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The APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used in the social sciences to cite various sources. This APA citation guide provides the general format for in-text citations and the reference page. For more information, seePublishing Handbook of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed.
In APA style, two citations are used to cite a source:
- A small quote used in the text (called aim Text quote).
- A full citation (called aReference) in the bibliography at the end of an article.
The in-text citation is a short citation that is placed next to the quoted text. In-text citations let the reader know that the information comes from the source cited. The reading list entry contains complete information about a source and appears at the end of a document.
To properly cite an APA-style source, you must have both types of citations in your article. Every citation in the text has an entry in the bibliography. Each bibliography entry has at least one (possibly several) citation in the corresponding text.
Quotations in the text
The basic elements needed for an in-text citation are theAuthor's last nameit is atPublishing year. Sometimes page numbers are also included, especially when quotations are mentioned in the text. In-text quotations are mentioned in the text in two ways: as a narrative quotation or as a parenthesis quotation.
Narrative
Narrative quotes are embedded in the text and act as part of the sentence. Typically, narrative citations use the author's name in the text and the year of publication is placed in parentheses after the name. An example of a narrative citation for an author is given below:
Barbarin (2013) examined socioemotional learning in African boys.
between brackets
Quotations in parentheses add the author's name and year of publication to the end of the sentence in parentheses. Below is an example of citation in brackets:
Inhibition and working memory in young children have been extensively studied (Aase, 2014).
When are page numbers included?
Page numbers refer to in-text citations when quotation marks are used. Examples of narrative quotations and parenthetical quotations are given below.
Narrative:
Ahmed (2004, S. 44)
Ahmed (2004, S. 53–56)
brackets:
(Ahmed, 2004, S. 44)
(Ahmed, 2004, S. 53–56)
Examples of quotations in the text
Here are some examples of in-text citations for different numbers of authors:
an author
Use the author's last name in in-text citations. For citations in brackets, use a comma before the year of publication.
Narrative:
Books (2018)
brackets:
(Books, 2018)
two authors
Separate authors' last names with an "e" in narrative citations. Use an ampersand (&) in quotation marks.
Narrative:
Popescu and Pennacchiotti (2010)
brackets:
(Popescu & Pennacchiotti, 2010)
Three or more authors
Use the first author's last name followed by et al.
Narrative:
Van Dyck and others. (2018)
brackets:
(van Dyck and others, 2018)
group author
Treat the group author the same as author names.
Narrative:
Auger Collaboration (2003)
brackets:
(Auger Collaboration, 2018)
no author
If there is no author for the source, use the source's title instead of the author's name. Generally, unauthorized sources appear as parenthetical citations.
By adding these quotation marks to the text, you will italicize or quote the text. If the source title is italicized in the bibliography entry, italicize the title in the in-text citation. If the title is not in italics, enclose it in quotation marks.
brackets, book:
(Nothing here, 1997)
Newspaper article in brackets:
(“Studying the Effects of Parrotfish on Coral Reefs”, 2018)
Entries in the reference list
Bibliography entries are also referred to as full citations. There are four main details that most reference list entries have:
- Das Autorenfeld.
- The release year.
- The title of the work (Italicor between "quotes").
- The source from which the reference can be obtained (e.g. URL, DOI, etc.).
Depending on the type of source, you will also need additional information such as volume number, publication title, contributors, media, etc.
Examples of reference list entries
Below are some examples of different types of reference entries along with their templates. The examples given refer to one author. Note that "F" and "M" in the templates denote the first and middle initials of an author's name.
Buch
The book title is in italics and mixed case.
Model:
Author's surname, F. M. (year of publication).title of the book. Editor.
Example:
Ahmed, S. (2014).The cultural politics of emotion. Edinburgh University Press.
newspaper article
The article title is written in upper and lower case letters. The first word of a subheading is capitalized. Journal title and volume number are printed in italics. If an article has a DOI, it must always be included. Use "https://doi.org/" before the DOI. If there is no DOI for an online journal, provide the URL. Do not use a period after the DOI or URL.
