Step 1: Understanding APA Style

APA, the American Psychological Association, has a specific citation style that is commonly used in the field of social sciences. To cite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in APA format, it is necessary to follow the standard rules for an organization.

Step 2: Identify the Data Type

The first step when citing the CDC is identifying what type of content you are citing. The CDC provides various sources of information, such as fact sheets, statistical data, reports, and webpages. Make sure you know which data type you are working with.

Step 3: Referencing In-Text Citations

When paraphrasing or quoting a CDC source within your text, include an in-text citation. Use “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” or “CDC” (without quotation marks), followed by comma and publication year in parentheses.

Example:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020)…

or

According to CDC (2020)…

Step 4: Citing CDC Webpages

When citing a webpage from the CDC website, include the following elements in your reference list entry:

– Name of organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

– Publication year in parentheses

– Title of webpage in italics (sentence case)

– URL

Example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Step 5: Citing CDC Reports

For reports with identifiable authors:
Author(s) Last Name(s), Initials. (Year). Title of report in italics (Report No.). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. URL

Example:

Jones, J.M., & Smith, R.T. (2015). Obesity trends in America (Report No. 123). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/reports.html

Step 6: Citing CDC Data Sets

When citing data sets from the CDC, format your entry as follows:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Year). Name of Data Set [Data set]. URL

Example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System [Data set]. https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.html

Step 7: Citing Fact Sheets

Citing fact sheets follows a similar structure to reports and data sets. Include the following elements in your reference list entry:

– Authorship

– Date of Publication

– Title of Fact Sheet in italics

– URL

Example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). National diabetes statistics report, 2018.

https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/statistics-report/index.html

Step 8: Multiple Publications by CDC in the Same Year

If you are citing multiple CDC sources published in the same year, include a lowercase letter after the publication date to differentiate them.

Example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020a)…

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020b)…

Step 9: No Publication Date

If you cannot find the publication date, use “n.d.” instead of the date in your citation.

Example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Title of webpage/document. URL

Step 10: Include Date Accessed if Needed

If the source is likely to change over time or if no publication date is available, include a Retrieved on Month Day, Year statement after the URL.