How to Cite a Product With APA

The American Psychological Association (APA) publishes the APA style guide, which includes instructions on how to give credit to other authors, websites and publications that you use when writing your paper. Referencing products in APA style can be as simple as mentioning the product name. If you mention specific information about the product, such as its ingredients, sales, uses or controversy about the product, APA will guide you in how to reference the information you mention.

Step 1

Gather the relevant information about the product mentioned in your paper. Collect the website address, publication title, journal or newspaper article title containing information about the product mentioned in your paper. Find the author name(s), publication date and publisher information for your citation.

Step 2

Cite a source with an author that provides information about the product within the text of your paper by writing this at the end of the sentence referring to the product: "(Last Name, Year of Publication)."

For example, write: "Coke beat Pepsi sales in 2010 (Jones, 2011)."

Cite a reference to product information without an author in text as follows:

"("Title of Article," Year of Publication)."

Cite a direct quote with a page number in text as follows:

"Last Name or Article Title (Year of Publication) found that "" (p. Page Number)."

Step 3

Cite the works you refer to in the body of your paper in your references or "Works Cited" list at the end of your paper. List all entries alphabetically by author's last name or by article title if there is no author. Create the entries for print documents that contain product information as follows:

"Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Article or Document Title. Title of Journal or Publication in italics. Location of Publication: Publisher."

Step 4

Cite a reference to product information which you obtained online, such as on the manufacturer's or distributer's website as follows:

"Author Last Name, First Initial. (Date of Publication). Title of article or online document. Retrieved from URL website address."

Cite an online newspaper article as follows:

"Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of Publication). Title of Article. Name of Newspaper in italics. Retrieved from URL website address."

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