A Complete AAA Citation Guide with Examples

What Is AAA Citation Style?

The AAA style is the abbreviated form of the American Anthropological Association. It is similar to the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) and is also a variation of the Chicago style referencing sometimes known as Chicago AAA citation. The AAA style is usually used in anthropology as it provides guidance to the writers, researchers, and scholars of anthropology.

The format structure includes separate referencing guidelines for books, journals, articles, and other sources.

Here are some of the key AAA citation guidelines:

• The book titles are not underlined
• The date of publication is added after the name of the author
• The last name of the author is added, followed by the first name
• Multiple references from the same author are arranged with adding the first published work
• The title of the page, book, or journal is not italicized
• The list of references is titled ‘References Cited’
• The References Cited page is double spaced when added to the work of a student. But is single-spaced when added in an anthropological publication

Some of the elements are similar to other referencing styles while some are quite different and distinct.

How to Create AAA In-Text Citation?

In-text citations are different from the references and the reference list that are added at the end of the paper. They are added within the paper content. It will make it easier for the readers to know about the primary source of the direct and paraphrased content.

Different citation formats use different in-text citation style formats. In the case of AAA format in text citation, the last name of the author is followed by the year of publication.

To put the AAA citation in-text, add the last name and the year of publication in the parenthesis after mentioning the source. If not adding details (like the author’s name and publication date), include them in parentheses.

For Single Author: If you're citing a source written by a single author, you would include the author's last name and the publication year in parentheses. 

For example: (Smith 2010).

For Two Authors: If the source has two authors, cite both of their last names and the publication year. 

For instance: (Smith and Johnson 2015).

For Three or More Authors: For sources with three or more authors, you only list the first author's last name followed by "et al." and the publication year. 

For example: (Brown et al. 2018).

For Multiple Sources: If you're citing multiple sources in the same sentence, list them in alphabetical order by the first author's last name and separate them with semicolons. 

For instance: (Smith 2010; Johnson 2012; Brown et al. 2018).

For Multiple Works by the Same Author: If you're citing more than one work by the same author, distinguish them by adding a lowercase letter (a, b, c, and so on) after the publication year. 

For example: (Smith 2010a) and (Smith 2010b).

AAA Citation - No Author: If a source doesn't have a specific author, use the title of the work or the first few words of the title in quotation marks. 

For instance: ("Anthropology Today" 2016).

For Direct Quotation: When quoting directly from a source, include the author's last name, publication year, and the page number of the quote. 

For example: (Smith 2010, 45).

For Corporate Author: If the source is published by an organization or corporation, use their name as the author.

For example: (World Health Organization 2017).

Some other things to consider when making the in-text citation are as follows:

• Add the quotation marks at the beginning and end of the direct quote or the author’s words
• Add the in-text citation after adding the quote
• Use and add the original writer’s full name to the content. You can also add the last name in the parenthesis where possible or relevant
• When adding the last name of the author, year of publication, and page number, use a colon. It will separate the name and year of the publication
• If you are adding the reprinted material then add the date of the publication that you have read or quoted
• If a quote is more than four lines longer then add it like a blockquote. The bibliographic information or its in-text citation will be added in brackets rather than a parenthesis

AAA Referencing Format for Different Sources

The list of references is added at the end of the paper. The list is titled the ‘References Cited’ and contains all the works that have been added to the AAA style paper. The title is different from what we add in the APA and MLA references. This format of the references is also different from them.

The AAA Style Title Page:

The title page is the very first section of the paper. It contains information like the student’s name, the instructor’s name, the paper’s title, course number, and the deadline. When making the title page for your AAA paper, add all of these details to the cover page.

For the references for different sources, we have added some examples to help you understand how to make the references.

For Books with Single Author:

For Books with Two Authors:

For Books with Multiple Authors:

For Books with Editors as Authors:

For the Chapters of the Books:

For the Revised Editions:

For Electronic Books from the Library Database:

For Web Electronic Books:

For the Journal Articles:

For the Journal Articles available on an Electronic Database:

When no DOI is present:

For Print Magazines and Newspaper Articles:

For Online Magazines or Newspaper Articles:

In Case of No Author:

For Online Masters Thesis and Ph.D. Dissertation:

For Conference Papers:

For Films and Documentaries:

For Websites and Web Documents:

To know more about how to cite and make references to other sections, check the AAA citation example given below.

How to Arrange the AAA Style Bibliography?

In AAA style, the "References Cited" page follows an alphabetical arrangement and encompasses all cited works. 

1. Each entry should provide:

• Author's complete name
• Publication year
• Specific details for books, including the publisher and page numbers. 

1. When citing multiple works by the same author, organize them chronologically from the earliest to the most recent, incorporating (a) and (b) if the publication years coincide. 

This systematic approach ensures a clear and organized presentation of your cited sources.

In short, this blog has explained AAA citations in a way that's easy for students to understand. By using what you've learned here, you can feel more sure about citing your sources accurately. 

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