APA Citation Guide for Social Science Papers (Indian Examples)

APA style uses short author and year citations in the text, such as (Sen, 1999), and a full alphabetical reference list at the end of the paper. It is the standard style for most social science journals in political science, economics, sociology, psychology, public administration and criminology. This guide covers the basics you need, using the seventh edition of the APA Publication Manual and examples suited to Indian research.

When to use APA and when not to

Use APA when your paper is a social science paper or your target journal asks for it. Law papers usually use OSCOLA or Bluebook because they cite cases and statutes in footnotes. If you are writing an interdisciplinary paper, follow the journal’s instructions. Many journals that publish both law and social science, including LJLPS, ask law papers to use Bluebook or OSCOLA and non-law papers to use APA.

In-text citations

Every in-text citation must match an entry in the reference list, and every reference list entry must be cited in the text.

Parenthetical and narrative citations

• Parenthetical: Rural employment schemes improved household consumption (Sharma, 2021).
• Narrative: Sharma (2021) found that rural employment schemes improved household consumption.

Number of authors

Note the ampersand (&) inside brackets and “and” in running text. From three authors onward, use “et al.” from the first citation.

Direct quotations

For a direct quote, add a page number: (Sharma, 2021, p. 45). For sources without page numbers, use a paragraph number (para. 4) or a section heading. Quotes of 40 words or more go in an indented block without quotation marks. In social science writing, paraphrase far more often than you quote.

Several sources at once

List them alphabetically, separated by semicolons: (Iyer, 2019; Sharma, 2021; Verma & Khan, 2023).

The reference list

Title the page “References”, centred and bold. Entries are alphabetical by the first author’s surname, double spaced, with a hanging indent. Give surnames with initials only.

Journal article

Pattern: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Name in Title Case, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxx

Template: Sharma, R., & Rao, P. (2021). Rural employment and household consumption in Uttar Pradesh. Journal Name, 12(2), 45-67. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

Three rules students often miss: the article title is in sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns capitalised), the journal name and volume are italic, and the issue number in brackets is not italic. Include the DOI as a full link if the article has one. Never invent a DOI; if there is none, leave it out.

Book

Pattern: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book in sentence case (edition if not first). Publisher.

Example: Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press.

Chapter in an edited book

Pattern: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx-yy). Publisher.

Report by an organisation

Pattern: Organisation Name. (Year). Title of report (Report No. if any). Publisher if different from author. URL

When the organisation is both author and publisher, do not repeat its name as publisher.

Citing Indian government documents

Government documents are treated as reports with a group author. Name the most specific responsible body, and the parent body if it helps the reader.

• Ministry report: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. (Year). Title of report. Government of India. URL
• Census data: Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. (2011). Title of table or volume. URL
• Law Commission report: Law Commission of India. (Year). Title of report (Report No. [number]). URL

In the text: (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Year). For long names cited often, you may introduce an abbreviation the first time: (National Statistical Office [NSO], 2024), then (NSO, 2024).

Laws and cases in an APA paper

APA follows legal citation conventions for legal materials. In a social science paper that only mentions a few Indian laws, a practical approach is to name the Act in the text, for example the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, and cite the official India Code page if the journal wants a reference entry. Check your journal’s guidelines, because practice varies.

Websites and online sources

Pattern: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL

• If the author and the site name are the same, omit the site name.
• If there is no date, write (n.d.).
• Add a retrieval date only for pages designed to change over time, such as a live dashboard: Retrieved January 15, 2026, from URL.

Newspaper article online

Pattern: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Newspaper Name. URL

Datasets

Pattern: Organisation. (Year). Title of dataset [Data set]. Publisher. URL

Formatting basics for an APA paper

• Use a readable font such as Times New Roman 12 point, and double spacing throughout, unless the journal specifies otherwise.
• Headings follow five levels; most papers need only the first two or three. Level 1 is centred and bold; Level 2 is left aligned and bold.
• Tables and figures are numbered (Table 1, Figure 1), with a title above and a note below if needed.
• Numbers below 10 are usually written in words, 10 and above in numerals, with exceptions for statistics and measurements.

Common APA mistakes

Checklist before submission

• Every in-text citation has a matching reference, and vice versa.
• Names, years and spellings match in both places.
• DOIs checked by clicking them.
• Government reports cite the specific ministry or body as author.
• Page numbers given for every direct quotation.

Good citation practice also protects you from plagiarism allegations. Read how to avoid plagiarism in a research paper and the UGC plagiarism regulations to understand how similarity is measured. Before submitting, also learn how to identify predatory journals.

Frequently asked questions

Which edition of APA should I follow?

The seventh edition of the APA Publication Manual is the current one in general use. If a journal names a specific edition in its guidelines, follow that.

How do I cite a source with no author in APA?

Move the title to the author position. In the text, use the first few words of the title and the year, for example (“Monsoon Session Begins,” 2025).

Do I need a retrieval date for websites?

Only when the content is designed to change and is not archived, such as a live data page. Ordinary articles and reports do not need one.

Can law papers use APA?

Some interdisciplinary journals allow it, but most law journals expect OSCOLA or Bluebook because those styles handle cases and statutes properly. Follow the journal’s instructions.