Author and date are the key components in the in-text citation of the APA referencing style.
No author: when author information is not available, use the source title to replace the author's position.
Dates:
Page range:
Use an en dash, NOT a hyphen, for page ranges: e.g. 21–27. An en dash (–) is wider than a hyphen (-). No gaps between the page numbers and the en dash
How to add an en dash in Microsoft Word if you are using a full PC keyboard: hold the Control key and type the minus sign on the small numeric keypad.
NB: If your keyboard will not produce an en dash, it is acceptable to use a hyphen instead. See the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (2010, p. 97) for more detail on the use of hyphens and dashes in APA style.
No author
Use the first few words of the title, or the complete title if short.
Put the title in quotation marks: This research highlights the debate around nuclear weapons ("Nuke Test Inquiry," 2009). This definition ("Collins Concise New Zealand Dictionary," 2008) shows ... |
If it is the title of a publication put it in italics in the text: This definition from the Collins Concise New Zealand Dictionary (2008) shows ... |
One author
Crothers (2016) found that... or ... (Crothers, 2016). |
Two authors
Use "and" between two authors in the text: Walker and Allen (2004) said ... |
Use "&" between two authors in the citation: ... to stop smoking (Walker & Allen, 2004) ... |
Three, four or five authors
First citation include all authors: ... as the findings suggested (Alred, Brusaw, & Oliu, 2009). |
Subsequent citations include the first author and et al.: .... in the same study (Alred et al., 2009)... |
Six or more authors
Cite only the surname of the first author, et al. and the year: Kosslyn et al. (1996) found that... |
With an Anonymous author
(Anonymous, 2016). |
Corporate authors
Well known corporate author: First citation: Subsequent citation: |
Unabbreviated corporate authors - write the corporate author in full every time if it is not well known by abbreviation: ... on student retention (The University of Auckland, 2010)... |
One author, multiple works published in the same year
If the year of publication is the same for both add 'a' and 'b' after the year. ... as research has shown (Rush, 2015a, 2015b). |
For references that are in press or that have no date (n.d.) (in press-a) and (in press-b) (n.d.-a) and (n.d.-b) |
Two or more works by the same author
... Past research (Gogel, 1990, 2006, in press) |
Two or more works by different authors
... Several studies (Derryberry & Reed, 2005a, 2005b, in press-a; Rothbart, 2003) |
Authors with the same surname
F. Kelly (2010) and A. Kelly (2016) described that... or (F. Kelly, 2010; A. Kelly, 2016).... |
Authors with the same surname and first initial
(Paul, Janet, 1876), (Pierre Janet,1906) |
Authors - in-text citations
in brackets use & between authors:
(Walker & Allen, 2004) |
Walker and Allen (2004) argue that .... |
Summary
Author/s |
First citation |
Subsequent citations |
Reference list |
1-2 |
Both authors |
Both authors |
Both authors |
3-5 |
All authors |
First author et al. |
All authors |
6-7 |
First author et al. |
First author et al. |
All authors |
8+ |
First author et al. |
First author et al. |
First 6 authors ... last author |
Corporate author |
in a sentence: in brackets: |
in a sentence: in brackets: |
Ministry of Health |
See section 6.1 in the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.
If you need to cite two or more references in an in-text citation, order the citations alphabetically.
(Allen, 2004; Smith 1999; Tsvetkova, 2018 ) |
When you include a sentence or words reproduced from a text (book, article, etc.) in your writing, you should follow the APA style for direct quotations. Your in-text citation for direct quotations should include author, date, and page numbers.
Short direct quotes (fewer than 40 words)
He argued for what he called "a new intellectual framework" (Smith, 2001, p. 378). Smith (2001) argued that "..." (p. 378). As she postulated, "..." (Jones, 2010, pp. 111–112). |
Quotes in the middle of a sentence
Smith (2001) found that "..." (p. 378), which contributed to the final negative outcome. |
Long direct quotes (40 words or more)
In 2001, Smith found the following: Many young people can be encouraged to stop smoking by |
Direct quote but no page numbers
Generally, in order of preference, give Author/s, year, plus:
|
Quotes with mistakes
"Sickness occurred even when reel [sic] drugs were administered" (Miele, 1993). |
Insert [sic] after the misspelled word. Sic should be italicised and in brackets
"Futhermore, the behaviours were never exhibited again [emphasis added], even when the correct dosage was given." (Miele, 1993). |
See sections 6.03 - 6.09 and 4.08 in the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.
Paraphrasing
When you rewrite someone else's ideas in your own words you must acknowledge them with an in text citation. The citation should fit smoothly within your sentence.
McFeely (2001) argues that young people can be encouraged to stop smoking by ... ... are proven methods to encourage young people to stop smoking (McFeely, 2001). |
Two or more citations
(Read, 2007; Smith, 2009) (Edeline & Weinberger, 1991, 1993) |
Repeated citations in the same paragraph
Among epidemiological samples, Kessler (2003) found that early onset social anxiety disorder . . . results in a more potent and severe discourse. Kessler also found brain damage . . . . The study also showed that there was a high rate of comorbidity with alcohol abuse or dependence and major depression (Kessler, 2003). |
When to include the year in citations appearing more than once in a paragraph
See section 6.11, p. 174 in the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.
See section 6.08, p. 172 in the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.
No author
Article, chapter or web page:
.... on free care ("Study Finds Care," 2007) |
Periodical, book, brochure or report:
.... in the book College Bound Seniors (2008) |
See sections 6.15 in the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.
A secondary citation is where you are citing information or quotes the author of your reference has taken from source that you have not read.
In-text citation:
Seidenberg and McClelland’s study, conducted in 1990 (as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993), shows that ... |
... as some studies show (Seidenberg & McClelland, as cited in Coltheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993). |
Reference list entry:
Coltheart, M., Curtis, B. Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589–608. |