This guide is a quick introduction to ASA style, 6th edition, and common citation examples. Be sure to consult the American Sociological Association Style Guide for more detailed information.
Skip to a section on this page:
Basic Format:
Author Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Year of publication. "Title of Article." Title of Source Volume(Issue): page range.
I'm citing a...
Note: Database names and database permalinks/URLs are not included in ASA citations for journal articles.
Sweet, Paige. 2019. "The Sociology of Gaslighting." American Sociological Review 84(5): 851–875.
Blumberg, Renata. 2015. "Geographies of Reconnection at the Marketplace." Journal of Baltic Studies 46(3): 299-318. doi:10.1080/01629778.2015.1073917.
Kennedy, Matt. 2018. "To Prevent Wildfires, PG&E Pre-emptively Cuts Power." NPR, October 15, pp.15-18. Retrieved April 20, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/15/657468903/to-prevent-wildfires-pg-e-preemptively-cuts-power-to-thousands-in-california.
Print Book
Liu, Wendy. 2020. Abolish Silicon Valley : How to Liberate Technology from Capitalism. London, UK: Repeater.eBook
Game, Ann, and Andrew Metcalfe. 1996. Passionate Sociology. London, UK: Sage Publishing. Retrieved April 22, 2021. https://search-ebscohost-com.ccsf.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=518976&site=ehost-live.
Preheim, Gertrude. 2008. "Clinical Scholar Model." Pp. 457-514 in Annual Review of Nursing Education, edited by M. H. Oermann. New York: Springer.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. n.d. "Protect Yourself with Vaccination." Retrieved February 4, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/features/adultvaccinations/.
Omukuti, Jessica. 2021. "Climate Adaptation Finance is Ineffective and Must Be More Transparent." Retrieved May 13, 2021. https://theconversation.com/climate-adaptation-finance-is-ineffective-and-must-be-more-transparent-156469.
Schwartzberg, Louis. 2019. "Fantastic Fungi." YouTube Movies. Film, 1:20. https://www.youtu.be/C7abxMxL4so.
PBS (Public Broadcasting Corporation). 2008. "Women, Power and Politics." Now. Aired September 19. http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/437.index.html.
Films Media Group. 2021. "Signing Black in America." Films on Demand, August 12. Video, :27. https://fod-infobase-com.ccsf.idm.oclc.org/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=207032&tScript=0.
Hoffman, Hans. ca 1585. "A Hare in the Forest." From: J. Paul Getty Museum. Retrieved April 20, 2021. https://www-artstor-org.ccsf.idm.oclc.org/2015/04/02/hopping-through-the-centuries-rabbits-in-art/#jp-carousel-11097.
University of Chicago. 1890. "Map of Chicago and Suburbs". From: University of Chicago Digital Preservation Collection, Chicago in the 1890s. Chicago: Charles T. Gilbert Real Estate. Retrieved September 14, 2019. http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/3404258.
Basic Format:
(Last Name Year).
I'm using...
If you're quoting the exact words of someone else, introduce the quote with an in-text citation in parentheses. In ASA page numbers are included in the in-text citation after a colon with no space. Any sentence punctuation goes after the closing parenthesis.
If you're directly quoting more than 40 words...
Use a blockquote. Block quotes don't need quotation marks, but are indented 1/2" as a visual cue of a citation.
Shavers (2007:71) study found the following:
While research studies have established that socioeconomic status influences disease incidence, severity and access to healthcare, there has been relatively less study of the specific manner in which low SES influences receipt of quality care and consequent morbidity and mortality among patients with similar disease characteristics, particularly among those who have gained access to the healthcare system.
Ram Tip: Use direct quotes sparingly! Research cited in an ASA paper is focused more on the synthesis of findings from a variety of research studies, and less about the exact phrasing or argument of an individual.
Paraphrasing or summarizing the main findings or takeaways from a research article is the preferred method of citing sources in an ASA paper. Always include the last name of the author(s) and the year of the article, so your reader can find the full citation in the reference list.
According to Shavers (2007), limitations of studying socioeconomic status in research on health disparities include difficulties in collecting data on socioeconomic status and the complications of classifying women, children, and employment status, among others (p. 1016).
I'm citing...
You only need the author's last name and the year with no quotation marks.
(Cornell 2017)
Connect both authors' last names with and and include the year.
(Harrison and Petty 1994)
If there are 3 authors...
In the first in-text citation:
(Peart, Lifeson, and Lee 2015)
In subsequent citations:
(Peart et al. 2015)
If there are 4+ authors...
You only need the first author's name followed by et al. and the year.
(Bowie et al. 2016)
1. Highlight the citaiton with your cursor.
2. Right click.
3. Select Paragraph.
4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging.
Microsoft Word and Google Docs have a Format Painter tool that will copy and apply basic formatting to any text!
1. Highlight the formatting you want to apply.
2. Select Format Painter.
3. Highlight the text you want to change.
Note: If using the Format Painter on the Reference List, you'll need to go back and add italics.
This guide was created by Carolyn Caffrey Gardner and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.