Model:
Author's surname, F. M. (year of publication). Article Title: Subtitle.Magazine Title, Volume(edit), side panel. URL or DOI
Example:
Collins, R (2004). Solidarity and security rituals after a terrorist attack.Sociological theory, 22(1), 53-87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9558.2004.00204.x
newspaper or magazine article
Newspaper and magazine articles follow the same style. The title of the article is in plain text and is case sensitive; The title of the newspaper or magazine is printed in italics. Follow the format given in the template and example to set the date, month, and year.
Model:
Surname, F.M. (date of publication). article title.Newspaper or magazine title. URL
Example:
TNN. (2021, July 18). Parents have a habit of comparing their children to others, but you don't have to.the times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com//home/sunday-times/parents-have-a-habit-of-comparing-kids-to-others-but-you-dont-need-to/articleshow/84507857.cms
Website
The title of the webpage is in plain text while the name of the website is in italics. Follow the format provided in the template and sample to set the date, month, year, and URL.
Model:
Name of author or organization. (year, month, day of publication). Website title. page title. URL
Example:
Lamberth, H. (2021, August 12). Excessive drinking is a drinking problem: how to regain control.PSYCOM. https://www.psycom.net/binge-drinking-problem-drinking
Youtube-Video
The video title is defined in upper and lower case and displayed in italics. The first word after the colon is capitalized. The word "video" is in square brackets after the video title. This is followed by the word "YouTube". Finally, the link is given. Note that there is no period after the URL.
Model:
Uploader's name, F. (year, month, day of publication).Videotitel[Video]. Youtube. URL
Example:
Ananta, P. (2021, 21. Februar).Inspirational Quotes by APJ Abdul Kalam[Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjfL51RFL2k
Reference entries for different author counts
The number of authors in the source determines how author names are defined in the bibliography. Here you can see many journal references with different numbers of authors.
an author
Include the author's name followed by the year of publication.
Model:
Author's surname, F. M. (year of publication). Article Title: Subtitle.Magazine Title, Volume(edit), side panel.
Example:
Spitka, T. (2017). Mediation between mediators: consensus building in multilateral interventions.International negotiations, 23, 1–30.
two authors
Separate author names with an ampersand. Use a comma between the first author's first letter and the ampersand.
Model:
Author's Last Name, F. M., & Author's Last Name, F. (publication year). Article Title: Subtitle.Magazine Title, Volume(edit), side panel. DOI or URL
Example:
Bernstein, B. & Solomon, J. (1999). Pedagogy, identity and the construction of a theory of symbolic control: Basil Bernstein questioned by Joseph Solomon.British Journal of the Sociology of Education, 20(2), 265-279. https://doi:10.1080/01425699995443
When adding two organizations in the author field, do not use a comma before the ampersand.
Model:
Organization 1 and Organization 2. (year of publication). Article Title: Subtitle.Magazine Title, Volume(edit), side panel. DOI or URL
Example:
American Psychological Association und American Psychological Society. (2020). Psychologie der Kinder.Journal of Child Psychology, 34(23), 1–12.
3-20 authors
List all author names. Don't forget to add an ampersand before the last author. The following example is for three authors.
Model:
Author's Last Name, F.M., Author's Last Name, F.M., & Author's Last Name, F.M. (publication year). Article Title: Subtitle.Magazine Title, Volume(edit), side panel. DOI or URL
Example:
Pyysiäinen, J., Halpin, D., & Guilfoyle, A. (2017). Neoliberal Governance and "Accountability" of Agents: Reassessing Accountability Change Mechanisms in Neoliberal Discursive Environments.Award: Journal of Social Theory, 18(2), 215–235. https://doi:10.1080/1600910X.2017.1331858
More than 20 authors
List the names of the first 19 authors, followed by an ellipsis. Add the last author's name after the ellipsis, but without the ampersand before the last author's name.
