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Citing Business Sources - APA Style

The American Psychology Association has a style guide that is used in the faculty of social science and behavioural sciences. The most recent version is APA 7th edition. The basic elements of APA style are in-text citations and the references list. In-text citations are short notes which are placed within the sentence or paragraph where you reference a specific source. The references list is an alphabetical list of the full citations for all your sources, and is placed at the end of your paper.

This guide contains some selected examples of business-related citations in APA style. For further information on using APA 7th edition, including examples of other source types, please see the resources linked below.

In-Text Citations

When writing in-text citations, make sure you include the author, date, and any page numbers if relevant. The order in which this information appears will vary depending on your writing style. The example citations in this guide will show you the most basic form of the in-text citation, but they can also be written in the following ways.

  • "Academic literature shows that this is true (Doe, 2024)."
  • "A study by Jane Doe (2024), shows that this is true."
  • "Jane Doe’s 2024 study shows that this is true."
  • "Doe states 'this is true,' (2024, p. 34-35)."

Selected Citation Examples

Advertisements (Audiovisual)

Reference List: Colgate. (1994). Mr. Cool [television advertisement]. International Advertising and Design Database. https://iaddb.org/?query=search=ccobjectid=113240&showtype=record.

In-Text Citation: (Colgate, 1994)

Advertisements (Print)

Reference List: Proctor & Gamble Co. (1937). New Shampoo Startles the Country With Its Beautifying Results [print advertisement]. Ad*Access. http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adaccess_BH0397/.

In-Text Citation: (Proctor & Gamble Co., 1937)

Annual Reports

In this example “15-33” refers to page numbers. Only use this if you are citing a specific page or range of pages. If you are citing the entire document, omit the page numbers.

Reference List: Canadian Tire Corporation. (2012). 2012 Annual Report. http://corp.canadiantire.ca/EN/Investors/FinancialReports/Annual%20Reports%20Library/CTC_AR_2012.pdf.

In-Text Citation: (Canadian Tire Corporation, 2012, p. 15-33)

Bloomberg

Reference List: Bloomberg. (n.d.). Beta for General Motors 07/01/2011 to 07/01/2013. Bloomberg. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

In-Text Citation: (Bloomberg, n.d.)

Company Reports

Reference List: Mergent. (2013). Apple Inc. general company information report. Retrieved March 4, from 2024. https://www.mergentonline.com/documents.php?compnumber=12161.

In-Text Citation: (Mergent, 2013)

Country Report

Reference List: Economist Intelligence Unit. (February 2024). One Click Report: India. Retrieved March 4, 2024, from https://viewpoint.eiu.com/analysis/geography/XO/IN/reports/one-click-report.

In-Text Citation: (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2024)

Interviews

Only published interviews require citation in APA. A personal interview, such as a phone call you conduct yourself, does not require formal citation. For a published interview, you should use the citation style for the source in which the interview appears, such as a newspaper or magazine.

SEDAR/EDGAR (Company Filings)

Reference List: Royal Bank of Canada. (2013, September 5). Prospectus supplement. Retrieved March 4, 2024 from http://www.sedar.com.

In-Text Citation: (Royal Bank of Canada, 2013)

Statistics Canada or other government statistical source

Reference List: Statistics Canada. (2013). Detailed household final consumption expenditure, provincial and territorial. Retrieved March 4, 2024 from http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=3840041&tabMode=dataTable&sr chLan=‐1&p1=‐1&p2=35.

In-Text Citation: (Statistics Canada, 2013)