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APA Citation Style, 6th Edition : Government Publication

A University of Lethbridge Library guide to APA Citation Style, 6th Edition.

(p. 205)

APA Citation Style does not have a separate category for government publications.  According to APA, government documents can be considered books, technical/research reports, or brochures.

Helpful Tips:

  • Treat a government document as a book, report, or brochure.
  • If a person is named on the title page, use her or him as author.
  • If no person is named, use the government agency, department, or branch as a group author (Ex. 31, p.205).
  • Give the name of the group author exactly as it appears on the title page. If the branch or agency is not well known, include its higher department first.
  • If the group author is also the publisher, just use the word Author in place of the publisher name (p. 203).
  • If there is a series or report number, include it after the title (in parentheses) (p. 205).
  • The manual refers to the GPO (U.S. Gov. Printing Office). Canadian equivalents may be: Queen’s Printer, Ministry of Supply and Services, Canadian Government Publishing, etc.
General Format 
 
      In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): 
      (Author Surname OR Name of Government Organization, Year)
     
      In-Text Citation (Quotation):
      (Author Surname OR Name of Government Organization, Year, page number)
 
      References:
      Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. OR Government Name. Name of
            Government Agency. (Year). Title: Subtitle (Report No. xxx [if available]). Place of
            Publication: Publisher.
 
Example 1 
 
      In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): 
      (Gilmore et al., 1999)
     
      In-Text Citation (Quotation):
      (Gilmore et al., 1999, p. 5)
 
      References:
      Gilmore, J., Woollam, P., Campbell, T., McLean, B., Roch, J., & Stephens, T. (1999).
            Statistical report on the health of Canadians: Prepared by the Federal, Provincial
            and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health. Charlottetown, PEI:
            Health Canada, Statistics Canada, Canadian Institute for Health Information.
 
Example 2
 
      In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): 
      (Edwards, Sims-Jones, Hotz, & Cushman, 1997)
     
      In-Text Citation (Quotation):
      (Edwards, Sims-Jones, Hotz, & Cushman, 1997, p. 2)
 
      References:
      Edwards, N., Sims-Jones, N., Hotz, S., & Cushman, R. (1997). Development and
            testing components of a multifaceted intervention program to reduce the
            incidence of smoking relapse during pregnancy and post-partum of both
            women and their partners. Report prepared for Health Canada at the Community
            Health Research Unit, University of Ottawa, Canada.
 
Example 3
 
      In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): 
      (Ontario Ministry of Health, 1994)
     
      In-Text Citation (Quotation):
      (Ontario Ministry of Health, 1994, p. 7)
 
      References:
      Ontario Ministry of Health. (1994). Selected findings from the mental health
            supplement of the Ontario Health Survey. Ottawa, ON: Queen's Printer
            for Ontario.
 
Example 4 
 
      In-Text Citation (Paraphrase): 
      (U. S. Food and Drug Administration, 2004)
     
      In-Text Citation (Quotation):
      (U. S. Food and Drug Administration, 2004, p. 8)
 
      References:
      U. S. Food and Drug Administration/Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. (2004).
            Worsening depression and suicidality in patients being treated with antidepressant
            medications: FDA public health advisory. Washington, DC: Author.