjects, the chances are high that you will require at least one APA magazine reference in your paper. APA, which stands for the American Psychological Association, is one of the most popular styles for academic writing purposes. In this section of our guide, we shall review the examples that will help you learn the basic citation rules for magazines either in print or those that you find online.

What's New in APA 7th Magazine Citation Style?

It should be noted that the majority of American universities still use APA 6 writing style, which is even more popular than the latest 7th edition. Nevertheless, let’s review a list of changes that took place for magazine referencing as well as the other citation types:

If your source had three to five authors, they had to be listed in APA 6, while 7th edition requires to use “et al.” for all magazine in-text citations with three or more authors.
Secondary sources did not include the date of an original source for the sixth edition, while the latest edition must include the source publication date.
Include the magazine’s issue number if your journal is paginated by the issue in APA 6. The latest edition asks to include issue numbers for all related periodicals.
APA 6 must provide publisher locations like city or state before placing a publisher’s name. 7th format omits location information and only mentions the publisher.
URLs always include “Retrieved from” phrase in sixth style edition, while seven does not require the prefix, as well as “Accessed from” part.
APA magazine citing for 7th edition asks to include a website name before you place the URL.

What to Include in APA Magazine Citations?

It mostly depends on what kind of a magazine source you have for your citing purposes. If we talk of a general print edition, it follows this template:

Author, A.Z. (Year, a month of your publication). Magazine article title. Magazine title,
volume (issue), p. (or pp.)

However, if you do not know the issue, just omit this information.

In practice, it looks this way:

Larkin, T. (2018, May). PTSD Challenges Among The College Students. Social Science,
122, 34-36.

In-text citation, be it online or in print is:

(Larkin, 2018)

Now if you need to cite a magazine APA style for a something that you have found online, use this template:

Author, B.C. (Year, publication month). Article title. Our magazine, volume (issue).
Retrieved from (if you use APA 6) and the URL.

Phosa, T. (2019, March). Tshepiso Phosa. BizBuzz, 3, 8-9.
https://view.publitas.com/female-entrepreneur-sa/bizbuzz-march-2019/page/8-9

The Different Types of Magazines to Cite in APA

Online magazine source

APA 6th

In-text citation:

(Bieber, 2018)

Bibliography:

Bieber, S. (2018). Why Mindfulness Matters for Entrepreneurs. Your Business, (4), 4.
Retrieved from https://bizmag.co.za/why-mindfulness-matters-for-entrepreneurs/

For APA 7th

Bieber, S. (2018). Why Mindfulness Matters for Entrepreneurs. Your Business, (4), 4.
Bizmag. https://bizmag.co.za/why-mindfulness-matters-for-entrepreneurs/.

Printed Magazine Reference

In-text:

(Williams, 2020)

7th style manual bibliography page:

Williams, J. (2020). Ethan College Management. Thames Education, (7), 123-127.
Oxford Press.

Bibliography page in 6th format:

Williams, J. (2020). Ethan College Management. Thames Education, (7), 123-127.
London: Oxford Press.

A Database Magazine APA Citation

In-text:

(Marsman et al., 2017)

6th style Reference:

Marsman, A., Mandl, R., Klomp, D., Cahn, W., Kahn, R., Luijten, P., & Hulshoff Pol, H.
(2017). Intelligence and Brain Efficiency: Investigating the Association between
Working Memory Performance, Glutamate, and GABA. Frontiers In Psychiatry, 8.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00154

7th edition:

Marsman, A., Mandl, R., Klomp, D., Cahn, W., Kahn, R., Luijten, P., & Hulshoff Pol, H.
(2017). Intelligence and Brain Efficiency: Investigating the Association between
Working Memory Performance, Glutamate, and GABA. Frontiers In Psychiatry, 8.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00154

Citing a Single Author

In-text citing goes as follows:

(Author’s Last Name, Year)

Bibliography for the sixth edition:

Marell, A. (2016). Psychological Effects of The Energy Drinks. Sociological Observer,
(43), 33-35. New York: Cardigan Press Archives.

Reference for APA 7:

Marell, A. (2016). Psychological Effects of The Energy Drinks. Sociological Observer,
(43), 33-35. Cardigan Press Archives.

Multiple Authors

In-text reference:

(McFly & Strange, 2013)

Bibliography for 6th edition:

McFly, M., & Strange, R. (2013). Icelandic Landscape Environment. National
Geographic, (534), 221-222. Mendocino: CA, Walt Disney & Nat Geo Company.

7th edition:

McFly, M., & Strange, R. (2013). Icelandic Landscape Environment. National
Geographic, (534), 221-222. Walt Disney & Nat Geo Company.

Unknown Author

If you need to APA cite magazine source that has no author, use available title or description instead:
In-text:

(“Engineering of Small Particles”, 2020)

Reference in 6th edition style:

Engineering of Small Particles. (2020). Mechanics Uncovered, (3), 234-239.

7th edition:

Engineering of Small Particles. (2020), Mechanics Uncovered, (3), 234-239.

FAQ

Should I add the available DOI number for my magazine article?

As a rule, it serves the role of a source. 6th edition requires the addition of a relevant DOI number without URL, while the latest style asks for the URL.

Where should I look for an edition or a volume number in a magazine?

In most cases, it can be found at the footnote part of the article page, which will look like Business Insider 3(2).

What is the correct prefix in APA 7 for the retrieval date? Is it necessary in the previous edition?

In case of such necessity, 7th style uses “Retrieved 10 July 2020, from…” with the URL coming after. As for the sixth edition, it is omitted.

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