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
In text citations include the author’s last name, publication year, and page numbers; see examples labeled In-Text
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.
BOOK:
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)
Editor, translator, or compiler instead of author
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.
Chapter or other part of a book
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 ARTICLE
Article in a print journal
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)
Article in an online journal
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)
ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER OR POPULAR MAGAZINE
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 REVIEW
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)
THESIS OR DISSERTATION
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)
WEBSITE
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)
E-MAIL OR TEXT (personal communication; unpublished data)
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.