APA style is seen by many to be the gold standard for writing. It is frequently seen in advertising copy, magazine articles and scholarly papers. APA style footnotes also can be quite complex, when you consider footnote format varies from book to periodical and now to Internet citation. However four questions are always answered by the footnote. Who wrote it? Where do I find it? Who published it? When was it published?
The author or authors' names are always listed early in the footnote regardless of work being cited. The relative positioning of the author's name underscores the importance of this portion of the footnote. Every field of study has well-known and respected names, so when Einstein or Jung is cited, credibility is accepted.
A footnote is nearly useless if the reader is unable to source the footnote. Clear direction must be given as to where the cited work was published. This portion of a footnote may refer to a website with complete URL, the name of book with page number or the name of a periodical with article name. Regardless of the format, a reader must have enough information to locate the listed publication.
Although self-publishing and Web-published books have created some degree of chaos in the preceding decade regarding the citation of publishers, this information is always included in some form. It usually will include the location of the publisher followed by the publishing house or entity. In the case of self-publishers, the citation may be as simple as "Author."
Date of publication can range from useful information to critical data for finding an article to commentary on relevance. For periodicals and newspapers, date of publication may be the key to finding the correct source. At times, the date may provide historical background. For example, an article on Middle East politics from 1987 would be contextually different from one in 2002. Lastly it can give the reader clues to outdated or untested theories.