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APA Help (7th Ed)

Authors - Reference Citations

One Author or Editor

Format

Last name, First initial(s).

Examples

Follett, K. (2020). The evening and the morning. Viking.

Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to be antiracist. One World.

Coates, T.-N. (2015). Between the world and me. Spiegel & Grau.

In-Text Examples

Parenthetical: (Follett, 2020)

Narrative: "... as mentioned by Follett (2020),"


2 Authors or Editors

Format

Last Name, First Initial(s)., & Last Name, First Initial(s).

Example

Green, C. S., & Bavelier, D. (2012). Learning, attentional control, and action video games. Current Biology, 22(6), R197-R206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.02.012

In-Text Examples

Parenthetical: (Green & Bavelier, 2012)

Narrative: "... as mentioned by Green & Bavelier (2012),"


3-20 Authors or Editors

Format

Last Name, First Initial(s)., Last Name, First Initial(s)., Last Name, First Initial(s)., & Last Name, First Intial(s).

Example

Primack, B. A., Carroll, M. V., McNamara, M., Klem, M. L., King, B., Rich, M., Chan, C. W., & Nayak, S. (2012). Role of video games in improving health-related outcomes: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 42(6), 630-638, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.02.023

In-Text Examples

Parenthetical: (Primack et al., 2012)

Narrative: "... as mentioned by Primack et al. (2012),"


More Than 20 Authors or Editors

Format

First 19 authors., . . . Last author.

Example

Arsenault, K. R., Shukla, S., Hazra, A., Getirana, A., McNally, A., Kumar, S. V., Koster, R. D., Peters-Lidard, C. D., Zaitchik, B. F., Badr, H., Jung, H. C., Narapusetty, B., Navari, M., Wang, S., Mocko, D. M., Funk, C., Harrison, L., Husak, G. J., Adoum, A., . . . Verdin, J. P. (2020). The NASA hydrological forecast system for food and water security applications. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101(7), E1007–E1025. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0264.1

In-Text Examples

Parenthetical: (Arsenault et al., 2020)

Narrative: "... as mentioned by Arsenault et al. (2020),"


Group Author

Format

Full Name of Group.

Full Name of First Group & Full Name of Second Group

Examples

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020, April). Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2019 (Report 1085). https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2019/home.htm

Belize Central Statistical Office & U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001). 1999 Belize family health survey: Males. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/8236

In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020)
  • (Belize Central Statistical Office & U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001)

Narrative:

  • "... as mentioned by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020),"
  • "... as mentioned by the Belize Central Statistical Office and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2001),"

No Author

Format

When no person or group can be identified as the author, the title moves to the author spot in the reference.

Example

Sally spreading torrential rainfall, flooding to Georgia, Carolinas, Virginia. (2020, September 17). The Weather Channel. https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-09-17-tropical-depression-sally-forecast-georgia-carolinas-virginia

In-Text Example

Parenthetical: ("Sally Spreading Torrential Rainfall," 2020)

Narrative: ... as mentioned by "Sally Spreading Torrential rainfall" (2020),


2 or More Works by the Same Author

Format

List the works by order of date, oldest to newest. Works with no dates come before works with dates.

Example

Benjamin, K. (n.d.).

Benjamin, K. (2014).

Benjamin, K. (2019).

In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • If citing separately
    • (Benjamin, n.d.)
    • (Benjamin, 2014)
    • (Benjamin, 2019)
  • If citing together (i.e. the information cited was from all three sources):
    • (Benjamin, n.d., 2014, 2019)

Narrative:

  • If citing separately
    • "... as mentioned by Benjamin (n.d.),"
    • "... as mentioned by Benjamin (2014),"
    • "... as mentioned by Benjamin (2019),"
  • If citing together (i.e. the information cited was from all three sources):
    • "... as mentioned by Benjamin (n.d., 2014, 2019),"

2 or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year

First check to see if a specific date for each work can be found and list them in chronological order. Works with only a year should be listed before works with a more specific date (ex: 2020 would come before 2020, September). If two works have the same publication date, organize them alphabetically by the title of the work. Assign letter suffixes to the year so that readers can find the correct reference from the in-text citation (examples (2019a), (2019b) etc.)

Example

Berndt, T. J. (2004a). Children’s friendships: Shifts over a half-century in perspectives on their development and their effects. Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 50(3), 206-223.

Berndt, T. J. (2004b). Friendship and three A’s (aggression, adjustment, and attachment). Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88(1), 1-4.

In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • If citing individually
    • (Berndt, 2004a)
    • (Berndt, 2004b)
  • If citing together (i.e. the information cited was from both sources):
    • (Berndt, 2004a, 2004b)

Narrative:

  • If citing individually:
    • "... as mentioned by Berndt (2004a),"
    • "... as mentioned by Berndt (2004b),"
  • If citing together (i.e. the information cited was from both sources):
    • "... as mentioned by Berndt (2004a, 2004b),"

Additional Name Formatting Rules

2 Groups as Authors

Don't use a comma between the two names (unlike the personal names).