Model:
Author Last Name1, F.M., Author Last Name2, F.M., Author Last Name3, F.M., Author Last Name4, F.M., Author Last Name5, F.M., Author Last Name6, F.M., Author Last Name7, F.M., Author Last Name8, F.M., Author Last Name9, F.M., Author Last Name10, F.M., Author Last Name11, F. M., Author Last Name12, F. M., Author Last Name13, F. M., Author Last Name14, F. M., Author Last Name15, F. M., Author Last Name16, F. M., Author Last Name17, F. M., Author Last Name18, F. M., Author Last Name Name Author19, F. M.,¼ Author's surname, F. M. (year of publication). Article Title: Subtitle.Magazine Title, Volume(edit), side panel. DOI or URL
Example:
Fox , J , Harper , D , Bird , A , Kindler , FA , Feng , HG , Seng , AL , Sevel , K , Ed , E , Nell , A , Ten , T . , Elin , KJ , Thomas , A , Thendi , S , Fall , W , Fint , E , Gurdy AK , D Dondy , Egert , E Nanda , AL , 1⁄4 Long , G. (2015). ). Pedagogizing or Knowing: Bernstein's Pedagogical Device Theory.British Journal of the Sociology of Education, 23(4), 571-582.
For more information on the APA format, select one of the fonts below. See BibMe for help creating APA citationsAPA-Zitatgenerator.
Fonts:
- How to cite a book in APA
- How to cite a journal in APA
- How to quote a newspaper in the APA
- How to cite a website in APA
- How to cite a journal article in the APA
- How to cite a movie in the APA
- How to quote an interview in the APA
- How to cite an APA talk
- How to cite a TV program/radio show in APA
- How to cite an encyclopedia in APA
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- APA 7-Updates
APA-Formats:
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- How do I format an APA-style in-text citation for a source with more than 20 authors?
-
Pursuant to Section 8.17 of thePublishing Handbook of the American Psychological Association, for any work with three or more authors, the name of the first author and "et al." should be used as an in-text citation. The Latin phrase "et al" means "and others" and is used to reduce the length of quotations.
Example of a citation entry in the text:
No reason can classify cultural appropriation as imaginary (Rahim et al., 2020).
Sometimes the same first authors and the same year of publication appear in an article. In such rare cases, according to section 8.18 of the APA manual, write as many names as necessary to distinguish between these similar references.
Examples of quotations in the text:
Miller, John, Reighstaget al. (2018)
Miller, John, Amudsenet al. (2018)
- How do I format an APA-style in-text citation for a group author?
-
Per Section 8.21 and Table 8.1 of the APApublishing handbook, a citation for a group author can be abbreviated with in-text citations. This is not mandatory; However, if the author of the group is known or appears at least three times in the article, the group name can be abbreviated.
Example and sample quotation in the text in brackets:
(Full group name [abbreviation], year)
(National Institute for Mental Health [NIMH], 2018)
Whether in a narrative quote or in parentheses in the text, the full name of the group should appear first, along with the abbreviation.
Examples of narrative quotes in the text:
(Video) How to cite in APA citation format | citaton and referencing for beginners | APA in-text citationEine American Psychological Association (APA, 2017) argumenta que …(first instance)
According to APA (2017), it is common practice that...(subsequent instances)
FAQs
How do you cite APA format example? ›
APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers, use a paragraph number.
What are the 5 steps in citing sources using APA format? ›- Step 1: Choose Your Citation Style. ...
- Step 2: Create In-Text Citations. ...
- Step 3: Determine the Kind of Source. ...
- Step 4: Study Your Style's Rules for Bibliographic Citations. ...
- Step 5: Identify Citation Elements.
The basics
APA in-text citations include the author's last name, publication date, and, if relevant, a locator such as a page number or timestamp. For example, (Smith, 2021, p. 170). See it as a shorter version of the entry in the reference list.
