How to Cite a TED Talk in APA 7

Last Updated on: 29th August 2022, 08:24 am

TED talks are usually presented by experts or professionals in a certain field or arena. However, they are not as reliable as a scholarly source, such as a peer-reviewed article.

This does not mean that the information in the presentations is incorrect. Many of the presentations have been published in various formats, including peer-reviewed journals. Also, TED talk speakers are strictly vetted and scrutinized before they are accepted to make a presentation. However, to be safe, before using TED talks as a source, consult with your professor. 

In this article, we’ll cover how to cite a TED talk in APA style.

How to Cite a TED Talk in APA Style

First, let’s go over the directions for the most common need: citing a TED talk from the TED website.

How to Cite a TED Talk From the TED Website

You can obtain all of the TED talks from the TED website: https://www.ted.com/talks. The guidelines for how to cite a TED talk on its website are similar to those for citing a video. 

In-text citation

(Wallace-Wells, 2019)

Example

A new politics is needed to address the pressing issues in today’s society (Wallace-Wells, 2019)

Quotation

When citing a quotation, provide the time stamp for when the relevant information appears in the video. 

Example

Wallace-Wells (2019) stated that to enact change, “we need a new politics, a way of overcoming all those human obstacles — our culture, our economics, our status quo bias” (Wallace-Wells, 2019, 08:53)

In the Reference list

The guidelines for how to cite a TED talk from the TED website in the reference list include providing the name of the speaker, the date of the talk (year, month, and day), the title (in sentence case and italics), and the type of format. You will also write the source of the talk, which is TED Conferences, followed by the URL. If either the month or day is not provided, write only the year. The name of the month should not be abbreviated. 

Example

Wallace-Wells, D. (2019, September 21). How we could change the planet’s climate future. [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/david_wallace_wells_how_we_could_change_the_planet_s_climate_future

How to Cite a TED Talk From YouTube

In-text citation

The in-text citations for paraphrases are basically written the same as those above. The exception is that in place of the presenter’s name, provide the publisher, such as TED or TEDx, as shown below. 

Example

(TED, 2012)

Quotation

For quotations, you can provide the presenter’s name in the narrative; however, do not provide it in the citation. 

Example

Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk, photographer and author, asserted that, “Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors cannot happen at the same time” (TED, 2012, 12:04).

Reference list

To cite a TED talk from YouTube in the reference list, provide the owner or publisher, which is TED, the date (Year, Month, and Day), the presenter’s name: title, the publisher, which is YouTube, the format of the talk, and the URL. 

Example

TED. (2012, March 26). Matthieu Ricard: The habits of happiness. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/vbLEf4HR74E

Citing Two or More TED Talks From the Same Year

If you have two or more TED talks from the same year, you’ll need to differentiate between them in your in-text citations and the reference list.

In the Reference List

List the talks alphabetically by title and add a lowercase letter at the end of the year to distinguish them from each other.  

Example

TED. (2012a, March 2). Susan Cain: The power of introverts. (Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/c0KYU2j0TM4

TED. (2012b, March 26). Matthieu Ricard: The habits of happiness. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/vbLEf4HR74E

In-text citation

For the in-text citation, put the year and alphabet of the relevant source. 

Example 

(TED, 2012a)

Citing a dissertation is relatively simple. As long as you adhere to the rules above, you should have no problem generating the correct citations.

Note: You can find more information about how to cite a TED talk in sections 9.8 and 10.12 of APA 7th edition.

How to Cite a TED Talk in APA Style: Final Thoughts

Citing a TED talk is fairly simple. As long as your Chair is okay with you including it (since peer-reviewed, scholarly sources are preferred), you shouldn’t have any problems if you follow our guidelines above.

If you need of assistance with APA style or any other aspect of your dissertation, feel free to take a look at our Dissertation Editing or Dissertation Coaching services.