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Political Science and International Studies

Resources for political science and related fields of study

Cover of the American Political Science Association Style Manual

The American Political Science Associate (APSA) citation style follows the latest edition of Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) parenthetical system of in-text citation, specifically the author-date order. A full-length PDF of the APSA Style Manual for Political Science is available, free to the public on the APSA website.

View the guides listed below to get started with APSA Style:

A PDF guide provided by the Meriam Library of California State University that annotates the APSA Style Guide.
An intuitive overview of the APSA Style Guide that provides format tips and citation examples for in-text citations and references pages.
A comprehensible PDF guide that breaks down formatting and citations for the APSA Style. The guide contains a great list of format and citation examples.

In-Text Citations

The Author/Date style includes entering the name of the author and date of publication at the end of the cited text. The page number should also be included.

  • “Interest groups are among the prime shapers of public policy in the United States. They contribute vast amounts of money and personnel to political campaigns” (Segal and Spaeth 1993: 240).

The format is exactly the same for paraphrasing instead of direct quotation. Paraphrasing is also preferred over directly quoting the source.

  • "Organized interests play a very active role in the development of policy in America, most notably by promoting the election of candidates for office" (Segal and Spaeth 1993: 240).

How Do I Cite... (author/date)

Book with one author

List the author’s name, last name first, then year of publication appears next, followed by the title of the book (in italics). Lastly is city and state of publication, followed by the name of the publisher.

Kessel, John H. 1968. The Goldwater Coalition: Republican Strategies in 1964. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs- Merrill.

Book with multiple authors

Sourauf, Frank J., and Paul Allen Beck. 1988. Party Politics in America. 6th ed. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.

Journal article with one author

List the author’s name, last name first. The year of publication appears next, followed by the title of the article (in quotation marks) and the name of the journal (in italics). Next should follow the volume number, then the issues number or month (in parenthesis), and finally the page numbers should appear at the end.

Aldrich, John H. 1980. “A Dynamic Model of Presidential Nomination Campaigns.” American Political Science Review 74(September): 651-669.

Journal article with multiple authors

Hillerman, Anthony, and John McPhee. 1997. “A New Model of the World.” American Political Science Review 78(September): 111-145.

Magazine Article

List the author's name and the year of publication After that, list the article title (in quotations), the name of the magazine (in italics), and the month of publication. The page numbers of the article should appear last.

Prufer, Olaf. 1964. “The Hopewell Cult.” Scientific American, December, 13-15.

Newspaper Article

Similar to citing a magazine, the date contains day, month, and year. Page numbers can be omitted.

Cuff, Daniel F. 1985. “Forging a New Shape for Steel.” New York Times, 26 May 1985.

Websites

List the author’s name, last name first. The year of publication (if noted on the website) or the year of access if no year of publication. The title of the article (in quotation marks) appears next, followed by the complete URL. The last date accessed is listed last in parenthesis.

Collins, Paul M., Jr. 2005. “Data Management in Stata.” (August 8, 2006).

Legal Cases

List the full case citation. The case name comes first, followed by the citation; finally, list the year the case was decided (in parenthesis).

Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961).