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American Sociological Association (ASA) Style

About ASA Style

The ASA Style Guide, 6th ed. (Washington: American Sociological Association, 2019) is based on The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017) author-date system but incorporates a number of unique elements. For detailed information about the ASA Style Guide, see the complete manual shelved near the reference desk under the call number: Ref Desk HM569 A54 2019.  For detailed information about The Chicago Manual of Style see the complete manual shelved near the reference desk under the call number:  Ref Desk Z253 .U69 2017
 
About In-Text Citations
In text citations include the author’s last name, publication year, and page numbers; see examples labeled In-Text.
 
About List of References
For the reference list, see examples labeled Reference.
  • Use WORKS CITED or REFERENCES as the header for your reference list
  • Arrange in alphabetical order by last name, then in chronological order for entries by the same author.

Books

Reference: Massey, Douglas S., and Nancy Denton. 1993. American 
                   Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the 
                   Underclass. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard 
                   University Press.
In-Text:       (Massey and Denton 1997:143-144)
A corporation can be listed as an author.
For four or more authors, follow this format, listing all authors in the reference list entry. For the in-text citation, however, list only the first named author and add et al., for example: 
In-Text:       (Hancock et al. 2009:13-15)

Books - Edited Volumes & Translations

Reference:  Jaffe, Dale J., ed. 1989. Shared Housing for the Elderly. 
                   Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
In-Text:    (Jaffe 1989:126)
For editors in addition to an author, see Chapter or other part of a book.

Books - Chapter or Section

Reference:  Khanna, Nikki. 2010. “Country Clubs and Hip-Hop Thugs: 
                    Examining the Role of Social Class and Culture 
                    in Shaping Racial Identity.” Pp. 53-71 in 
                    Multiracial Americans and Social Class: 
                    The Influence of Social Class on Racial 
                    Identity, edited by K. Korgen. New York: 
                    Routledge.
In-Text:   (Khanna 2010:58)
 
Note: The page range for the chapter or part is listed in the reference (53-71).  Also, editors, translators, and compilers, in addition to an author are listed after the title.

Journal Articles - Print

Reference:  Mintz, Beth, and Daniel H. Krymkowski. 2010. “The Ethnic, 
                   Race, and Gender Gaps in Workplace Authority: 
                   Changes over Time in the United States.” The 
                   Sociological Quarterly 51(1):20-45.
In-Text:   (Mintz and Krymkowski 2010:25)

Journal Articles - Online

Reference:  Mintz, Beth, and Daniel H. Krymkowski.2010. “The Ethnic, 
                   Race, and Gender Gaps in Workplace Authority: 
                   Changes over Time in the United States.” The 
                   Sociological Quarterly 51(1):20-45. 
                   doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.2009.01165.x.
In-Text:   (Mintz and Krymkowski 2010:25)

Newspaper or Popular Magazine Article

Reference:  Darman, Jonathan. 2009. “Spitzer in Exile.” Newsweek, 
                     April 27, 2009.
In-Text:       (Darman 2009:23)

Reference:  Santora, Marc. 2013. “New York School Bus Drivers Go on 
                     Strike.” New York Times, January 16, 2013. 
                     http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/nyregion/new
                     -york-school-bus-drivers-go-on-strike.html?hp.
In-Text:    (Santora 2013)

Book Reviews

Reference:  Matsumoto, Noriko. 2014. Review of The Power of Urban 
                       Ethnic Places: Cultural Heritage and Community
                       Life, by Jan Lin. Sociological Forum 29(2):
                       507-510.
In-Text:   (Matsumoto 2014)

Theses & Dissertations

Reference:  Strickler, Jennifer Anne. 1993. “Contraceptive Risk-Taking 
                       and Contraceptive Failure among Users of Female 
                       Barrier Methods.” PhD dissertation, Department 
                       of Sociology, Princeton University.
In-Text:    (Strickler 1993:67)

Websites

Use of websites and their content must be documented as completely as possible, with these elements included, in the following order: author, year of publication, title of the page, title or owner of the site, Last modified date, and URL.  Access date is required if no date of publication or revision is listed, and in these cases (n.d. should be listed for the date of publication.
Reference:  Office of Compliance Services, University of Vermont. n.d. 
                     “UVM’s Institutional Policies Website.” Accessed 
                     January 17, 2017. http://www.uvm.edu/policies/.
In-Text:    (Office of Compliance Services n.d.)

Reference:  Google. 2016. “Privacy Policy.” Privacy & Terms.
                    http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
In-Text:    (Google 2016)

Blogs & Social Media

Blog/social media content can be cited in the text of your paper, e.g. “Philip Baruth’s award-winning political blog, Vermont Daily Briefing, cited on July 6, 2011…” A formal entry in the reference list is not required, but an example will follow.
Reference:  Baruth, Philip. 2011. “Santorum Berates Iowans, for 
                    Stupidity.” The Vermont Daily Briefing. 
                    July 6, 2011. http://vermontdailybriefing.
                    com/.
In-Text:    (Baruth 2011)

Reference:  O’Brien, Conan (@ConanOBrien). 2015. “In honor of Earth 
                     Day, I’m recycling my tweets.” Twitter, April 
                     22, 2015, 11:10a.m. https://twitter.com/Conan
                     OBrien/status/590940792967016448.
In-Text:   (O’Brien 2015)

Email, Text Messages, & Personal Communications

E-mail or text messages can be cited in the text of your paper, for example: “In a June 2nd, 2011 e-mail message to his supporters, the former Vermont governor thanked …” A formal entry in the reference list is not required. In-text citations may use “pers. comm.” or personal communication to indicate this.
In-Text:  (Howard Dean, pers. comm.)
In-Text:  (Howard Dean, unpublished data)
 
  Scott Schaffer, Howe Library, University of Vermont, Updated July 2019.