It is common practice to cite the work the graph has been published in and refer to the figure by number in the in-text citation or provide the author's name, year, and the page number. In case the graph has not been published in a journal article, book, or book chapter, but is rather found online take a look at our APA graph citation guides below.
To cite a graph in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:
Author: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to seven authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For eight or more authors include the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
Title of the graph: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
URL: Give the full URL of the web page including the protocol (http:// or https://).
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a graph in APA style 6th edition:
Author.(Year of publication).Title of the graph [Graph].Retrieved from URL
To cite a graph in a reference entry in APA style 7th edition include the following elements:
Author: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
Title of the graph: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
Website name:
URL: Give the full URL of the web page including the protocol (http:// or https://).
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a graph in APA style 7th edition:
Author.(Year of publication).Title of the graph [Graph].Website name.URL
To cite a graph in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:
Author(s) of the book: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to seven authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For eight or more authors include the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
Title of the book: Book titles are italicized. Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalised.
Edition: Include information about the edition if it is not the first.
Location: List the city and the US state using the two-letter abbreviation. Spell out country names if outside of the UK or the USA.
Publisher: Give the name of the publisher but omit terms, such as Publishers, Co., and Inc. Retain the words Books and Press.
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a graph in APA style 6th edition:
Author(s) of the book.(Year of publication).Title of the book(Editioned.).Location:Publisher.
To cite a graph in a reference entry in APA style 7th edition include the following elements:
Author(s) of the book: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
Title of the book: Book titles are italicized. Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalised.
Edition: Include information about the edition if it is not the first.
Publisher: Give the name of the publisher but omit terms, such as Publishers, Co., and Inc. Retain the words Books and Press.
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a graph in APA style 7th edition:
Author(s) of the book.(Year of publication).Title of the book.(Editioned.).Publisher.
To cite a graph in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:
Author(s): Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to seven authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For eight or more authors include the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
Title of the article: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
Journal: Give the full, non-abbreviated title of the periodical in title case. It should also be italicized.
Volume: The volume number is also italicized.
Issue: For journals that are paginated by issue give the issue number in brackets.
Pages: Give the full page range.
DOI: Give the full URL of the web page including the protocol (http:// or https://).
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a graph in APA style 6th edition:
Author(s).Year of publication.Title of the article.Journal,Volume(Issue),Pages.DOI
To cite a graph in a reference entry in APA style 7th edition include the following elements:
Author(s): Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
Title of the article: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
Journal: Give the full, non-abbreviated title of the periodical in title case. It should also be italicized.
Volume: The volume number is also italicized.
Issue: For journals that are paginated by issue give the issue number in brackets.
Pages: Give the full page range.
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a graph in APA style 7th edition:
Author(s).Year of publication.Title of the article.Journal,Volume(Issue),Pages.
APA reference list examples
Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the APA style guidelines for a graph citation in action:
Examples
Graph citation from a digital source
Sabahy, S. (2021). Relationship between sleep deprivation and GPA [Graph]. Retrieved from http://academia-psych.com/graphs/sleep-deprivation-GPA
Graph citation from a digital source
Sabahy, S. (2021). Relationship between sleep deprivation and GPA [Graph]. Academia Plus. http://academia-psych.com/graphs/sleep-deprivation-GPA
Graph citation from a book
Adams, A. (1993). MLA Handbook (8thed.). New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Graph citation from a book
Adams, A. (1993). Cancer Biology (8thed.). Little, Brown and Company.
Graph citation from a journal
Kinsley, K., Besara, R., Scheel, A., Colvin, G., Brady, J. E., & Burel, M. (2015). Relationship between dorm space and student morale. College & Research Libraries, 76 (6), 756-770. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.76.6.756
Graph citation from a journal
Kinsley, K., Besara, R., Scheel, A., Colvin, G., Brady, J. E., & Burel, M.(2015, May). Graduate conversations: Assessing the space needs of graduate students. College & Research Libraries, 76 (6), 756-770.
How to do an in-text citation for a graph in APA
If you are citing graphs ,the general format for in-text citation in APA should be written as follows:
Examples
Citation of a graph from a book
As shown in Figure 1, sales of meat pies ....
If you do not refer to the figure in your text, format the in-text citation the usual way starting with the author, then year then page number.
Citation of a graph from a book on page 203
... interpretations of the portrait Mona Lisa (Gombrich 1995, p. 203).
This citation style guide is based on the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition).
