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APA Citation Style: Reference Citations in Text

APA Citation Style uses an author/date citation (author, date) format within the text of your paper. Your citations in text enable your reader to locate the full citations to the research you have used in your reference list. This process ensures that the ideas and words of others have been acknowledged. For more information, please consult pages 174-179 of the APA manual.

 

One author:

If there is only one author of the work, use the last name of the author and the publication year of the work.

For example:

McLaughlin (2005) argues that there is no single conception of school choice.

If the author's name does not appear in the text of your sentence, insert the last name and publication year within parentheses:

For example:

Over time environmental factors such as competitive pressures (Henig, 2003)

 

Two authors:

If there are two authors of the work, include both names each time you cite their work in text. Use the word "and" to connect their names.

For example:

Davies and Quirke (2002) examine the rationale motives

 

More than two authors, less than six:

If the work has more than two authors, but fewer than six, include all of the authors names the first time you reference the source, then in subsequent references use the first author's last name followed by the phrase "et al." and the publication date.

For example:

First reference: Henig, Holyoke, Brown and Paquet (1998) challenged

Following references: Henig et al. (1998) challenged

 

More than six authors:

If there are six or more authors, include only the last name of the first author followed by the phrase "et al." and the publication date.

For example:

Belfield et al. (2002) provide a relatively simple set of policy instruments

 

Groups as authors:

If the work is authored by a corporation, association, or government agency, spell out the complete name of the group for the first reference, then in subsequent references use an abbreviation for the group, if possible.

For example:

First reference: In a recent survey,.. (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2004)

Following reference: ..significant survey results showed (NIMH, 2004).

 

No author listed:

If the work does not list an author (e.g. Web page), include words from the title in quotation marks and the publication year. Italicize the title of periodicals, books brochures and reports.

For example:

How to use APA citation style effectively ("Peabody Library", 2005)

the book School choice: Examining the evidence (1993)

Secondary sources:

Every effort should be made to cite only those sources you have actually read; however sometimes it is necessary to cite a source you have not read due to circumstances such as the original work is out of print or cannot be located. You list the secondary source in your reference list, but in-text you name the original work and provide a citation for the secondary source.

For example:

Orth (as cited in Russert, 2004) states that APA is a very confusing citation style.

Specific parts of a source:

To cite a specific part of source, you will need to indicate the page, chapter, table, or figure within the citation in text. It is very important to give page numbers for quotations that you use.

For example:

(Davies and Quirke, 2002, p. 439)

(Guttmann, 1999, chap. 19)

For electronic sources that do not provide page numbers, use the paragraph number, preceded by the ¶ symbol or you can use the para abbreviation. If neither paragraph nor page numbers are available, you will need to cite the heading and the number of the paragraph so your reader can find the location of the material you have cited.

For example:

(Wolfe, 2003, ¶ 2)

(Coons, 2005, Conclusion section, para. 9)

 

Personal communication:

To cite personal communications such as letters, email, interviews, or telephone conversations, you need to cite the initials and the last name of the communicator, and provide the exact date of the communication.

For example:

(L.J. Foutch, personal communication, March 26, 2006)

Note: You cite personal communications in text only since the material cannot be recovered by person reading your paper, therefore be sure to not list them in your reference list.

 

 

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Last updated April 26, 2010.