How to Cite an NIH Publication in APA Format

APA style citation has become the standard in psychology, business and many social science fields, including public health. If you use this citation style to document materials from the extensive publication library of the National Institute of Health, you will need to know some basic information about the source, including the authors’ names, the title, the date and the Web address.

Documenting Your Sources

APA style calls for a list of sources at the end of the essay on a separate page headed "References," in alphabetical order by author and using hanging indents. If you used the NIH publication “Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep,” for instance, you’d begin the entry with the organization that authored the piece, a component of the NIH, because no individual writer is credited:

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2014). Brain Basics, Understanding Sleep. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm

The first time you refer to the source in your text, cite the author and date in parentheses: (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2014).

For subsequent references, you can use the organization’s abbreviation instead: (NINDS, 2014).