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APA to APSA converter

Paste APA references, get APSA. Free, no sign-up.

Paste references written in APA and get them back in APSA, ready to copy into Word or Google Docs. The main changes: titles switch to title case, author names are written as in APSA (first author inverted with full names, the rest in normal order) and the date moves (after the authors, followed by a full stop). CiteSwap looks each reference up in the open Crossref catalogue, so authors, years and page numbers come from the publisher’s record rather than being rewritten by hand.

APA vs APSA: the same sources side by side

Each example below was formatted by CiteSwap’s engine, exactly as the converter outputs it.

Journal article

APA

Suri, T., & Jack, W. (2016). The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money. Science, 354(6317), 1288–1292. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309

In-text: (Suri & Jack, 2016, p. 1290)

APSA

Suri, Tavneet, and William Jack. 2016. “The Long-Run Poverty and Gender Impacts of Mobile Money.” Science 354(6317): 1288–92. doi:10.1126/science.aah5309.

In-text: (Suri and Jack 2016, 1290)

Book

APA

Achebe, C. (1958). Things fall apart. Heinemann.

In-text: (Achebe, 1958, p. 1290)

APSA

Achebe, Chinua. 1958. Things Fall Apart. London: Heinemann.

In-text: (Achebe 1958, 1290)

Web page

APA

World Health Organization. (2023, December 4). Malaria. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria

In-text: (World Health Organization, 2023, p. 1290)

APSA

World Health Organization. 2023. “Malaria.” https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria (October 1, 2026).

In-text: (World Health Organization 2023, 1290)

Key differences between APA and APSA

10 of 12 rules differ; they are listed first.

RuleAPAAPSA
In-text citationsauthor and year in parentheses, e.g. (Suri & Jack, 2016), with a page number for quotationsauthor and year, with a page number after a comma, e.g. (Suri and Jack 2016, 1290)
Author namesSurname and initials for every author, e.g. Suri, T., & Jack, W.First author inverted with full names, the rest in normal order
Many authorsList up to 20 authors; for 21 or more, give the first 19, an ellipsis, then the last authorLong author lists are shortened following Chicago’s rules
DateStraight after the authors, in parentheses: (2016).After the authors, followed by a full stop: 2016.
Title capitalisationSentence caseTitle case
Article titlesPlain text, no quotation marks, sentence caseIn quotation marks, title case
ItalicsJournal name and volume number; book and report titlesJournal and book titles
Journal namesFull journal name in title caseFull journal name, volume and issue: 354(6317)
Page rangesFull page range, e.g. 1288–1292Shortened range after a colon and space, e.g. 354(6317): 1288–92
DOIs and linksDOI as a link: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309DOI written as “doi:10.1126/…”
Reference list heading(same)ReferencesReferences
List order(same)Alphabetical by first author’s surnameAlphabetical by first author’s surname

When to use APSA

APSA is used in political science and international relations, closely following Chicago author-date. It is published by the American Political Science Association; CiteSwap follows the APSA Style Manual (2018).

APA is more common in psychology, education, nursing, while APSA is usual in political science, international relations, public policy. If your department or journal names a style, always follow it.

APA to APSA: frequently asked questions

How do I convert APA citations to APSA?

Paste your APA reference list into the box above (one reference per line, numbered, or separated by blank lines), check that “From” says APA or Auto-detect and “To” says APSA, then press Convert. You can also paste DOIs, BibTeX or RIS. Copy the result or download it for Word.

How do in-text citations change from APA to APSA?

APA uses author and year in parentheses, e.g. (Suri & Jack, 2016), with a page number for quotations. APSA uses author and year, with a page number after a comma, e.g. (Suri and Jack 2016, 1290). For the same article and page: APA gives (Suri & Jack, 2016, p. 1290), APSA gives (Suri and Jack 2016, 1290).

Do titles need different capitalisation in APSA?

Yes. APSA uses title case for article and book titles, so words like “Poverty” and “Gender” are capitalised. CiteSwap applies this automatically.

How are author names written in APSA?

APSA: First author inverted with full names, the rest in normal order. APA: Surname and initials for every author, e.g. Suri, T., & Jack, W. When a reference is matched in Crossref, CiteSwap uses full first names from the publisher’s record, so it can produce either form.

How are DOIs and URLs written in APSA?

APSA: DOI written as “doi:10.1126/…”. APA: DOI as a link: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309. The converter rewrites DOIs in APSA format for you.

Is the APA to APSA converter accurate?

Each reference is matched against the Crossref catalogue (over 150 million records) and only accepted automatically when the title, year and first author agree. Anything uncertain is marked “Needs review” so you can pick the right match, and references that aren’t in the catalogue, like websites or local journals, are parsed from your text and marked so you can check them.