Q&A for How to Cite a Book Chapter in APA

Return to Full Article

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    What if you have multiple chapters to cite on the reference page?
    Cara Barker, MA
    Research & Instruction Librarian
    Cara Barker is an Assistant Professor and Research and Instruction Librarian at Hunter Library at Western Carolina University. She received her Masters in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. She has over 16 years of experience working with libraries across the United States.
    Research & Instruction Librarian
    Expert Answer
    If each chapter has different authors (as in most edited books), you'd want to cite them individually. If it is not an edited book with multiple authors, you would simply cite the entire book if you are using multiple chapters.
  • Question
    What if I have multiple editors with multiple chapter authors? I understand how to do the multiple authors, but do the same rules apply for the editors? My textbook has six editors.
    Community Answer
    You do not mention the editor while using APA. You will only cite the author of the chapter you are using within your paper.
  • Question
    Should I include the book title in in-text citations?
    Torpi
    Top Answerer
    Usually, no. Only include the title in in-text citations if you are citing multiple different works published by the same author(s) in the same year. Otherwise, just include the name, date and page number.
  • Question
    What if the book has no author?
    Parker garlough
    Community Answer
    If the book has no author, you can exclude the author from the citation and start with the title.
  • Question
    If the authors of the chapter are the same as the editors, do I mention them as editors again? Or do I leave them out?
    Torpi
    Top Answerer
    If this is a book with different authors for each chapter, then yes. If every single chapter is written by these same authors, then just list them as the book authors and skip the chapter author part.
  • Question
    What if it is a textbook and all chapters are written by the same author(s) but you have only referred to/used one chapter? Would you mention the author(s) twice and use the edited book format?
    Torpi
    Top Answerer
    No, just use the normal book chapter format and list them as the author(s).
  • Question
    What if you do not have the page number on the chapter?
    Blaise Kern
    Community Answer
    Here is a really helpful trick: Enter your quote into Google, and click on the "books" tab on the top, it might be hidden by ellipses. There, the book and page number of the quote should be shown. You can also read the entire page that the quote falls on. If it doesn't work, try putting "quotes" around the quote in the google search bar. If all else fails, it is normally acceptable to omit the page number, but that does make more work for whoever is reading your article, because they may have to find it themselves.
  • Question
    If you take your information from online sources,would there be intext citation or how would you cite it.
    Blaise Kern
    Community Answer
    If you take it from an online source you will do everything the same as with a book, but there will some slight differences with the works cited citation: Slat, B. (2019, April 10). Whales likely impacted by Great Pacific garbage patch. The Ocean Cleanup. URL HERE. You can follow this template from the APA website. The inline will be the same as with a book.
Ask a Question

      Return to Full Article