Ethics Code References

This page contains reference examples for ethics codes.

American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

• Parenthetical citations: (American Counseling Association, 2014; American Nurses Association, 2015; American Psychological Association, 2017)
• Narrative citations: American Counseling Association (2014), American Nurses Association (2015), and American Psychological Association (2017)

• References for ethics codes follow the same format as reports.
• When the author and publisher are the same (as in the examples), omit the publisher name to avoid repetition.
• To cite a specific section of an ethics code, create a reference to the full code and then indicate the specific section in the in-text citation. Use the language of the code to refer to sections (e.g., sections, provisions, standards). Here are some examples:
  • Parenthetical citations to sections of an ethics code: (American Counseling Association, 2014, Section A.1.d.; American Nurses Association, 2015, Provision 1.4; American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 3.04)
  • Narrative citations to sections of an ethics code: American Counseling Association (2014, Section A.1.d.), American Nurses Association (2015, Provision 1.4), and American Psychological Association (2017, Standard 3.04)

  Learn more

  Ethics code references are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 10.4 and the Concise Guide Section 10.4

  This guidance has been revised from the 6th edition.