According to APA 7th edition guidelines, the notes that you take when listening to a lecture in your class are considered personal communications because they are unpublished and non-retrievable. Check with your instructor before using lecture notes as they may not regard them as suitable for your paper.

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Format

When providing information from a lecture in your paper, it is only cited in the text. You do not have to provide it as a source in the Reference list. 

(Initials of the Instructor’s first name/and middle name, if known. Instructor’s last name, personal communication, Month day, year lecture took place)

Examples

  • Paraphrase

Behavioral psychology is the study of the connection between people’s behavior and their minds (F. R. Edwards, personal communication, January 19, 2023).

  • Quotation

F. R. Edwards stated that “behavioral psychology, founded by John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner, Edwin Ray Guthrie, and Edward C. Tolman, is sometimes referred to as behaviorism” (personal communication, January 19, 2023).

Lecture on PowerPoint

A lecture provided by your instructor that is on PowerPoint can be retrieved, so it is not considered personal communication and requires different information. The lecture could be available either online or on an online learning management system (LMS) course website, such as Moodle, Canvas, Sakai, or Blackboard.

focused african american grad student taking notes in front of laptop

In-Text Citation for a Lecture Online and on an LMS

  • Paraphrase

(Author’s Last Name, Year)

Example
Metal oxides improve the performance of mobile phones using an environmentally safe method (Alexander, 2023). 

  • Quotation – Include the number of the slide on which the quotation appears. 

Example
Metal conductors can result in “better battery storage, fuel cells, touch screen technology and all types of computer switches. But while metal conductors are very good at electron conduction, they are very poor hole conductors” (Alexander, 2023, slide 3).

References for a Lecture Online

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Lecture title [Format]. URL of website.

  • If the lecture does not have a title, create a relevant one and provide it in square brackets.

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). [Lecture notes on…] [Format]. URL of website.

Examples
Alexander, D. S. (2023). Role of metal oxides in enhancing mobile phones [PowerPoint slides]. https://aminoapps.com/c/science/page/how-can-metal-oxides-improve-cell-phones/

Alexander, D. S. (2023). [Lecture notes on metal oxides and mobile phones] [PowerPoint slides]. https://aminoapps.com/c/science/page/how-can-metal-oxides-improve-cell-phones/

References for a Lecture on an LMS

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Lecture title. [PowerPoint slides]. Type of LMS platform. URL of LMS login page.  

Example
Gresham, E. B. (2023). Transforming public health data systems [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard. https://texsu.blackboard.com/

Note: For more information, refer to section 8.8 and page 347 of the APA Manual, 7th edition, and view the following video: How to reference lecture contents in APA style at: https://youtu.be/JF8PiQUBMhg