2. Reference positions

Referene in APA style consist mostly with 4 parts, Author, Date, Title and Publisher.

These four parts are structured with  primary positions: A, B, C, and D. Each position corresponds to a specific element of the reference and is associated with a research question that helps in understanding its significance.

We have book example
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, from author Robert M. Sapolsky

And magazine example: 
New middle chapter in the story of human evolution article in Magazine Science. 

Following table explains A, B, C, D positions in this reference. 

Position A.Position B.Position C.Position D.
Who? When? What? Where?
Name, A.  (Year) Title of source. Publiser, periodical, URL



Position A. Author. Answers to question "Who?

  • Represents the individual(s) or entity that produced the work.
  • Helps answer the research question: "Who created this work?"

- Examples:

Sapolsky, R. M.
Schaefer, N. K., & Shapiro, B. 

Position B. Date. Answers to question "When?"
  • Indicates the year (and sometimes the exact date) the work was published or produced.
  • Helps answer the research question: "When was this work published or produced?"

- Examples:

(2017).
(2019, September). 

Position C. Title. Ansers to question "What?"
  • Describes the main topic or the content of the work.
  • Helps answer the research question: "What is this work about?"

- Examples:

Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst.
New middle chapter in the story of human evolution. 

Position D. Publisher or Source. Answers to question "Where?"
  • Indicates the entity responsible for making the work available to the public or the source from which the work was retrieved.
  • Helps answer the research question: "Where was this work published or produced?"
  • For journal articles, this would be the journal name.
  • For books or other publications, this would be the publishing company.
  • For online sources, this would typically be the name of the website or organization that hosts the content, followed by the URL.

  - Examples: 
Penguin Books.
Science, 365(6457), 981–982. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay3550

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