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APA 7th ed. - Referencing Tool

Referencing - Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Dictionary

  • - If there is no author for the entry, put the title in place of the author.
  • - Include the edition number after the title of the reference work.

Print example

Author Surname [of Article], First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title. In Editor First Initial. Second Initial. Surname (Ed.), Reference book title: Subtitle (# ed. edition, Vol. volume #, pp. page range of article). Publisher.

 

Print example - No author or editor or date

Book title: Subtitle. (n.d.). Publisher.

In text example

 Reference list examples

 In-text citation (paraphrase or direct quotation): 

(Oxford Dictionaries, 2014, p. 153)

 

 
 
 

Print example

Oxford Dictionaries. (2014). Condensation. In Oxford Dictionary of Academic English. (1st ed., p. 153).

 

 

 

For further information see:

Online Dictionary

  • - In general, include the same elements, in the same order, that you would for a reference to a non-electronic source. 
  • - If there is no author for the entry, put the title in place of the author.
  • - If the online version refers to a print edition, include the edition number after the title of the reference work.
  • - When DOIs (digital object identifiers) are available, use them instead of web addresses.
  • - As many online dictionaries are updated over time and are not archived include the retrieval date in the reference.

Online example (specific entry)

Author, A. (Date). Title of article or segment. In A. A. Editor (Ed.), Title of dictionary. (xxth ed.). Retrieved [date] from doi: xxxxxxxxxx [OR: web address]

Online example - No author or editor or date (specific entry)
Title of entry. (n.d.). Title of reference work (xxth ed.). Retrieved [date] from doi: xxxxxxxxxx [OR: web address]

In text example

 Reference list examples

 In-text citation (dictionary): 

. . .(Cambridge Dictionary, n.d)

 

 

 

 
In-text citation (specific entry - no author or editor):
Heuristic is defined as “. . ..” (Heuristic, 2020)

Online dictionary example

Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.). Cyber. In Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved February 10, 2022, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cyber

 

Specific entry example 

Heuristic. (2020). In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/heuristic

 

 

Encyclopedia

If there is no author for the entry, put the title in place of the author.

 
Printed example with author
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title. In A. A. Editor (Ed.), Title of encyclopedia. (xxth ed.). Publisher.
 

Printed example (No author / editor / date)

Title of entry. (n.d.). Title of reference work (xxth ed.). Publisher.

In text example

 Reference list examples

 In-text citation (paraphrase or direct quotation): 

(Atzeni, 2023, p. 74)

 
 
 

 Example with author in an edited text:

Atzeni, M. (2023). Deskilling. In S. Johnstone, J. Rodriguez & A. Wilkinson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of human resource management.  Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/think/detail.action?docID=7205781

 

 
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