In most situations, you will only need to provide an in-text citation and an entry in your reference list to properly credit the words or ideas of another author. However, you are required to include "a more comprehensive acknowledgment of the copyright status...in the form of a copyright attribution" when you reprint or adapt certain types of works (APA, 2020, Section 12.14). Some examples of materials that may require a copyright attribution include:
See Sections 12.14 through 12.18 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition, for more detailed information on how to address copyright and attribution.
A copyright attribution in APA style should:
If you are reprinting or adapting a table or figure, your copyright attribution should be included at the end of the general note for the table or figure (see Sections 7.14 and 7.28 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition).
If you are reprinting or adapting a research instrument, your copyright attribution should be included in a footnote (see Section 2.13 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition).
| Source | Status | Source Information | Copyright Status | Permission Statement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journal |
From or Adapted from |
“Title of Article,” by A. A. Author and B. B. Author, year, Title of Periodical, Volume(Issue), p. xx (DOI or URL). |
Copyright year by Name of Copyright Holder. or In the public domain. or CC BY-NC. |
Reprinted with permission. or Adapted with permission. |
| Book or report | Title of Book or Report (p. xx), by A. A. Author and B. B. Author, year, Publisher (DOI or URL). | |||
| Website |
Title of Webpage, by A. A. Author and B. B. Author, year, Site Name (DOI or URL). or Title of Webpage, by Group Author Same as Site Name, year (DOI or URL). |
Adapted from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed., p. 390), by the American Psychological Association, 2020 (https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.
For a journal article:
Adapted from "Nursing Students' Experiences of a Pedagogical Transition from Campus Learning to Distance Learning Using Digital Tools," by U. Langegård, K. Kiani, S. J. Nielsen, and P. Svensson, 2021, BMC Nursing, 20, Article 23 (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00542-1). CC BY 4.0.
For a book:
From Refinancing the College Dream: Access, Equal Opportunity, and Justice for Taxpayers (p. 228), by E. P. St. John and E. H. Asker, 2003, Johns Hopkins University Press (https://doi.org/10.1353/book.33739). Copyright 2003 by Johns Hopkins University Press. Reprinted with permission.
For a website:
Adapted from Air Data Basic Information, by the Environmental Protection Agency, 2021 (https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data/air-data-basic-information). In the public domain.