APA Citation

One author

For a source with one author, your in-text citation will consist of the last name and the year. You must also include a page number or other specific part of a source if you quote directly, but this is not needed if you paraphrase or summarize. 

 

Example narrative citation (quoted):

According to Smail (2008), Darwinian evolution "follows a rhythm dictated by the rapidity of generational turnover" (p. 99).

Example parenthetical citation (quoted):

One opinion is that Darwinian evolution "follows a rhythm dictated by the rapidity of generational turnover" (Smail, 2008, p. 99). 

Example narrative citation (paraphrased):

Smail (2008) suggested that the speed of human cultural evolution is linked to the turnover rate of cultural entities.

Example parenthetical citation (paraphrased):

The speed of human cultural evolution is linked to the turnover rate of cultural entities (Smail, 2008).

 

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Two authors

If your source has two authors, cite both names in your in-text citation. Combine the two names with the word and if you use the names in a narrative citation (i.e. as part of a sentence), but combine them with & if you use them in a parenthetical citation. Include a page number or other specific part of a source if you quote directly.

 

Example narrative citation (quoted):

Clarkson and Mildenberger (2011) conclude that "neither Canada nor Mexico can initiate a trade war without risking its own prosperity" (p. 55).

Example parenthetical citation (quoted):

The authors conclude that "neither Canada nor Mexico can initiate a trade war without risking its own prosperity" (Clarkson & Mildenberger, 2011, p. 55).

Example narrative citation (paraphrased):

Clarkson and Mildenberger (2011) concluded that the economic wellbeing of both Canada and Mexico is dependent on their relations with the United States.

Example parenthetical citation (paraphrased):

The economic wellbeing of both Canada and Mexico is dependent on their relations with the United States (Clarkson & Mildenberger, 2011).  

 

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More than two authors

If your source has more than two authors, list the first author's last name followed by the words et al. (meaning and others). Include a page number or other specific part of a source if you quote directly.

 

Example narrative citation (quoted):

Songer et al. (2012) found that "the actual voting behaviour of the justices is related to the political attitudes they bring to the court" (p. 174). 

Example parenthetical citation (quoted):

Recent research shows that "the actual voting behaviour of the justices is related to the political attitudes they bring to the court" (Songer et al., 2012, p. 174).

Example narrative citation (paraphrased):

Songer et al. (2012) concluded that personal ideology was only part of the Canadian appointment process of a justice.

Example parenthetical citation (paraphrased):

Personal ideology was only part of the Canadian appointment process of a justice (Songer et al., 2012).

 

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Same author(s) and same date

If you have two or more sources from the same author(s) and with the same year, add the letter a, b, c, etc. to the date. List the citations in alphabetical order of the title in the reference list. For more information, see APA's page on citing works with the same author and same date.

 

Example: 

In his initial study, Koriat (2008a) hypothesized that ......, but his other study showed that .... (Koriat, 2008b).

 

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Group author

Group authors are often government agencies, nonprofit organizations, institutions, and task forces. In the in-text citation, the name of the group can sometimes be abbreviated. The first time you mention the group in your text, you need to provide the full name of the group followed by the abbreviation; for subsequent in-text citations, you can then use only the abbreviation. Note, however, that you need to spell out the full name of a group author in the reference list entry.

 

Example narrative citation (the first time, include the abbreviation before the year in parentheses)

According to a recent report by Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU, 2024), more women hold lower paying jobs than men at this institution.

 

Afterwards, you can say: KPU (2024) ...

 

Example parenthetical citation (the first time, include the abbreviation in square brackets)

A recent report by this institution shows that more women hold lower paying jobs than men (Kwantlen Polytechnic University [KPU], 2024). 

Afterwards, you can say: ....... (KPU, 2024). 

 

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No author

Put the title in the author position (abbreviate it if it is long). If the title in the Reference list is in italics, italicize the title in the in-text citation as well. If the title is NOT italicized in the reference list, put it in quotation marks in the in-text citation. Capitalize these titles in the text using title case, even though sentence case is used in the reference list entry. Add a locator if necessary.

 

Examples:

One important relationship between nutrition and health is .... (Good Housekeeping, 1995).
In the health and nutrition section of Good Housekeeping (1995) it states that ...
The effect of lead based ... ("B.C. Wildlife Experts," 2019).
The article "B.C. Wildlife Experts" (2019) describes the effect of ...

 

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The reference list entries for the above in-text citation examples are: