There are good reasons to learn APA style, even if you’re only using it because you have to. Here are three reasons:

1. Credibility – APA makes your work look more professional and sources make your argument stronger. Just like you wouldn’t trust a treatment recommendation from someone without credentials, your sources matter in your research.
2. Giving credit – It’s important to give credit to others for their work and ideas, especially if you’re using their information for personal gain. Not doing so can get you into serious trouble.
3. Networking – When you share your sources, you help others learn and create networking opportunities for yourself. You might even get cited back or contacted by authors you’ve cited, which could lead to job opportunities.

Free citation generators usually aren’t accurate enough for APA style, but you can use paid ones in academic databases.

When you use your library’s website to find peer-reviewed and academic articles, there is often a button on the top or side of the screen that says something like “cite” or “reference.” These generators will produce a reference entry that you can copy.

These generators can still make mistakes, so check the information for errors and formatting. Also, make sure it’s using the correct citation style and that the font and color match your paper.

You can try citation generators like Citation Machine and Scribbr to help get you started.

In APA, an image is called a figure. All figures should be labelled (typically with a number and title), but they only need to be cited if you do not own or create them yourself. 

• So if you made a pie chart for your research paper, you’d give it a number and title, but wouldn’t have to cite it in a figures list. But if you used a screenshot of a pie chart you saw in an article and used that, then you’d have to give it a number and a title AND cite it in a figures list at the end of your paper. 

Re-use of images is governed by copyright law. Most images you see in books and on websites are owned by somebody. Luckily, in Canada, you can legally re-use an image for a school assignment, so long as you indicate the original source, because it is for “educational purposes,” and falls under Fair Dealing.

Resources:

• Pages 18-19 of our Student APA Guide show how to label figures in a paper.
• Our Student Guide to Figure Citation explains how to cite images.
• This blog post offers some short, easy-to-read advice on choosing and using images that don’t belong to you.

APA Style is designed for academic papers and articles. If you are applying APA Style to a different kind of written document, you may have to adjust. For example: 

• If you’re creating a slideshow, your title page will not look like a typical APA title page but should probably include similar information (title, author name, course, institution, etc.). 
• If you are creating a poster, your References page might be on the back of the poster or included on a hand-out. 
• If you are writing a reflection paper with no research requirement, you might only use APA formatting but no in-text citations or references. 

If you are working on an assignment and you’re unsure how to apply APA, first check the assignment description/requirements and any assignment samples/exemplars. If that doesn’t clarify, then ask your instructor. 

If your instructor or assignment’s instructions conflict with APA Style, do what your instructor/assignment says. If you’re ever unclear on expectations, ask your instructor for clarification. 

APA Style is designed with the intention of sharing knowledge in an ethical and standardized way. However, those ethics and standards are written from a Western perspective and may conflict with Indigenous Protocols. Colonizers and Western academics have a long history of stealing, misusing, and de-valuing Indigenous Knowledge and Knowledge Keepers. When we learn how to seek and share Indigenous Knowledge according to Indigenous Protocols, we take a small but important step toward healing the wounds of that history. 

APA Style does have a chapter on bias-free writing (pp. 131-49) and a section on “Citing Traditional Knowledge and Oral Traditions of Indigenous People” (pp. 260-61). They also have a webpage on citing Indigenous Knowledge Keepers. This can be a good place to start. However, these recommendations are still limited and written from a Western academic point of view.

Citing Oral Traditional Knowledge

APA Style recommends citing Oral Knowledge from an Elder or Knowledge Keeper the same way you would cite a personal communication (such as an email, interview, text message, etc.). This method excludes the Elder from your references list and fails to acknowledge Community Affiliations and Protocols. But such Knowledge is carefully curated and peer-reviewed and should be listed as an authoritative reference when re-shared. Instead of following the APA guidelines, we recommend using the template published by Lorisia Macleod (James Smith Cree Nation) when citing an Elder or Knowledge Keeper:

Template

Last name, First initial., Nation/Community. Treaty Territory if applicable. Where they live if applicable.

Topic/subject of communication if applicable. personal communication. Month Date, Year.

Examples

Weasel Moccasin, P. (Miiniipokaa [Berry Child]), Kainai Nation. Blackfoot Treaty/Treaty 7. Lives in

Standoff. Oral teaching. personal communication. January 29, 2021.

Cardinal, D., Goodfish Lake Cree Nation. Treaty 6. Lives in Edmonton. Oral teaching.

personal communication. April 4, 2004.

Notes

When approaching an Elder, be sure to follow their Protocols. If you are unsure of their Protocols, ask ahead of time.

When re-sharing information shared by and Elder, be sure to follow their Protocols for sharing. If you are unsure of their sharing Protocols, ask them. If these Protocols conflict with APA guidelines, follow the Elder’s Protocols. If you’re worried the Elder’s Protocols may conflict with your instructor’s (or publisher’s) guidelines, discuss this with your instructor, preferably before submitting the assignment.

Further Resources

• For more explanation on the template above, see Lorisia MacLeod’s 2021 paper More than Personal CommunicationL Templates for Citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, published through KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies 5(1), https://doi.org/10.18357/kula.135
• The Four Feather Writing Guide published by Royal Roads University is a student writing guide based in Costal Salish Traditions, especially those of the Cowichan Nation (shared through Elder Shirley Alphonse) and SC’I ÁNEW̱ Nation (shared through Elder Nadine Charles).
• Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing by and about Indigenous Peoples by Gregory Younging (2018) of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, published through Brush Education. This is written as a guide for professional writers and publishers, but is exceptionally accessible yet informative.
• Indigenous Information Literacy published through Kwantlen Polytechnic and authored by Rachel Chong is available as an open resource online. This resource outlines guidelines to ethically seek and verify Traditional Knowledge and reshare that knowledge in an academic setting.
• “Re-Defining Academic Integrity: Embracing Indigenous Truths,” authored by Yvonne Poitras Pratt and Keeta Gladue, which appears in Chapter 5 of Academic Integrity in Canada (2022), available as an open-source PDF download here. Pratt and Gladue include a full Relational Acknowledgement on p. 104, but speak from a primarily Cree and Michif (Cree-Métis) Perspective.
• Principles of Indigenous Academic Integrity, both a video and PDF booklet prepared by Keeta Gladue (Sucker Creek Cree and Métis Nations), available here.
• Simon Fraser University and Norquest College Library provide further examples of APA-style in-text citations and reference entries for citing Elders. 
• Your local Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders. 
• Your institution’s Indigenous Services/Department, and/or staff/faculty, provided it is in their job description or interest to support you in this manner. 

Lethbridge College students, staff, and faculty can get support learning, applying, and teaching APA through workshops, appointments, email, etc. by contacting the Learning Café.