Citing Correctly and Avoiding Plagiarism

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Examples of ASA Format, 5th Edition

Below are examples of common ASA style citation formats. For the most authoritative guide to ASA style, please consult the American Sociological Association Style Guide. Copies are available in the Reference section of the Carothers Library.

Official ASA Style Guide, providing details on manuscript and reference format, including examples of how to cite websites, social media, and other platforms.

A note about online sources: For any article or material you find online you will need the item's DOI/URL. Include the URL with the date you accessed the item at the end of the citation in parentheses, followed by a period. For example: Retrieved December 29, 2016 (http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/169/). You do not need to include a retrieval date when providing a DOI.

To create correct citations, ask yourself:

1. Did I find the full text of this article in print? If yes, no DOI/URL is needed.
2. Did I find the full text of this article in a database or on the open web? If yes, the DOI/URL is needed.

Articles

Article found in a database or online, with one author:

Lastname, First M. Year. "Title of article." Title of Journal volume (issue): pages.

DOI/Retrieved Month Day, Year (URL).

Granello, Paul F. 1999. "College Students' Wellness as a Function of Social Support

and Empathetic Ability." Journal of College Counseling 2(2):110-120.

Raibley, Jason R. 2012. "Happiness is Not Well-Being." Journal of Happiness Studies

13(6):1105-1129. Retrieved December 29, 2016 (http://uri.idm.oclc.org/login?

Article from a print periodical with one author:

Lastname, First M. Year. "Title of Article." Title of Journal volume(issue) :pages.

Huang, Peter H. 2010. "Happiness Studies and Legal Policy." Annual Review of Law and Social

Article (online) with two authors:

Lastname, First M., and Firstname M. Surname. Year. "Title of article."

Title of Journal volume(issue): pages. DOI or retrieved date (URL).

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly and Jeremy Hunter. 2003. "Happiness in Everyday Life: The Uses of Experience Sampling."

Journal of Happiness Studies 4(2):185-199. doi: 10.1023/A:1024409732742.

Article with three or more authors (list all authors in the order listed on the publication):

Lastname, Frank M., Frances M. Surname, John R. Smith, and Jane M. Doe.

Year. "Title of article." Title of Journal volume(issue): pages. DOI or retrieved date (URL) [as applicable].

Books

Book with one author:

Lastname, First M. Year. Title of book: Subtitle of book. Publication Location: Publisher.

Durkheim, Emile. 1964. The Division of Labor in Society. Glencoe, NY: Free Press of Glencoe.

Books with multiple authors:

The format follows the author format as listed under articles.

Editor, First M., ed. Year. Title of book: Subtitle of book. Publication Location: Publisher.

Parker, Martin, ed. 2002. Utopia and Organization. Oxford, U.K.; Malden, MA.: Blackwell Pub.

Websites

Website with one author:

Lastname, F. M. Date published. "Title of page." Publisher. Retrieved date (URL).

Kroll, Christian. 2011. "Towards a Sociology of Happiness: Examining Social Capital and Subjective Well-being

Across Subgroups of Society." The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Retrieved December 29, 2016 (http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/169/). 

Website with a corporate or organizational author:

Organization Name. Date published. "Title of page." Publisher. Retrieved date (URL).

Social Science Space. 2016. "Happiness and Well-being: Advancing the Contribution of Sociology."

Retrieved Dec 29, 2016 (http://www.socialsciencespace.com/events/happiness-and-well-being-

Images

Image from an online source with a creator listed:

Creator, First M. Date created. "Title of Image." From Site Title. Retrieved Date (URL).

Gelman, Andrew. December 26, 2010. "Average Happiness as a Function of Age, From General Social Survey."

From Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science . Retrieved December 29, 2016

Image from an online source with no creator listed:

"Title of Image." Date created. From Site Title. Retrieved date (URL).

Image from a print source with a creator listed:

Creator, First M. Date created. "Title of Image." In [Continue the remainder

of the citation with citation information of the book or article as appropriate.]