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.
Here are some helpful guidelines:
- cite a government document as a book, report, or brochure
- use the person named on the first page as author
- when no person is named, use the government agency, department, or branch as a group author
- when the author is also the publisher, use the word Author after the location
- use the series or report number information if noted after the title
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 after the location (p. 203).
- If there is a series or report number, include it after the title (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]). 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. 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.
Learning Commons