How to Cite a TED Talk in APA 7 With Tips and Examples

TED Talks have become increasingly popular in the contemporary learning environment. In this case, the American Psychological Association or APA provides citation guidelines for TED Talks in the seventh edition of their publication manual. Also, this guide presents citation schemes for citing TED Talks by using APA 7 guidelines. Then, the manual contains citation schemes for reference list entries, in-text citations, and footnotes. In turn, the guide provides practical examples of the implementation of citation schemes when using a real Ted Talk video. Hence, students need to learn how to cite a Ted Talk speech in APA 7.

General Guidelines for Using TED Talk Videos

TED Talks videos address significant issues in various disciplines intending to provide the audience with a deeper understanding of a problem and viable solutions. Basically, TED Talks are unique because they are short, evidence-based videos that are reliable sources of knowledge for using them in APA 7. Particularly, students find TED Talks quite useful because they can give them an overview of a topic in a matter of minutes while pointing them to specific areas of research that are critical in advancing the discourse on the topic. Therefore, TED Talks are invaluable to students, especially in the early stages of research, where they may still be struggling to navigate through the extensive existing body of knowledge on a given topic.

Citation Schemes for TED Talk Speches in APA 7

1. Referencing Schemes of a TED Talk From TED Website

A. Reference list entry scheme for TED Talk in APA 7:

Speaker, S. S. (Date). Title of the TED Talk [Description]. Publisher’s Name. Universal resource locator.

• Students should ensure that the universal resource locator that they provide is functional at the time of paper submission.
• The date element may follow three different formats: year only, month and year, or day, month, and year.

B. In-text citation structure for TED Talk in APA 7:

Parenthetical: (Speaker’s Last Name, Year)

Narrative: [Insert Speaker’s Last Name] (Year)

C. Footnote format for TED Talk in APA 7:

¹ Adapted from Title of the TED Talk [Description], by S. S. Speaker, year, Publisher’s Name (Universal resource locator). Copyright status. Permission Statement.

• Students use a footnote to present copyright information.
• The copyright status and permission statement elements are heavily reliant on the “terms of use” that the copyright holder expresses.

2. Formatting TED Talk From Streaming Platform in APA 7

A. Reference list entry structure for TED Talk from streaming platform in APA 7:

Uploader, U. U. (Date). Title of the TED Talk [Description]. Publisher’s Name. Universal resource locator.

• The name of the uploader does not have to follow the ‘first name, middle name, and last name’ standard format.
• The name of the uploader may not be similar to the name of the speaker.

B. In-text citation format for TED Talk from streaming platform in APA 7:

Parenthetical: (Uploader’s Last Name, Year)

Narrative: [Insert Speaker’s Last Name] (Year)

• If the name of a speaker is vital to the meaning of the cited material, authors should integrate it into the sentence because it may not be evident from the in-text citation, which uses the uploader’s name.

C. Footnote scheme for TED Talk from streaming platform in APA 7:

¹ Adapted from Title of the TED Talk [Description], by U. U. Uploader, year, Publisher’s Name (Universal resource locator). Copyright status. Permission Statement.

3. Citing a Transcript of a TED Talk Video in APA 7

A. Reference list entry format for a Ted Talk transcript in APA 7:

Speaker, S. S. (Date). Title of the TED Talk [Description]. Publisher’s Name. Universal resource locator.

• The description element allows the audience to differentiate between the citation of the actual video and the citation of the transcript.
• The universal resource locator for the transcript and video are not identical.

B. In-text citation rules for a Ted Talk transcript in APA 7:

Parenthetical: (Speaker’s Last Name, Year)

Narrative: [Insert Speaker’s Last Name] (Year)

C. Footnote structure for a Ted Talk transcript in APA 7:

¹ Adapted from Title of the TED Talk [Description], by S. S. Speaker, year, Publisher’s Name (Universal resource locator). Copyright status. Permission Statement.

4. Using a Comment on a TED Talk video in APA 7

A. Reference list entry rules for a comment on a TED Talk video in APA 7:

Author, A. A. [Username]. (Date). Maximum of 20 words from the content of the post [Description]. Site Name. Universal resource locator.

