To cite a textbook in APA style, you need four core pieces of information: the author’s name, the year of publication, the title of the book, and the publisher. The format looks like this:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the textbook. Publisher.
That covers the basic reference list entry, but textbooks come in many forms: multi-edition volumes, edited collections with chapters by different authors, and digital editions with DOIs. Each variation has its own rules. Here’s how to handle all of them.
The Standard Reference List Entry
A reference list entry for a textbook with a single author (or multiple authors) follows this structure:
- Author: Last name first, followed by initials. For multiple authors, separate them with commas and use an ampersand (&) before the final name.
- Year: Use the copyright date shown on the book’s copyright page, even if that differs from the release date. Place it in parentheses.
- Title: Italicize the full title. Capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon, and any proper nouns.
- Publisher: End with the publisher name and a period.
Here’s a real example:
Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000
One thing APA dropped in its 7th edition: you no longer include the publisher’s city and state. Just the publisher name.
How to Handle Edition Numbers
Most textbooks go through multiple editions, and you need to note which one you used. Place the edition information in parentheses right after the title, before the period. Do not italicize it, because it’s not part of the title itself.
The format looks like this:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the textbook (4th ed.). Publisher.
Use abbreviations like “2nd ed.” or “Rev. ed.” for a revised edition. If you’re citing a first edition, you can leave the edition notation out entirely since there’s nothing to distinguish it from.
Citing a Chapter in an Edited Textbook
Some textbooks are collections where different authors write individual chapters and an editor assembles them. In that case, you cite the specific chapter, not the whole book. The format shifts to credit both the chapter author and the editor:
Chapter Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of the textbook (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.
A few important details here. The chapter title is not italicized, but the book title is. The page range of the chapter goes in the same parentheses as any edition information, separated by a comma. So if the chapter spans pages 45 to 78 in a third edition, you’d write (3rd ed., pp. 45–78).
This format applies only to edited books where different people wrote different chapters. If the same person authored the entire textbook, do not create a separate reference for a single chapter. Instead, cite the whole book in your reference list and point to the specific chapter in your in-text citation.
E-books, DOIs, and URLs
If your textbook has a DOI (a permanent digital identifier that starts with “https://doi.org/”), include it at the very end of the reference, after the publisher name. This applies whether you read the print copy or the digital version. If a work has a DOI, always include it.
For e-books without a DOI, the rules depend on where you accessed them. If you found it on a website (not a database) and the URL will work for anyone who clicks it, include that URL. If you accessed it through an academic research database like your university library, do not include the database name or URL. Those works are widely available, and the database link often won’t work for other readers anyway.
A few things you should leave out: the format or device you read it on (no need to note “Kindle edition”), the words “Retrieved from” before any link, and any ISBN or ISSN numbers. APA does not use those identifiers in references.
When a work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI. Present it as a full hyperlink starting with “https://.”
In-Text Citations
Your in-text citation pairs with the full reference list entry. APA gives you two options for in-text citations: parenthetical and narrative.
A parenthetical citation places the author and year in parentheses at the end of the sentence:
Learning outcomes improve when students receive timely feedback (Smith, 2022).
A narrative citation works the author’s name into the sentence itself:
Smith (2022) found that learning outcomes improve when students receive timely feedback.
For two authors, use “and” in narrative citations and “&” in parenthetical ones. For three or more authors, use the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” every time you cite the source.
When to Include Page Numbers
Page numbers are required whenever you directly quote from the textbook. Use “p.” for a single page and “pp.” for a range. Separate a page range with an en dash, like pp. 34–36. If the pages aren’t consecutive, use a comma: pp. 67, 72.
For paraphrased information, page numbers are encouraged but not strictly required. Including them helps your reader locate the material, which is especially useful with long textbooks.
A direct quote citation looks like this in parenthetical form:
(Smith, 2022, p. 114)
Or in narrative form:
Smith (2022) argued that “quoted text here” (p. 114).
Putting It All Together
Here’s a quick-reference breakdown of the three most common textbook citation scenarios:
- Single-author textbook: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the textbook (Xth ed.). Publisher. DOI
- Chapter in an edited textbook: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of the textbook (Xth ed., pp. xx–xx). Publisher. DOI
- E-book without a DOI from a website: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the textbook. Publisher. URL
The core pattern stays the same across all three: author, date, title, source. What changes is which details you add (edition, page range, DOI, URL) and how you arrange them. Once you learn the base format, every variation is just a small adjustment.