If you are more familiar with APA 6th edition, these sources help point out the differences:
Social Work uses the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style. These examples follow the 7th edition.
There are two main components to citation, the in-text citation and the reference list citation. Below are some examples of common categories. *Note, the in-text examples are for paraphrasing. If you are quoting, the page numbers need to be added**
Journal Article
Reference List -
Skinner, D. (2016). The politics of Native American health care and the Affordable Care Act. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 41(1), 41-71. https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-3445601
In-text -
(Skinner, 2016)
Book
Reference List -
Bush, W. & Paul, J.M. (2018). The Family and Medical Leave Act. Bloomberg BNA.
In-text -
(Bush & Paul, 2018)
Chapter from an edited book
Waters, M.C. (2019). Children of immigrants in the United States: Barriers and paths to integration and well-being. In M.M. Suarez-Orozco (Ed.), Humanitarianism and mass migration: Confronting the world crisis (pp. 308-324). University of California Press.
In-text -
(Waters, 2019)
Technical Report
Reference list -
Mulligan, C.B. & Sala-i-Martin, X. (1999). Social Security in theory and practice(I): Facts and political theories. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w7118/w7118.pdf
In-text -
(Mulligan & Sala-i-Martin, 1999)
Newspaper article
Reference list -
Armour, S. (2019, September 4). Planned Parenthood to expand app-based health services to all 50 states. Wall Street Journal.
In-text -
(Armour, 2019)
All sources that inform your research need to be cited. For legal citations (to actual laws, cases, etc.) APA citation style follows The Bluebook, a legal citation manual. Below are some examples; if you have some other kind of policy document, please get in touch for citation help.
Supreme Court Case:
Obergefell V. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015).
United States Law:
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (2010).
Note: To find the official citation numbers, try a Google search. Also, if your source is on the open Web, add the URL at the end of the citation.