• If the full author’s name is not available, the username becomes the first element of the reference list name, and it does not appear in square brackets.

B. In-text citation scheme for a comment on a TED Talk video in APA 7:

Parenthetical: (Author’s Last Name, Year)

Narrative: [Insert Author’s Last Name] (Year)

• The username may replace the author’s name in the in-text citation if it is the first element on the reference list entry.

C. Footnote structure for a comment on a TED Talk video in APA 7:

¹ Adapted from Maximum of 20 words from the content of the post [Description], by A. A. Author [Username], year, Site Name (Universal resource locator). Copyright status. Permission Statement.

Examples of Citing a TED Talk in APA 7

Citation Information

Figure 1

Locating Information on TED Website

Primary elements of a TED Talk citation in APA 7, as shown in Figure 1:

1 – Speaker’s Names

2 – Date

3 – Title of the TED Talk

4 – Publisher’s Name

5 – Universal Resource Locator

Substituted Citation Schemes for a TED Talk in APA 7

1. Example of Citing a TED Talk From TED Website

A. Reference list entry example for TED Talk From TED Website in APA7:

Adichie, C. N. (2009, July). The danger of a single story [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

B. In-text citation examples for TED Talk From TED Website in APA7:

Parenthetical: (Adichie, 2009)

Narrative: Adichie (2009)

C. Footnote example for TED Talk From TED Website in APA7:

¹ Adapted from The danger of a single story [Video], by C. N. Adichie, 2009, TED Conferences (https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story). Copyright 2009 by TED Conferences. Adapted with permission.

2. Example of Referencing a TED Talk From Streaming Platform

A. Reference list entry sample for a TED Talk referenced from streaming platform in APA 7:

TED. (2009, October 7). The danger of a single story: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg

B. In-text citation samples for a TED Talk referenced from streaming platform in APA 7:

Parenthetical: (TED, 2009)

Narrative: TED (2009)

C. Footnote sample for a TED Talk referenced from streaming platform in APA 7

¹ Adapted from The danger of a single story: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie [Video], by TED, 2009, YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg). Copyright 2009 by TED. Adapted with permission.

3. Example of Citing a Transcript From a TED Talk Video in APA 7

A. Example of a reference list entry for citing a transcript from a TED Talk video in APA 7:

Adichie, C. N. (2009, July). The danger of a single story [Transcript]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript.

B. Example of an in-text citation for referencing a transcript from a TED Talk video in APA 7:

Parenthetical: (Adichie, 2009)

Narrative: Adichie (2009)

C. Example of a footnote for citing a transcript from a TED Talk video in APA 7:

¹ Adapted from The danger of a single story [Transcript], by C. N. Adichie, 2009, TED Conferences (https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript). Copyright 2009 by TED Conferences. Adapted with permission.

4. Example of Referencing a Comment on a TED Talk in APA 7

A. Reference list entry sample for citing a comment on TED Talk in APA 7:

Escanilla, D. (2020). I saw this video some years ago during grad school, and I remember interesting discussions with my peers. I wanted [Comment]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/discussion.

B. In-text citation samples for citing a comment on TED Talk in APA 7:

Parenthetical: (Escanilla, 2020)

Narrative: Escanilla (2020)

C. Footnote sample for citing a comment on TED Talk in APA 7:

¹ Adapted from I saw this video some years ago during grad school, and I remember interesting discussions with my peers. I wanted [Comment], by D. Escanilla, 2020, TED (https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/discussion). Copyright 2009 by TED Conferences. Adapted with permission.

Tips

• Students should make a decent effort to collect all the information necessary to generate a complete citation for a TED Talk in APA 7.
• Authors must remember that there is a difference between the uploader, speaker, and username, although they can occupy the author element during citation.
• Scholars should always copy and paste the universal resource locator to avoid links that do not work.
• An in-text citation must correspond to a reference list entry to allow readers to identify a source correctly.
• Writers may use a description element of a reference list entry to clarify the nature of a specific audio-visual material, but they should keep such descriptions brief.
• The source of a TED Talk is a significant consideration when forming citations in APA 7.