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ASA/CSSA/SSSA Citation Guide

Quick Citation Guide for using the SSSA Citation Style

About APA/ASA/CSSA/SSSA Citation Styles

As of 2021, ASA/CSSA/SSSA follow the APA citation style.

Unless otherwise noted, images of citations on this page come from the ASA/CSA/SSSA style manual:

Citation of ASA/CSSA/SSSA Style manualCitation of ASA/CSSA/SSSA Style manual

In-Text Citations

In-text citations are citations that occur within the body of your paper. 

APA/ASA/CSSA/SSSA citation styles all use the author-year notation system. Below are some examples.

Single author

There has been at least 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history (Ramos, 2015).

Ramos (2015) found 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history.

Two authors

There has been at least 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history (Ramos & Wilson, 2015).

Ramos and Wilson (2015) found 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history.

Three or more authors

There has been at least 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history (Ramos et al., 2015).

Ramos et al. (2015) found 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history.

More than two studies cited

There has been at least 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history (Ramos and Wilson, 2015; Martinez, 2019).

Ramos and Wilson (2015) and Martinez (2019) both found 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history.

If citing a specific page instead instead of an entire chapter or article

There has been at least 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history (Ramos, 2015, p. 42).

Ramos (2015, p. 42) found 532 volcanic eruptions in recorded history.

Creating a Reference List

The reference list (or reference section) of your paper contains a list of all of the resources that you cited. Here's some things to keep in mind when creating a reference list:

  • Arrange the list alphabetically by the last name of authors.
    • In the reference list itself, give the names of all authors. Optionally, if the paper has more than six authors, the rest may be abbreviated to 'et al.'
  • Two or more articles by the same author (or authors) are listed chronologically.

 

Citing Journals

Example of Journal Article Citations (with and without DOI)

Citing Journals in ASA/CSA/SSSA

 

Schematic of a Journal Article Citation

ASA/CSSA/SSSA diagram of journal citation
 

Citing Magazine Articles

ASA citation of magazine

 

Citing Books, Bulletins, or Reports

Examples of Book, Bulletin, and Report Citations

ASA book citation example

 

Schematic of a Book, Bulletin, or Report Citation 

ASA diagram of book citation


 

Citing Chapters Within Edited Books, Bulletins, and Reports

Examples of Citing Individual Chapters within an Edited Book

Citing a chapter within a book

 

Schematic of a Chapter Citation Within a Book, Bulletin, or Report

Citing book chapters within ASA/CSSA/SSSA

 

Example of a Reference List Utilizing Multiple Types of Resources

example_of_sssa_citation

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