- Author or authors. ...
- Year of publication of the article (in round brackets).
- Article title.
- Journal title (in italics).
- Volume of journal (in italics).
- Issue of journal (no italics).
- Page range of article.
- Author(s). ...
- (Year).
- Title of the article. ...
- Title of the Journal, Note: Italicize and capitalize each word in the journal.
- Volume Note: Italicize the journal volume. ...
- (Issue), Note: If there is a issue number in addition to a volume number, include it in parentheses.
- Page range.
There are many different citation styles, but they typically use one of three basic approaches: parenthetical citations, numerical citations, or note citations.
How do you cite sources examples? ›- For books: author, title, place of publication, publisher, and publication year.
- For articles: author, title of article, title of journal, volume, issue, date, page numbers, and doi or permalink.
- For web page resources: author, title of page, Web address or URL, and date of access.
Important to remember: You DO NOT need to add an in-text citation after EVERY sentence of your paragraph.
How do you cite issues in APA? ›(Year). Article title [Special section]. Journal title, volume(issue), page range.
What is APA standard format? ›APA is the style of documentation of sources used by the American Psychological Association. This form of writing research papers is used mainly in the social sciences, like psychology, anthropology, sociology, as well as education and other fields.
How do APA references look? ›
- “References” is centered 1-inch down. It's not capitalized, bold, or italicized.
- The reference citations are double spaced with no additional lines between them.
- References that go past the first line have a hanging indent.
- All references are in alphabetical order.
APA7 (American Psychological Association – 7th edition) is an 'author-date' citation style. This means it uses in-text citations which include the author's name and the resource's publication date, followed by a reference list containing fuller item details at the end of the document.
How do you cite a famous quote in APA 7th edition? ›- List the original author's last name.
- Include the date of publication of the original.
- Add 'as cited in' then the name of the work.
- Follow with the publishing date of the cited work.
- List the page the information can be found on.
- Include the author, year, and specific page number for that quotation.
- For material without page numbers, give the paragraph number or a time stamp.
- Include a complete reference in the reference list.
In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. "Here's a direct quote" (Smith 8). If the author's name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title. Follow the same formatting that was used in the works cited list, such as quotation marks.
What comes first in APA citation? ›Reference list citations start with Author information. Since Author information comes first, it is the first component that your readers will identify and therefore needs to tie most directly to the In-text citation.
How do you cite an online text? ›Author (Last name, first name). Title of Book. Edition (if available), Publisher (if available), Year of online publication. Name of Website or Database, URL (without the http:// or https://) or DOI number.
How do you cite a source from a source in APA? ›Include both the original author and year and the author and year of the work where quote/idea was found in the in-text reference. Add "as cited in" before the author in the in-text reference. For example - (Harris, 2009, as cited in Lewis, 2019).
How to cite articles in APA? ›- Author or authors. ...
- Year of publication of the article (in round brackets).
- Article title.
- Journal title (in italics).
- Volume of journal (in italics).
- Issue number of journal in round brackets (no italics).
- Page range of article.
- DOI or URL.
APA (American Psychological Association) is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences. MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities. Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts.
How do you cite a website example? ›
Author last name, First name. “Page Title.” Website Name, Day Month Year, URL.
How do I cite examples? ›- Authors.
- Year of publication (in round brackets)
- Article title (in single quotation marks)
- Journal title (in italics, capitalise the first letter of each word except linking words)
- Volume number.
- Issue number (if present, in round brackets)
In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. "Here's a direct quote" (Smith 8). If the author's name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title. Follow the same formatting that was used in the works cited list, such as quotation marks.
How do I cite a sentence from a website in APA? ›When citing a webpage or online article, the APA in-text citation consists of the author's last name and year of publication. For example: (Worland & Williams, 2015). Note that the author can also be an organization. For example: (American Psychological Association, 2019).