Example

  • American Psychological Association & National Institutes of Health
In-Text Examples

Parenthetical: (American Psychological Association & National Institutes of Health, Year)

Narrative: "... as mentioned by the American Psychological Association and National Institutes of Health (Year),"

Hyphenated Names

Keep the hyphens in the names if spelled that way.

Examples

  • First name, each capitalized: Billie-Jo Goulais would be Goulais, B.-J. (no space between first name initials)
  • First name, 2nd one not capitalized: Lee-ann Raboso would be Raboso, L.
  • Last name: Julia Louis-Dreyfus would be Louis-Dreyfus, J.
In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • (Goulais, Year)
  • (Raboso, Year)
  • (Louis-Dreyfus, Year)

Narrative:

  • "... as mentioned by Goulais (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Raboso (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Louis-Dreyfus (Year),"

Surnames with Prefixes

The last name prefixes are included as part of the last name. Include them, keeping the spacing and their preferred capitalization.

Examples

  • Leonardo Del Vecchio would be Del Vecchio, L.
  • Rafael van der Vaart would be van der Vaart, R.
  • Bruce McLaren would be McLaren, B.
  • Eilidh MacLeod would be MacLeod, E.
  • Mary Ann O'Shea would be O'Shea, M. A.
In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • (Del Vecchio, Year)
  • (van der Vaart, Year)
  • (McLaren, Year)
  • (MacLeod, Year)
  • (O'Shea, Year)

Narrative:

  • "... as mentioned by Del Vecchio (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by van der Vaart (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by McLaren (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by MacLeod (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by O'Shea (Year),"

Double Surnames

Some surnames contain more than one part separated by a space.  Many Spanish surnames are formatted this way.  Include all surname parts in both the reference and in-text citation.

Examples

  • Gabriel García Márquez would be García Márquez, G.

  • Carlos Ruiz Zafón would be Ruiz Zafón, C.

In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • (García Márquez, Year)

  • (Ruiz Zafón, Year)

Narrative:

  • "... as mentioned by García Márquez (Year),"

  • "... as mentioned by Ruiz Zafón (Year),"

 

See also 'Hyphenated Names' tab in this section

Names with II, III, IV or Jr.

When suffixes are part of the name to distinguish them from others of the same name, include them in the reference, but not in the in-text citation. 

Examples

  • Martin Luther King, Jr. would be King, M.L., Jr.
  • John Lucas, II would be Lucas, J., II
In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • (King, Year)
  • (Lucas, Year)

Narrative:

  • "... as mentioned by King (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Lucas (Year),"

Titles

Do not include titles.

Examples

  • President Gerald R. Ford would be Ford, G.R.
  • Colonel Leslie MacDill would be MacDill, L.
  • Christiaan Barnard, MD would be Barnard, C.
  • Rachel Maddow, PhD would be Maddow, R.
In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • (Ford, Year)
  • (MacDill, Year)
  • (Barnard, Year)
  • (Maddow, Year)

Narrative:

  • "... as mentioned by Ford (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by MacDill (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Barnard (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Maddow (Year),"

Performance, Literary, and Celebrity Names

When people are known by a single name, a performance name, or a username, spell it out completely in the same order, not reversing it.

Examples

  • Lady Gaga would be Lady Gaga (not Gaga, L.)
  • Banksy would be Banksy
  • Malcolm X would be Malcolm X
  • Plato would be Plato
  • Fe4RLess would be Fe4RLess
In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • (Lady Gaga, Year)
  • (Banksy, Year)
  • (Malcolm X, Year)
  • (Plato, Year)
  • (Fe4RLess, Year)

Narrative:

  • "... as mentioned by Lady Gaga (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Banksy (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Malcolm X (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Plato (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Fe4RLess (Year),"

Nombres de redes sociales

Cuando los nombres de las redes sociales incluyen el signo @, como en las plataformas Twitter e Instagram, use el nombre real con el @ entre corchetes después. Para las que no lo incluyen (Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, etc.), use su nombre real o, si solo se lo conoce por el nombre de su cuenta, consulte el ejemplo en Nombres de celebridades, literarios y de artistas .

Ejemplo

  • @BillGates sería Gates, B. [@BillGates]
Ejemplos en el texto

Entre paréntesis: (Puertas, Año)

Narrativa: "... como lo mencionó Gates (Año)"


Asian Names

In some Asian cultures, last names/surnames are listed first, then the first name (Chang Yi-Chun). When publishing in English publications, they may default to the English language order (Yi-Chun Chang). Sometimes the surname is listed in all capital letters (CHANG Yi-Chun). Try to determine the surname. In APA any of the variations of Chang Yi-Chun’s name will be Chang, Y.-C.

Example

  • Kim Jong-un would be Kim, J.
In-Text Examples

Parenthetical:

  • (Chang, Year)
  • (Kim, Year)

Narrative:

  • "... as mentioned by Chang (Year),"
  • "... as mentioned by Kim (Year),"

Video: Authors in an APA Reference

 

APA 7: Authors in an APA Reference

APA 7: Authors in an APA Reference