SWORK: Social Policies and Social Issues

Citation Breakdown

Explanation 

Authors/Editors  

Montez, J. K., Beckfield, J., Cooney, J. K., Grumbach, J. M., Hayward, M. D., Koytak, H. Z., Woolf, S. H., & Zajacova, A. 

 List all authors by last name and initials, separated by commas, with an ampersand (&) before the final name. 

Publication Year 

(2020). 

The year the article was published, in parentheses. 

Article Title 

US State Policies, Politics, and Life Expectancy. 

Not italicized; only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. 

Journal Title  

Milbank Quarterly, 

Italicized and title case (capitalize major words). 

Volume Number 

98 

Italicized to indicate the volume of the journal. 

Issue Number 

(3), 

Not italicized; placed in parentheses right after the volume. 

Page Range  

668–699. 

The page numbers of the article within the journal. 

DOI (Digital Object ID)  

https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12469  

A permanent link to the article online. APA prefers DOIs over URLs.  

Citation Breakdown

Explanation 

Authors/Editors  

FitzGerald, D., & Skrentny, J. D. 

These are the editors of the book. APA lists authors/editors by last name, followed by initials. Use an ampersand (&) before the last name. 

Editor Role  

(Eds.) 

This stands for "Editors." It tells us this is an edited book, meaning each chapter may be written by different contributors. 

Publication Year  

(2021). 

The year the book was published. Always in parentheses, followed by a period. 

Book Title  

Immigrant California: Understanding the past, present, and future of U.S. policy 

The book title, italicized. In APA, only the first word of the title and subtitle (after the colon) are capitalized. 

Publisher 

Stanford University Press. 

The name of the publisher. No location needed in APA 7th edition. 

DOI (Digital Object ID)  

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503614406 

The DOI (Digital Object Identifier). This is a permanent link to the book online. APA prefers DOIs over URLs when available. 

Element 

Example 

Description 

Name of the Act 

Americans with Disabilities Act, 

Optional. Include if citing a specific named law (e.g., Americans with Disabilities Act). 

Title 

42 

The title number of the U.S. Code (e.g., 42 for public health). 

U.S.C. 

U.S.C. 

Abbreviation for United States Code. 

Section (§) 

§ 12101 

The specific section number being cited. Use the § symbol. 

Year 

(2018). 

The year of the source edition of the U.S. Code being cited (not the year the law was passed). 

Element 

Example 

Description 

Name of the law 

California Consumer Privacy Act 

Optional. Include if the statute has a formal name (e.g., California Consumer Privacy Act). 

Title of Code  

Cal. Civ. Code 

The name of the specific California Code (e.g., Cal. Civ. Code for Civil Code, Cal. Penal Code for Penal Code). 

Section number (§)  

§ 1798.100 

The specific section being cited. Use the § symbol. 

Year  

(2023). 

The year of the code edition or when accessed online. APA 7th edition prefers the year of the source, not the original enactment. 

Element 

Example 

Description

Title of Code  

Cal. Penal Code 

This is the abbreviated name of the code being cited — California Penal Code. APA uses standard legal abbreviations. 

Section number (§)  

§ 187  

The section symbol (§) followed by the specific section number. In this case, Section 187, which defines murder under California law. 

Year  

(2023). 

The year of the code edition or when accessed online. APA 7th edition prefers the year of the source, not the original enactment.